Pedagogical translanguaging in the EAL classroom: practices and experiences of primary school teachers in Norway

This paper reports on a longitudinal action research project that aimed to support EAL teachers at a Norwegian primary school in implementing pedagogical translanguaging in their linguistically diverse classrooms. Twenty-four lessons taught by seven EAL teachers were observed during two academic years. In addition, the teachers participated in continuing professional development workshops that focused on various aspects of language teaching and multilingualism. The results of the observations suggest that teachers rarely employed pedagogical translanguaging or provided opportunities for learners to draw on their full linguistic repertoires. However, in the six workshops analysed for this study, the teachers eagerly engaged in the discussions and shared reflections on language development, and some teachers reflected on the use of pedagogical translanguaging. This study offers a detailed perspective on how professional development can introduce pedagogical translanguaging to teachers to support and equip them with new tools and resources for their heterogeneous EAL classrooms. While this is a promising development, we need to acknowledge that (a) this process needs time and (b) it requires additional support from both within and outside of the school.