Pedagogical Translanguaging Read‐Alouds: Making Hidden Comprehension Audible in Multilingual L2 Classrooms

ABSTRACT This article reports on a translanguaging‐oriented read‐aloud implemented in a Malaysian primary classroom where pupils learned English as a second/foreign language (L2) but came from multilingual backgrounds. We observed that English‐ready pupils tended to dominate whole‐class talk, while other pupils showed understanding only through writing or in their home or first languages. To address this display‐language problem, we inserted a brief, teacher‐led multilingual turn at pre‐identified comprehension points, followed immediately by revoicing into instructional English and a return to the text. The routine was organized around four principles, namely text centrality, pre‐performance sequencing, visible teacher mediation, and English residue, so that multilingual processing advanced, rather than replaced, L2 literacy goals. Across lessons, participation widened, text‐related inferences became audible, and the subsequent English round was easier to populate. We argue that this design helps teachers reconcile equity and L2 exposure, and we offer a stepwise guide for adapting it to other multilingual literacy settings.