Translanguaging and Codeswitching in a Multicultural Classroom

Abstract

Code-switching and translanguaging are common pedagogical phenomena in a multilingual classroom. Code-switching occurs when variation occurs between two codes (languages) between people who share those particular codes. How and the frequency of code-switching is depended on a number of social and linguistic factors. This phenomenon, in the Namibian context with English as the medium of instruction, has distinctive attributes in teaching and learning. The chapter focuses on the experiences of academics on code-switching and translanguaging in multilingual tertiary classrooms. Each phenomenon will be described based on literature that already exists, and views and their potential contributions in multilingual classrooms will be discussed, particularly from the point of view of using alternative means to convey meaning during the teaching of science and Namibian Language.