Promoting De-colonizing Pedagogy through Translanguaging

Promoting De-colonizing Pedagogy through Translanguaging

Professor Fan Fang
Professor of Applied Linguistics, Shantou University

May 8, 2024 (Wednesday)
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Room 408-410, Meng Wah Complex, HKU (and Zoom)
Chair:   Professor Kevin W. H. Tai

Registration:https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_regform.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=93962

Zoom Link:https://hku.zoom.us/j/98363952537?pwd=K0E5MStTYjFLQmM3WlhqbnFpdEJmdz09
Meeting ID: 983 6395 2537       Password: 010069

Abstract:
This talk discusses the role of English as a global language and its implications in education, particularly in higher education settings. It delves into the concept of translanguaging, which involves using multiple linguistic and multimodal resources to facilitate understanding and enhance multilingual literacy. Through a case study, the questionnaire results showed that although the respondents slightly preferred English-only practice, they found it difficult to implement it and would resort to translanguaging practices, confirming an inconsistency between language ideologies and language practices. The observation findings revealed the adoption of translanguaging for meaning comprehension, terminology explanation and translation of local elements, while interview findings revealed three types of student participants, i.e. believers, sceptics, and inbetweeners, towards translanguaging practice in EMI courses. In contrast, most of the teachers held a favourable stance towards the English-only practice in EMI courses. While the participants all regarded translanguaging practices as facilitators for language and content learning, they believed that hierarchical relationships do not exist among languages. The talk concludes by advocating for a reconsideration of language policies to promote translanguaging pedagogies to a de-colonized pedagogy in order to challenge linguistic inequality, and embrace the multilingual reality of students.

About the speaker:
Fan Fang obtained his PhD from the Centre for Global Englishes, University of Southampton, UK. He is Professor of Applied Linguistics at College of Liberal Arts, Shantou University, China. He is among the World’s Top 2% most-cited scientists 2022 by Stanford University and a highly cited scholar on Elsevier’s list in 2021, 2022 and 2023. His research interests include applied linguistics, language attitude, identity, intercultural communication and language education. He has published articles in journals including Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Cambridge Journal of Education, ELT Journal, English Today, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Language, Culture and Curriculum, Language Teaching Research, Lingua, RELC Journal, System, TESOL Quarterly, among others. His recent books include a monograph titled Re-positioning accent attitude in the Global Englishes paradigm (Routledge) and edited volumes titled Critical Perspectives on Global Englishes in Asia: Language Policy, Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment (2019, co-edited with Dr Handoyo Widodo), Policies, Politics, and Ideologies of English Medium Instruction in Asian Universities: Unsettling Critical Edges (2023, co-edited with Dr Pramod K. Sah) and English-Medium Instruction Pedagogies in Multilingual Universities in Asia (2024, co-edited with Dr Pramod K. Sah).

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