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Introduction

Most school-based research is conducted monolingually. But in , and international contexts such as , a significant, and increasing, number of school pupils are multilingual. It is now almost a given that research in schools will involve multilingual pupils who have a first language other than English. Monolingual (for instance English-only) research methods risk gathering partial data and marginalising the voices of these pupils. Researchers must therefore consider how to equitably and . Taking a translanguaging stance offers possibilities for a way forward.

Taking a translanguaging stance

The term translanguaging emerged several decades ago from Cen Williams’s research on the intentional use of two languages to support classroom learning in Welsh bilingual education (Lewis et al., 2012). Translanguaging theory has since developed as a perspective on how multilingual learners instinctively draw on all the linguistic and diverse semiotic resources (such as visuals, gestures) available to them in meaning making and communication (Li, 2018). Teachers take a translanguaging stance when they seek to legitimise and support multilingual learners’ use of their entire repertoire of multilingual and multimodal resources in pedagogy and curricula (Seltzer et al., 2025). This provides multilingual pupils with more equitable opportunities to learn and to demonstrate their learning. It also recognises multilingual pupils’ full identities, supporting their wellbeing and sense of belonging.

‘Taking a translanguaging stance in research means creating opportunities for multilingual pupils to participate by drawing on their full multilingual, multisemiotic repertoire.’

Taking a translanguaging stance in research means creating opportunities for multilingual pupils to participate by drawing on their full multilingual, multisemiotic repertoire. It does not mean confining multilingual learners to contributing through their first language; it means supporting them to flexibly and autonomously choose how to best represent themselves. Translanguaging-informed research methods are increasingly common in studies focused on multilingual learners, yet remain emergent when multilingual pupils participate in research on broad educational issues involving all pupils. Multilingual pupils have a right to equitable participation and representation in all school-based research.

Enacting a translanguaging stance in research

Enacting a translanguaging stance goes further than providing multilingual information sheets and consent forms. It is embedded throughout research design, data collection, analysis and reporting. Some examples might include:

• Providing instructions or questions (such as interviews) in multiple languages or with translations of the key words in each question. This supports multilingual pupils to choose how they flexibly work with multiple languages to understand what a researcher is asking them to do during data collection activities.
• Multimodal data collection practices (such as creating visuals, art or videos). This supports multilingual pupils to draw on a wider range of communicative resources, potentially supporting them to contribute richer and more in-depth data.
• Working with professional, non-professional or peer interpreters. Creating spaces for multilingual pupils to choose how they might collaboratively build meaning with others may assist them to communicate in greater detail.
• Reporting results multilingually such as presenting a pupil’s quote side-by-side in their first language and English. This sends an important message about pupils’ first languages being valued equally alongside English and may support multilingual communities to engage with the findings.

Decisions in translanguaging informed research should be made in collaboration with multilingual pupils themselves and school communities. Some multilingual pupils might value recognition of their full semiotic repertoire but prefer to use English. Some opportunities may also be constrained by funding. However, ethical and equitable alternatives can be found such as multimodal data collection and collaboration between peer interpreters.

Conclusion

Taking a translanguaging stance to support more equitable school-based research is becoming a necessity in countries including Northern Ireland, England and Australia. This blog post offers some ideas for how researchers might embed translanguaging in their work. The best place to start is by asking multilingual pupils themselves.

References

Lewis, G., Jones, B., & Baker, C. (2012). Translanguaging: Origins and development from school to street and beyond. Educational Research and Evaluation, 18(7), 641–654.

Li, W. (2018). Translanguaging as a practical theory of language. Applied Linguistics, 39(1), 9–30.

Seltzer, K., Johnson, S. I., & García, O. (2025). The translanguaging classroom: Leveraging student bilingualism for learning (2nd ed.). Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.