Nishi Ambalathveettil
BA (Hons) Education, London Metropolitan University
What happens when students are free to bring all their languages into the classroom? Magic, belonging — and deeper learning.
“Words are windows to the soul.”
A timeless idiom that reminds us how language connects to identity and emotion.
And sometimes, those words open in the most unexpected ways.
I was in a food technology lesson, helping Fathima, a Year 7 student who speaks Malayalam (a South Indian language) at home. The class learned about different herbs and spices, and the teacher passed around fresh coriander. Fathima picked it up, smiled, and said softly:
“Kothamalli my mum puts this in everything.”
I asked: “Is that what you call coriander in Malayalam”?
She nodded. “Yes, kothamalli ela (കൊത്ത മല്ലി ഇല). I help her cut it when she cooks fish curry.”
That moment sparked a lovely exchange across the room:
“In Bengali we say dhone pata (ধনে পাতা ).”
“In Urdu it’s hara dhania (دھنیا کے پتے).”
What started as a simple activity became a celebration of food, language, and family memories. Fathima later added both English and Malayalam labels to her worksheet, and even wrote a mini recipe at home in both languages. Fathima’s story highlights what Baker and Wright (2021) describe as the social and cognitive enrichment that occurs when learners can express knowledge through multiple languages.
It’s not just my classroom. In places like Wales and South Africa, teachers use students’ home languages to make learning more meaningful — a practice known as translanguaging (García and Lin, 2016).
Research shows that translanguaging helps bilingual students connect better with what they’re learning. Hernandez Garcia et al. (2023) found that using home languages alongside school languages boosts understanding and participation, with 78% of bilingual students reporting better comprehension.
In Canada, Montero and Newmaster (2019) described the case of A’isha, a refugee student who excelled in a multilingual classroom where her Somali and Arabic languages were welcomed. Her academic performance improved, and she took on leadership roles among her peers. Her case exemplifies how translanguaging can transform passive learners into active participants.
In many Pakistani classrooms, teachers are moving beyond English-only instruction by integrating Urdu and regional languages. Research confirms this shift empowers students, helping them understand lessons better, express themselves more clearly, and feel included. For instance, Ali et al. (2024) found that over 80% of students reported improved comprehension and participation, while 75% said it supported their identity—boosting both learning and confidence.
In South Africa, the idea of Ubuntu Translanguaging is gaining ground. It draws on communal speaking and learning to make classrooms more inclusive.
Students learn best when their language is in the classroom, not left at the school gate. (García & Kleifgen, 2020)
In the UK, some schools encourage students to write poetry and stories in mixed languages, expressing identity and pride (Rowe, 2018). In my school, Miguel, an English as an Additional Language (EAL) student, drafted his story in Spanish before translating it into English with support. He was proud to share it with the class.
In the U.S., Latinx students have used Spanglish in personal narratives, songs, and poetry to represent their lived experiences (Garcia & Kleifgen, 2020). These activities allow learners to tell their stories authentically, using the linguistic forms that resonate most deeply with them.
In today’s global and multicultural schools, we need to ask: Are traditional, monolingual teaching methods enough?
Many schools treat English as the main language, while other languages are secondary. But the truth is, students bring so much more: a mix of languages, accents, and ways of expressing themselves, shaped by migration, family journeys, and globalisation.
What if instead of asking students to “leave their language at the door,” we welcomed all their linguistic resources into the classroom?
Despite growing support for translanguaging, some educators worry that it might confuse students or slow their English development. Ticheloven et al. (2021) found confusion as a key challenge in multilingual classrooms. I’ve heard the concern in staff rooms:
“But if they keep using their home language, how will they learn proper English?”
At first glance, this concern seems valid, as English fluency is crucial in many school systems and for future employment. But this mindset comes from a deficit model (Hellawell, 2019), which sees home languages as problems, not possibilities. It focuses on what learners’ lack, not what they bring. This mindset often assumes students from multilingual or working-class backgrounds are less capable because they don’t speak the dominant language. Research shows this thinking limits students’ learning and well-being (Gruijters and Kurian, 2023).
Instead of valuing bilingual children’s full linguistic and cultural identities, the deficit model treats their home languages as barriers to be fixed or replaced with proper English.
But this mindset is outdated. Research and lived experience show that students’ home languages are not deficits — they are assets. It builds English using all students’ linguistic and cognitive tools to understand complex ideas more deeply (García and Kleifgen, 2020).
Scholars like García and Lin (2016) have shown how translanguaging supports — not hinders—academic development. And I’ve seen it myself:
For example, a student struggled to explain a science concept in English. When I encouraged her to think it through in Tamil, she grasped it quickly and explained it more clearly in English afterwards.
As Ali et al. (2024) argue, translanguaging is not just a method — it’s a political act. It challenges colonial schooling models that treat English as the only path to knowledge. Allowing students to use their full language repertoire isn’t leniency — it’s justice. When we give students the freedom to use all the languages they speak, we’re empowering them and ensuring they’re treated fairly, not just letting them off the hook.
As Ofelia García puts it, translanguaging is “a pedagogy that allows students to use all their linguistic systems in order to make meaning” (Iskakova, 2020: 149). It’s not about learning a language instead of English—it’s about learning through all your languages. It’s a way of saying:
“You do not have to leave parts of yourself at the school gate.”
It’s more than just code-switching (Vallejo, 2018). It’s about creating space where students can think, feel, and express themselves using every part of their language identity.
The term originated in the 1980s in Wales as “trawsieithu” — describing the practice of reading in one language and writing in another. Scholars like Colin Baker and Ofelia García later expanded it into a broader educational and sociopolitical vision. As Baker and Wright (2021) assert, bilingualism is a resource, reminding us that linguistic diversity is an asset in the classroom.
Li Wei (2018:9) calls translanguaging a “practical theory of language,” which resists treating languages as fixed codes and reflects how multilingual people communicate.
English still takes centre stage in most schools, while other languages are treated like background noise.
Why should a child have to ‘park’ their home language—whether Polish, Urdu, or Somali—outside the classroom as if it doesn’t count? Translanguaging flips that thinking. It says: all your languages matter and play an important role in your learning. Some staff worry:
“But if they keep using their home language, how will they learn proper English?”
The truth? It’s the opposite.
When students can use their complete language toolkit, they make deeper connections. I’ve seen it repeatedly— kids who struggle to explain something in English light up when they can first say it in their home language, and then build up the English from there.
Scholars like García and Lin (2016) argue that translanguaging challenges deficit-based thinking — the idea that home languages get in the way. Instead, it positions them as bridges to deeper learning.
To see this in action, take Zofia, a Polish student in a secondary school maths class. One day, the teacher gave the class a word problem:
A jacket originally costing £80 is now on sale for 25% off. What is the new price?
Zofia understood the maths part—percentages were no issue. But the phrasing of the question in English, with words like “originally” and “on sale for 25% off,” left her confused. She hesitated, unsure of how to approach the problem.
Here is where it gets interesting.
Instead of assuming that Zofia could not grasp the maths because of her English, the teacher gave her a version of the problem in Polish. This was created using Google Translate and checked by another Polish-speaking student. With the question now in her home language, Zofia instantly understood the context and quickly solved the problem. She even went on to explain her work in both Polish and English to her group.
“Like the Tamil-speaking student in science, Zofia’s Polish helped solve the maths problem — not due to lack of ability, but because she had a tool others missed.”
This is a perfect example of how translanguaging works. Instead of treating Zofia’s home language as a barrier to learning, the teacher used it as a tool to support her understanding. It challenged the typical deficit-based thinking, which might assume:
“Oh, she can’t do maths because she struggles with English.”
But Zofia did not need to be “fixed.” She simply needed the space to process the problem in a language she was comfortable with. This allowed her to make deeper connections with the maths concept, reinforcing García and Lin’s argument that home languages are powerful tools for learning, not obstacles.
Zofia’s story shows that translanguaging is not just smart teaching—it’s a social justice issue. When students are allowed to use their home languages, it’s not just about understanding a maths question—it’s about giving every child fair access to learning.
Traditional education often sees non-English speakers as lacking, but that is a deficit view. Zofia was not behind in maths—she just needed to access it in a language she felt confident in. Her teacher recognised this and used her Polish as a bridge, not a barrier.
That simple act made the classroom more equal. Translanguaging challenges exclusion by valuing all a student’s abilities, not just their English. It is about making sure every student can thrive, no matter what language they bring with them. That is what real inclusion and justice in education look like.
Across the globe, education systems have privileged colonial languages (like English) and marginalised home and indigenous languages. Traditional monolingual schooling reinforces these power structures. Translanguaging challenges these structures. It says: all your languages are valid.
- It affirms identity.
- It legitimises lived experience.
- It refuses to treat multilingual learners as ‘lacking’.
As García, Johnson, and Seltzer (2016, cited in Montero & Newmaster, 2019: 471) explain, translanguaging classrooms are:
“Humanising, socially just, equitable, and political.”
They empower students not just to learn, but to thrive.
This is more than a classroom issue — it’s a global one.
UNESCO (2025) promotes mother-tongue-based multilingual education to boost learning outcomes and protect linguistic diversity. Children taught in their mother tongue early on are 30% more likely to stay in school and have 25% higher literacy by age 10. Yet, 40% of the world’s children still learn in a language they don’t speak at home, revealing a major disconnect between research and policy.
In places like sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, translanguaging has emerged naturally as communities switch between local and official languages. However, education policies often prioritise dominant or colonial languages, clashing with what works in practice.
Examples include:
- UK: English-only curriculum limits space for home languages (DfE, 2014).
- India: Three-language policy sidelines regional and tribal languages (Mohanty, 2019).
Still, translanguaging offers hope. In Canada, Montero and Newmaster (2019) found that refugee students thrived when encouraged to use both their home languages and English, gaining confidence, engaging more, and improving academically.
Recognising and using students’ home languages in class isn’t just inclusive—it’s how we make education truly fair and relevant.
As a Teaching Assistant, I see the difference every day. When students feel their language is valued, they open. They learn better.
We have a choice.
We can keep asking students to park their languages at the school gate…
Or we can invite them to bring every part of who they are into our classrooms.
That is what translanguaging is all about.
Lev Vygotsky, a well-known educational psychologist, believed that learning is not something that happens in isolation — it is deeply social. In his Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development (1978), he argued that knowledge is built through interaction with others and using cultural tools, and language is one of the most powerful tools of all.
When students use their home languages to make sense of new ideas, they are not just translating words — they are constructing meaning through the most familiar and emotionally resonant tools they possess. Vygotsky would argue that translanguaging supports learning because it connects the child’s inner world to the social world of the classroom.
At the heart of Vygotsky’s theory is the Zone of Proximal Development —the sweet spot where learners can do more with help than alone. This is where the magic of teaching happens. It is also where language plays a starring role.
When multilingual students use translanguaging—switching between their languages to think, reason, and explain—they do precisely what Vygotsky described: using tools from their social and cultural world (language being a key one) to build understanding. Translanguaging is not a distraction from learning—it’s learning.
García and Lin (2016) argue that translanguaging creates a translanguaging space—a classroom environment where students feel safe and supported to draw on all their linguistic resources to make meaning. This mirrors Vygotsky’s idea that language shapes thought, and that students learn best when they can connect new knowledge to their existing ways of thinking and speaking.
So, no—this’s not just about making students feel good or being culturally sensitive (though those things matter too). It’s about activating real cognitive growth, promoting flexible thinking, sharpening metalinguistic awareness, and improving long-term academic performance.
I have seen this firsthand. A student once explained a maths word problem in Tamil to her friend before answering in English. The process helped her crack the task and boosted her confidence. That is translanguaging in action. That is learning.
This is not just a teaching trick — it’s a justice issue. Denying kids the right to use their languages in school sends a subtle message: your culture does not belong here. Translanguaging says: Yes, it does .
Letting students access and engage with the curriculum more fully promotes equity. When they can use their home language, they are not seen as ‘deficient’ but as capable learners with many resources.
With 16 years of experience working with multilingual SEND learners, I can tell you that these students are constantly translating the world in their heads and hearts.
One of the Year 8 students I support, Kadheeja, mixes Arabic, English, and bits of Somali when she writes. Her notebook is a mix of squiggly letters and neat typed-out sentences. It looks ‘messy’ to some, but to her? It’s how she makes sense of the world.
She once said to me:
“Miss, I understand better when I write in both… I think better this way.”
That hit me.
Why are we trying to tidy up children’s thinking when their way is already working?
Translanguaging reflects their real thinking process. It is not chaos — it is creativity.
Translanguaging is not a trend — it’s how many students live and learn. We need to catch up.
If we want schools to be inclusive, especially for SEND and multilingual learners, we must let them bring their whole selves into the classroom: every language, every accent, every word they know.
So, the next time a child writes in two languages, we may not correct them. Maybe that’s where the real learning begins.
Here’s a table showing how translanguaging supports multilingual learners’ identities, encourages engagement, and highlights its benefits and challenges through a social justice lens.
| What it does | Social Justice | Children’s Experience | Opportunities & Challenges |
| Affirms identities | Values all cultures and languages | Feel respected and included | ✔ Promotes equity ✖ Monolingual school norms resist change |
| Boosts cognitive engagement | Equal access to thinking tools | Think deeply using all languages | ✔ Richer discussions ✖ Teachers may lack training |
| Fosters emotional well-being | Nurtures dignity and confidence | Feel safe and confident to express | ✔ Builds trust ✖ Risk of language shaming |
| Supports academic success | Fights language-based achievement gaps | Learn better and succeed | ✔ Improves performance ✖ Biased assessments |
| Promotes social inclusion | Breaks down language-based segregation | Connect across cultures | ✔ Peer collaboration ✖ Risk of exclusion or bullying |
| Uses full language resources | Treats multilingualism as an asset | Use home languages for real learning | ✔ Dynamic learning ✖ Institutional resistance |
Despite its transformative potential, translanguaging often runs into systemic walls. Resistance doesn’t always come from the classroom—it’s built into the very structures that shape education.
Policy Constraints: Why Policies Block Translanguaging?
- Policy barriers: Systems like the EBacc ignore community languages (DfE, 2021)
- Tests: England’s Year 6 SATs require English-only responses, ignoring students’ multilingual capabilities (DfE, 2023)
- Inspections: Ofsted’s ‘English proficiency’ focus sidelines home language development (Ofsted, 2023)
Translanguaging often clashes with monolingual national policies and standardised assessments rooted in English-only ideologies (Cenoz & Gorter, 2020).
Teacher Preparedness & Training Gaps: Many teachers want to support multilingual students but feel unprepared. Why?
- The Confidence Crisis: 63% of UK teachers lack confidence in teaching multilingual learners (NALDIC, 2021)
- No training: Most programs don’t cover translanguaging strategies
- No Resources: Schools rarely provide bilingual materials or practical guidance for translanguaging.
Result? Teachers default to English-only, not by choice, but because systems fail them.
Language Hierarchies: Even in multilingual classrooms, English is often seen as the default or superior language. This undermines efforts to promote linguistic equality and can lead to the “guilty translanguaging” phenomenon, where students feel shame using their home language (Antony et al., 2024: 203).
The Politics of Assimilation: Language policy is political, with narratives in the U.S. and U.K. often linking multilingualism to division. California’s Proposition 227 banned bilingual education, while some UK policies subtly link English to citizenship and belonging (Gruijters & Kurian, 2023). In this system, maintaining a heritage language becomes an act of resistance. UNESCO (2025) found that mother tongues increase student retention by 30%.
To build an education system that values every child, we need bold change, not just good intentions. This includes:
- Training teachers with effective scaffolding strategies.
- Updating curricula with bilingual content and home-language resources.
- Involving parents and communities in the learning process.
- Rethinking policies to allow schools to adapt translanguaging.
There will be challenges—funding, resistance, and assessment hurdles. But there are opportunities to innovate and create classrooms where every student feels seen, heard, and empowered.
Opportunities:
Despite dominant monolingual policies in many education systems, translanguaging can thrive through thoughtful classroom design. Rowe (2018: 37) outlines six principles—such as valuing home languages, using multilanguage texts, and engaging bilingual audiences—that help emergent bilinguals use their full linguistic repertoires. These strategies offer practical translanguaging opportunities even in restrictive policy environments.
Translanguaging isn’t just a strategy—it’s a statement.
It says: every child’s voice matters, every language belongs, and real inclusion starts with listening.
UNESCO (2025) reminds us why these matters:
“40% of children worldwide are being taught in a language that excludes them from the start.” If, we truly believe in inclusive education, we can’t ignore that warning.
This week, try one simple step: Add a bilingual label, ask students to share a word from home, or plan a translanguaging moment. These small actions can ignite curiosity and deepen learning.
Now, imagine this:
A classroom alive with Polish, Somali, Urdu, Spanish, Malayalam and English.
Where languages flow freely, students feel seen, and learning becomes a shared cultural exchange.
That’s not just inclusion.
That’s justice.
That’s translanguaging.
Let’s stop asking children to park their languages at the school gate.
Let’s roll out the welcome mat—and make every language count.
References
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Antony, S., Ramnath, R. and Ellikkal, A., 2024. Examining Students’ Perspectives on Pedagogical Translanguaging in the Multilingual Classroom Context. IAFOR Journal of Education, 12(1), pp.199-223.
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Developing your argument around stories makes it very interesting and relatable.