Translanguaging as a Pedagogical Strategy in Indian English Language Classrooms

English classrooms in India rarely bring together learners with identical language backgrounds. Students may speak one language at home, use another in the community, and encounter English mainly through schooling, higher education, or work. Yet classroom practice has often treated English as though it must be learned apart from the languages students already know. Translanguaging offers a different starting point: learners can draw on their full linguistic resources to understand a text, discuss an idea, and prepare to communicate in English. This conceptual paper considers what that approach may offer Indian English language teaching. It draws on published work on translanguaging and Indian classrooms to discuss comprehension, vocabulary, participation, literary interpretation, and writing. It also considers practical concerns, including the need for meaningful English use, unequal status among learners’ languages, and teacher preparation. The paper proposes a four-stage classroom cycle: activate prior knowledge, explore meaning collaboratively, produce in English, and reflect on learning. The cycle is a planning proposal, not a tested intervention. The paper therefore makes no claim that translanguaging will produce the same results in every setting. Its central argument is more measured: students’ languages can support English learning when teachers use them deliberately, make room for different linguistic backgrounds, and keep the intended learning outcome in view.