Lost in Theory? Negotiating Translanguaging in Theory-Oriented English Teacher Education

This case study investigates how 54 pre-service English teachers in Indonesia experience and perceive translanguaging when engaging with theoretical content in an English-medium teacher education course. Focusing on a translation and interpreting theory course, it examines translanguaging in theory-oriented contexts where conceptual understanding and academic performance demands intersect. Data were collected from all participants through Likert-scale and open-ended questionnaires, followed by interviews with 10 students. Findings indicate that translanguaging supported meaning-making by helping students clarify complex concepts, restate unfamiliar ideas, and sustain engagement during cognitively demanding explanations. It also functioned as an affective and interactional resource, reducing intimidation and encouraging classroom participation. However, students viewed translanguaging as task-sensitive rather than unrestricted, favouring English-only practices in performance-oriented activities. The study argues that translanguaging in theory-oriented English teacher education is best understood as a task-sensitive pedagogical resource, whose legitimacy shifts according to the epistemic and performance demands of different classroom activities.