This qualitative case study examines how three English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers in a Chinese international high school negotiated Chinese-English translanguaging and English-only expectations through the lens of humanizing pedagogy. Drawing on classroom observations and teacher interviews, the study used inductive and deductive coding and thematic analysis through constant comparison. The analysis yielded three major findings: (1) the necessity, rationales and effects of translanguaging practices, (2) the enactment of humanizing practices through translanguaging, and (3) the constant self-debate among teachers regarding the use of translanguaging practices in the classroom. Chinese-English translanguaging functioned not only as linguistic support for vocabulary, grammar, and content comprehension, but also as a humanizing practice that expanded students' access to meaning, supported participation, drew on students' background knowledge, and fostered relational care. Teachers' self-debate further revealed the influence of English-only expectations and native-speaker ideology. The study contributes to multilingual education by showing how translanguaging can operate as a humanizing practice while remaining shaped by institutional language ideologies and teachers' beliefs about English exposure, student dependence, and legitimate classroom language use.
Vocabulary size is widely recognized as a strong predictor of language proficiency and academic achievement, yet little research has examined its development in minority-language schooling contexts. This study investigated receptive German vocabulary among 193 fifth- and sixth-grade students in Romansh-medium elementary schools in Graub & uuml;nden, Switzerland. Using the standardized German Vocabulary Size Test (VST), we analyzed the influence of home language and compared students from Romansh-medium schools with a German-speaking comparison group from a German-medium school (n = 31). The results showed that students with L1 Romansh, L1 German, or bilingual Romansh - German backgrounds in Romansh-medium schools possessed receptive German vocabularies of approximately 4,000-5,000 words, corresponding to CEFR level B2 and sufficient for secondary-level academic learning. In contrast, students whose home languages included neither German nor Romansh scored significantly lower, averaging 1,000-2,000 words - levels insufficient for understanding academic texts. Statistical analyses confirmed a significant effect of home language, while L1 German students in Romansh-medium schools did not differ significantly from their peers in their German-medium comparison group. These findings demonstrate the relative success of Romansh-medium education in fostering German academic vocabulary, while underscoring the urgent need for targeted German language support for students from other linguistic backgrounds.
This qualitative study, conducted at a public university in southwestern T & uuml;rkiye, in the Mediterranean Region, investigated the impact of a targeted sociolinguistics course, "Teaching English in Multicultural and Multilingual Classrooms," on the awareness of 22 pre-service EFL teachers regarding translanguaging pedagogy. The participants were fourth-year students enrolled in an English Language Teaching (ELT) program, a context in which courses on bilingualism and multilingualism are typically offered as electives and remain limited. As prospective teachers in T & uuml;rkiye, a country characterized by substantial linguistic diversity due to established minority communities (e.g. Kurdish and Arabic speakers), these pre-service teachers are highly likely to encounter multilingual learners in their future classrooms. Data were gathered via pre- and post-course open-ended scenario-based questionnaires, complemented by three focus group interviews. Qualitative thematic analysis of the scenario responses revealed a marked shift in participants' pedagogical reasoning, moving from monolingual, deficit-oriented perspectives toward flexible, student-centered translanguaging approaches. Focus-group discussions further elucidated evolving perceptions, a growing multilingual ideology, and the practical challenges anticipated in real classroom contexts. The findings underscore the necessity of comprehensive teacher education to challenge monolingual ideologies. By providing theoretical foundations and opportunities for reflective engagement, such programs equip educators to implement translanguaging effectively, fostering inclusive and equitable environments for multilingual learners.
Originally introduced as a translation of Fishman's notion of "breathing spaces," the concept of arnasgune has become influential in Basque sociolinguistics, language policy and media discourse. Despite its prominence, its development and changing meanings have received little systematic attention. This article examines the development of arnasgune through a qualitative analysis of academic literature, institutional and legal documents, and newspaper articles, tracing how the concept has been defined, debated and recontextualised across different domains over time. The findings show that arnasgune gradually developed a distinct trajectory from Fishman's original formulation and became closely associated with territories characterized by high densities of Basque speakers, strong transmission and the communal use of the language. This contrasts with the English-language literature on "breathing spaces" produced by Basque researchers, which has developed primarily within educational research to refer to socio-functional settings that promote minority language use. At the same time, arnasgune expanded beyond its original socio-territorial meaning and came to be applied to a wide range of socio-functional and metaphorical contexts. The article identifies an ongoing tension between a dominant socio-territorial interpretation and more flexible understandings of the concept, illustrating how conceptual change reflects broader sociolinguistic and cultural transformations.
