Identifiable Strategies of Translanguaging in Standardized Test Scores: Insights from Multilingual English Language Classrooms

Abstract

Aim of the Study: The purpose of the study was to examine the application of translanguaging by multilingual Pakistani students with a focus on determining impact imparted on the standardized test scores, self-reported performance. When understanding the impact, the study considered the contextual information such as medium of instruction and mother tongue of the students.

Methodology: To collect data from a sample size of the 300 secondary students in Pakitan having diversified educational and linguistic backgrounds. To collect data, a online survey form with likert scale items on translanguaging practices, metacognitive strategies and perceived impact of the translanguaging on the exam performance. Inferential statistics were used to analyze the collected data in SPSS.

Findings: It was revealed that the strategies of translanguaging varied little between the preparation of the tests and the actual test, indicating that the concept of translanguaging was entrenched in the cognitive processing. Those students who had found institutional language policies to be supportive in translanguaging reported a high rate of confidence and self-reported exam success (r =.333, p <.01). It should be mentioned that the type of school or the native language of students had no significant effects on the frequency or the perceptions of the translanguaging according to independent t-tests and ANOVA, which can be explained by the fact that translanguaging is a universal and student-driven process that cuts across the structural educational boundaries.

Conclusion: The study concludes that the educational policy makers and the assessment developers must undertake a radical transformation of the evaluation structures in order to be linguistically accommodative and pedagogically responsive. In order to develop more valid translation-based testing that is more reflective of the capabilities of multilingual learners, it is important to acknowledge the idea of translanguaging as a potential strategic asset.