Translanguaging in the Spanish as a foreign language classroom in Malta : perspectives and practices

Abstract

The debate whether foreign language classrooms should include or exclude students’ mother language has been a controversial issue for a long time. Advocates of the Target Language only position argue that the L1 deprives students from a proper exposure to the TL. However a growing number of researchers question this position since they consider that the L1 plays a strategic cognitive role in the acquisition of the L2. This study investigates the use of the L1 and of the TL in the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language in Malta. A corpus analysis leads to a study of the functions fulfilled by codeswitching in 6 recorded lessons. Questionnaires administered to 60 students reveal that students prefer the use of translanguaging rather than a TL only teaching methodology since it facilitates their understanding of the TL. Through semi-tructured interviews carried out with 6 six teachers it can be observed that teachers are moving away from the Direct method teaching methodology and attribute a more favourable facilitating role to the L1. On the whole it appears that there is an overuse of the mother language and some recoommendations are made for a more effective use of languages in the SFL classroom.