Examining L3 Vocabulary Instruction Through Pedagogical Translanguaging in a Beginner‐Level Russian Classroom

Various vocabulary teaching strategies have been proposed in foreign language education. Nonetheless, limited exploration has been made from a pedagogical translanguaging lens to understand how a synthesis of multilingual and multimodal resources could best support vocabulary instruction. Conducted in a begginer‐level classroom where Russian is taught as a third language, this study uses data from audio‐assisted classroom observations and interviews to explore how the teacher strategically deploys multilingual, multimodal, and multisemiotic resources to enhance students' lexical knowledge. It also investigates the attitudes of the teacher and students towards using pedagogical translanguaging to support vocabulary instruction. Findings from the study identified three categories of vocabulary teaching strategies supported by pedagogical translanguaging: utilizing visual aids and multisensory resources, creating real‐life scenarios, and incorporating cultural anecdotes. We argue that by allowing abundant verbal and non‐verbal resources, translanguaging practices can potentially increase students’ cognitive engagement and contextual exposure during third language (L3) vocabulary instruction. Furthermore, this study revealed that both the teacher and students acknowledged the advantageous role of pedagogical translanguaging in facilitating vocabulary learning and teaching. The theoretical and practical implications for incorporating translanguaging practices in L3 vocabulary instruction are also discussed.