Translanguaging as Cognitive and Sociocultural Bridge to Co-construct Meaning in Multilingual Setting
Erwin Ashari – Berlin Sibarani – Masitowarni Siregar
DOI: 10.18355/XL.2025.18.04.05
Abstract
This study investigates how translanguaging supports student comprehension in English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) classrooms, focusing on narrative text discussions at the University of Riau Kepulauan, Indonesia. While EMI aims to enhance graduates’ global competitiveness, many students encounter persistent language barriers that hinder full participation and understanding. To explore this issue, qualitative descriptive research was conducted with university students working collaboratively in small groups to answer comprehension questions. Data were gathered through audio recordings of their discussions and analyzed using Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña’s interactive model of data condensation, display, and conclusion drawing. Analysis of eight key excerpts revealed that students purposefully alternated between English and Indonesian to clarify concepts, elaborate on ideas, and negotiate meaning. This practice functioned not merely as casual code-switching but as a deliberate pedagogical and communicative strategy. Translanguaging acted as cognitive and social scaffolding that bridged gaps in comprehension, promoted inclusive participation, and facilitated critical thinking by drawing on students’ full linguistic repertoires. The findings show that translanguaging enables students to connect general interpretations to local experiences and supports genre classification and nuanced discourse development. It also creates an intersubjective space for the co-construction of meaning, highlighting students’ agency in managing their linguistic resources. Overall, this research underscores translanguaging as an effective, student-centered approach in EMI contexts and suggests that more flexible language policies are needed to better support multilingual learning environments.
Key words: Translanguaging, Student Discussion, Narrative Text Comprehension
Pages: 68-87
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