Dalarna University's logo and link to the university's website

This presentation addresses language alternation in English-medium instruction (EMI) lessons as related to the concept of translanguaging, with a focus on the practices and perspectives of teachers and students in two Swedish schools offering EMI. The research questions were as follows:

1) What patterns of language alternation can be found in the EMI classroom?

2) What are the functions of language alternation in the EMI classroom?

3) How do teachers and students view the use of English and Swedish in these classrooms?

The studies, based in linguistic ethnography, included classroom observations and interviews with teachers and students in one elementary school classroom and one high school classroom, as well as the collection of artifacts (e.g. lesson plans). In the thematic analysis of the rich data, key concepts emerged, including the notions of affordances and constraints, agency and translanguaging.

The results indicate that language alternation is viewed as an affordance, allowing access to subject content and subject-specific language. Additionally, language choices reveal teacher and student agency in the EMI lessons. Teachers and students may use Swedish and English based on school policy as well as de facto classroom policies, although perspectives on language choice vary. In the elementary school, peer collaboration in Swedish provides support for comprehension and facilitates communication. Use of Swedish is, however, seen by the teacher as a constraint when it resists classroom policies. In the high school, the practice of translanguaging is not explicitly promoted, but is nonetheless a strategic feature of EMI. 

While this multiple case study may not be generalizable to all EMI, the results suggest broader implications in terms of how both implicit and explicit language policies are implemented in classrooms. Awareness of the possibilities presented by the process of translanguaging may provide educators with a meaningful tool for the development of bilingual pedagogies.