Abstract

This research focuses on secondary school teachers’ and students’ perceptions towards the use of translanguaging in English language classrooms in Thailand. The research questions are: 1. What are secondary level students’ perceptions towards the use of translanguaging in English language classrooms? 2. What are native English speaker teachers’ perceptions towards the use of translanguaging by secondary level students in English language classrooms? The participants were 363 Thai students and 9 native English speaker teachers. The 363 Thai students who were in secondary level 1, 2, and 3 (equivalent to grade 7, 8, and 9, respectively) were requested to complete the online questionnaire. To obtain qualitative data, nine Thai students and six native English speaker teachers were requested to participate in the online text-based interview. A mixed method approach was used in this study. The instrument for collecting quantitative data was an online 5-Likert scale questionnaire whereas the instrument for collecting qualitative data was an online text-based interview. According to the findings, both Thai students and native English speaker teachers had positive perceptions towards the use of translanguaging in English language classrooms. In addition, translanguaging helped students to understand complex lessons and improve their English communication skills. However, students did not use the native language to respond to the teacher’s questions or ask permission from the teacher very often. The research recommends that teachers implement translanguaging to enhance their English teaching effectiveness, and students were suggested to use translanguaging to enhance their English learning competency.

Keywords: Mixed method, Native English teachers, Perceptions, Secondary level Thai students, Translanguaging