Translanguaging as a Pedagogical Strategy to Improve the Reading Comprehension of Multilingual Grade 4 Learners in South Africa

The study sought to investigate the use of translanguaging as a pedagogical approach to improve the reading comprehension of Grade 4 learners at a school in Limpopo, South Africa. The participants were seventy Grade 4 learners (35 in the control group and 35 in the experimental group). The study used quantitative data from the learners’ test results and questionnaire responses. The data from the tests were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test analyses, while descriptive analysis was applied to the questionnaire responses. The findings from the quantitative analysis showed that learners’ reading comprehension improved significantly, with medium-to-large effect sizes, after the implementation of a translanguaging teaching approach for reading comprehension. The data from the questionnaires also yielded highly positive responses. These findings corroborate other studies that have demonstrated improvements in reading comprehension and reading proficiency levels through the use of translanguaging strategies during reading instruction. The article, therefore, argues for the use of translanguaging as a pedagogical approach to obtain optimal improvements in learners’ reading comprehension.