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Article In: Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts: Online-First Articles

Navigating policy and practice

A hierarchical model of translanguaging for CFL at Mali’s Confucius Institute

ORCiD logo with link | Xiamen UniversityXiamen
ORCiD logo with link | Xiamen UniversityXiamen
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Abstract
This article delves into how institutional and cultural factors influence translanguaging in Chinese classes at Mali’s Confucius Institute, using Hornberger, Nancy. H. 2002. Multilingual language policies and the continua of biliteracy: An ecological approach. Language Policy, 1 (1), 27–51. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar ecological approach, Bourdieu, Pierre. 1991. Language and Symbolic Power. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar linguistic capital, and García, Ofelia, and Li Wei. 2014. Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar translanguaging theory. Data from interviews with 20 teachers, document reviews, classroom observations, and a learner questionnaire (N = 56) reveal a tension: policies favour Chinese-only instruction, yet teachers use informal translanguaging to connect with students. Cultural hierarchies complicate this: French as a “code for cognition,” Bamanankan as a “code for connection,” and local languages remain marginalised. Drawing on systematic observation coding (187 translanguaging events across three classroom sessions) and conversation analysis of representative episodes, the study proposes a Hierarchical Translanguaging Model for CFL to address layered postcolonial hierarchies and design graded language scaffolding, balancing immersion and multilingual support without abandoning core Chinese practice. These insights emphasise the need for policy reforms, improved teacher training, and culturally responsive resources to legitimise translanguaging in CFL.
摘要
本文以 Hornberger, Nancy. H. 2002. Multilingual language policies and the continua of biliteracy: An ecological approach. Language Policy, 1 (1), 27–51. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar的语言生态观、Bourdieu, Pierre. 1991. Language and Symbolic Power. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar的语言资本理论以及 García, Ofelia, and Li Wei. 2014. Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar的超语实践理论为框架，探讨制度因素与文化因素如何影响马里孔子学院汉语课堂中的超语实践。研究基于对20名教师的访谈、教学文献分析、课堂观察以及面向56名汉语学习者的标准化问卷调查，揭示了制度政策与课堂实践之间的深层张力：官方政策倾向于全中文沉浸式教学，而教师在实际教学中普遍采用非正式的多语辅助策略以促进师生互动。文化语言层级进一步加剧了这一复杂性——法语承担“认知代码”功能，班巴拉语发挥“联结代码”作用，而其他本土语言则处于边缘化地位。通过对三次课堂录像中187个超语事件进行系统编码，并结合对代表性教学片段的会话分析，本研究提出了适用于汉语作为外语教学（CFL）的层级化超语实践模型。该模型旨在回应后殖民语境下的语言层级结构，并设计梯度化语言支架方案，在坚持汉语核心实践的同时，实现沉浸式教学与多语支持之间的动态平衡。研究结果表明，亟需推进教学政策改革、完善多语师资培训，并开发契合本土文化的教学资源，以实现超语实践在汉语教学中的制度化认可。
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Translanguaging theory
    • 2.2Cultural factors and language hierarchies
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Research setting and participants
    • 3.2Data collection and analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Institutional factors and their implementation gaps (RQ1)
    • 4.2How multilingual practices support learning: Qualitative and quantitative evidence (RQ2)
    • 4.3The functional roles of languages and their pedagogical applications (RQ3)
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
References (46)
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