Beyond Codeswitching and Translanguaging in Multilingual Classrooms: Towards a Sociolinguistic Intersectionality Approach to Language-in-education Planning
Dr. Elvis ResCue
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Studies on language-in-education in multilingual classrooms often focused on either social factors or linguistic factors, with majority of the studies emphasizing on the need to adopt bi/multi-lingual code choices such as codeswitching and translanguaging in the classroom. This talk discusses the need to go beyond promoting codeswitching and translanguaging in the classroom to addressing the complex social and linguistic factors that impact on classroom code choices. We present a synergy between social and linguistic factors as contributing to adopting an ideal medium of instruction in the classroom, using Ghana as a case study. The talk espouses the concept of sociolinguistic intersectionality approach to language-in-educationplanning as a way of perceiving any form of code choice in the classroom as a consequence of social and linguistic factors.
The data for the study constitute classroom interactions, teacher interviews, pupil focused groups, ethnographic notes, and questionnaire surveys conducted in Ho, Volta Region of Ghana. The research questions to be discussed include: 1. What are the socio-linguistic situations in Ghana and various communities, and how can that inform language-in-education planning in the country? 2. How can the socio-linguistic backgrounds of teachers and learners inform language-in-education planning and implementation in Ghana? The study suggests that the sociolinguistic intersectionality approach to exploring language-in-education planning in multilingual contexts like Ghana will reveal how factors such as the socio-linguistic situation of a country, the socio-linguistic diversity of the immediate community of a school, and the socio-linguistic backgrounds of teachers and learners should inform any language-in-education planning. This will lead to adopting appropriate code choices in the classroom in order to achieve optimum pedagogic goals.