Multilingualism in the lecture room: An investigation of translanguaging by UNAM Main Campus lecturers in content subjects in Windhoek, Namibia

The current study investigated multilingualism in the lecture room, paying particular attention to the presence or absence of translanguaging at the University of Namibia (UNAM) main campus. The purpose of the study was, firstly, to investigate why lecturers translanguage or why they do not. Secondly, the study aimed at identifying any translanguaging strategies applied in the lecture room. Finally, the study aimed at exploring the opinions of students, regarding the practice of translanguaging in the lecture room and its effect on their experience of learning. The concern was with the fulfilment of communicative functions that lie in the academic results of learners and students in Namibia. The study adopted the qualitative exploratory design. The participants of the study were thirty-two (first-, second-, third- and fourth-year) content subject students, and four content subject lecturers from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The data of this study were collected through open ended questionnaires for the students and semistructured interviews for the lecturers. Data collected from the questionnaires were analysed by employing narrative analysis, while interviews were analysed through thematic analysis where common themes were identified, reviewed and presented. Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) was used as the theoretical framework. Additionally, the two types of accommodation processes (convergence and divergence) were used to analyse the data in order to determine which of the five sociolinguistic strategies of CAT, the lecturers use. The findings of the study revealed that lecturers often translanguage for various reasons which include: to explain a concept, clarify and emphasise a point, lack of knowledge of the word in English, and to make the lesson more interesting. Moreover, the study also revealed that when a lecturer uses a language that students understand, it not only enhances their understanding of the taught content, but constructs human relations as well. To add on, the majority of the students feel that using only English in the lecture room affects their academic performance negatively as they sometimes do not understand concepts taught. They thus suggest that lecturers translate difficult terms or concepts into vernacular language. Furthermore, the study revealed that the lecturers converge and use approximation, interpretability and discourse management strategies of CAT. The study thus recommends further exploration of the topic that involves classroom observations. Another recommendation is for the language policy to be investigated against the findings of this study.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Namibia

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Ya Nangoloh, Phyllis

• Multilingualism
• Translanguging

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11070/3150

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.unam.edu.na:11070/3150