Enhancing reading comprehension skills among Bhutanese English learners through translanguaging

Translanguaging has recently emerged as a prominent field of study. Despite its growing popularity, its impact on students’ reading comprehension skills remains largely unexplored. This study employed a quasi-experimental research design to examine the impact of translanguaging on students’ reading...

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Main Authors: Thinley Wangdi, Amit Rai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universitas Syiah Kuala 2024-09-01
Series:Studies in English Language and Education
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Online Access:https://jurnal.usk.ac.id/SiELE/article/view/37882
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author Thinley Wangdi
Amit Rai
author_facet Thinley Wangdi
Amit Rai
author_sort Thinley Wangdi
collection DOAJ
description Translanguaging has recently emerged as a prominent field of study. Despite its growing popularity, its impact on students’ reading comprehension skills remains largely unexplored. This study employed a quasi-experimental research design to examine the impact of translanguaging on students’ reading comprehension performance. The study also examined students’ perceptions of translanguaging to gain a deeper understanding of translanguaging’s potential impact. Data were gathered through pre-and post-tests, questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and observations. A sample of 56 Bhutanese school students (33 males, 23 females) were purposely recruited and divided into two groups: the experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught using the translanguaging approach, while the control group followed a monolingual approach. The findings, based on the comparison of pre-and post-test scores between the two groups, revealed that the translanguaging group significantly outperformed the monolingual group in their post-test scores despite a negligible difference in pre-test scores. This suggests that translanguaging could be an effective teaching approach to enhancing students’ reading comprehension skills. Furthermore, despite the dominant position of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in the context, most students perceived translanguaging as an effective pedagogical practice. They reported that it allowed them to freely use their language repertoire to discuss and learn new vocabulary and difficult content, improved their confidence to participate in classroom discussions, and enhanced lesson comprehension. This study concludes with practical implications and suggestions for future research.
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spelling doaj-art-6493a1c64cb34a4fa67f4e64390ae5732025-01-28T10:47:38ZengUniversitas Syiah KualaStudies in English Language and Education2355-27942461-02752024-09-011131473149210.24815/siele.v11i3.3788218951Enhancing reading comprehension skills among Bhutanese English learners through translanguagingThinley Wangdi0Amit Rai1Walailak UniversityMinistry of Education and Skills DevelopmentTranslanguaging has recently emerged as a prominent field of study. Despite its growing popularity, its impact on students’ reading comprehension skills remains largely unexplored. This study employed a quasi-experimental research design to examine the impact of translanguaging on students’ reading comprehension performance. The study also examined students’ perceptions of translanguaging to gain a deeper understanding of translanguaging’s potential impact. Data were gathered through pre-and post-tests, questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and observations. A sample of 56 Bhutanese school students (33 males, 23 females) were purposely recruited and divided into two groups: the experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught using the translanguaging approach, while the control group followed a monolingual approach. The findings, based on the comparison of pre-and post-test scores between the two groups, revealed that the translanguaging group significantly outperformed the monolingual group in their post-test scores despite a negligible difference in pre-test scores. This suggests that translanguaging could be an effective teaching approach to enhancing students’ reading comprehension skills. Furthermore, despite the dominant position of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in the context, most students perceived translanguaging as an effective pedagogical practice. They reported that it allowed them to freely use their language repertoire to discuss and learn new vocabulary and difficult content, improved their confidence to participate in classroom discussions, and enhanced lesson comprehension. This study concludes with practical implications and suggestions for future research.https://jurnal.usk.ac.id/SiELE/article/view/37882challengesefl student teacherenglish-only instructionteaching practicum
spellingShingle Thinley Wangdi
Amit Rai
Enhancing reading comprehension skills among Bhutanese English learners through translanguaging
Studies in English Language and Education
challenges
efl student teacher
english-only instruction
teaching practicum
title Enhancing reading comprehension skills among Bhutanese English learners through translanguaging
title_full Enhancing reading comprehension skills among Bhutanese English learners through translanguaging
title_fullStr Enhancing reading comprehension skills among Bhutanese English learners through translanguaging
title_full_unstemmed Enhancing reading comprehension skills among Bhutanese English learners through translanguaging
title_short Enhancing reading comprehension skills among Bhutanese English learners through translanguaging
title_sort enhancing reading comprehension skills among bhutanese english learners through translanguaging
topic challenges
efl student teacher
english-only instruction
teaching practicum
url https://jurnal.usk.ac.id/SiELE/article/view/37882
work_keys_str_mv AT thinleywangdi enhancingreadingcomprehensionskillsamongbhutaneseenglishlearnersthroughtranslanguaging
AT amitrai enhancingreadingcomprehensionskillsamongbhutaneseenglishlearnersthroughtranslanguaging