Engaging Students in Learning and Creating Different Translanguaging Sub-Spaces in English Medium Instruction Classrooms
Professor Kevin W. H. Tai
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education
The University of Hong Kong
As we are catering lunch at Ezone, please RSVP (email to: english@cuhk.edu.hk) to indicate whether you will be staying after the talk for lunch so we know how much food to order. Please inform us by replying to this email by 26th November.
***All are welcome***
Abstract:
Translanguaging is an emerging concept within the Applied Linguistics and Language Education field, and it has the potential to promote equity and social justice. As a theory of language, translanguaging encourages both teachers and students to utilize their diverse multilingual and multimodal resources. This approach challenges traditional configurations, categories, and power structures in language education, aiming to equalize the hierarchy of languages in the classroom and facilitate students’ active participation in constructing new meanings and language practices.
In this presentation, I aim to broaden our comprehension of an English Medium Instruction (EMI) classroom as an integrated translanguaging space, which involves various fluid and mobile translanguaging sub-spaces. I will present EMI classroom video data that illustrates the process of engaging students affords the EMI history teacher to create different translanguaging sub-spaces at a whole-class level and at an individual level. It is argued that creating these translanguaging sub-spaces requires the history teacher to mobilise available resources for catering for the different needs of all students, which promotes interaction and inclusion in the classrooms.
Bio:
Professor Kevin W. H. Tai is Assistant Professor of English Language Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education (CAISE) at the Faculty of Education in The University of Hong Kong. Additionally, he is Honorary Research Fellow at IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society in University College London (UCL). He was recently awarded the RGC Early Career Award (ECA) in 2023/24 from the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong and the Faculty Early Career Research Output Award from the Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong for recognising his excellent achievements in research. In relation to his editorial positions, Kevin Tai is Editor of The Language Learning Journal (ESCI-listed Journal; Routledge), Assistant Editor of the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (SSCI-listed Journal; Routledge) and Managing Guest Editor of Learning and Instruction (SSCI-listed Journal; Elsevier). His research interests include: language education policy, classroom discourse, translanguaging in multilingual contexts and qualitative research methods (particularly Multimodal Conversation Analysis, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Linguistic Ethnography). Kevin Tai is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
