In e na ional Jou nal o Mul ilingualism
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The case o a pedagogical anslanguaging
in e en ion in a ilingual p ima y school: he
s uden s’ oice
Oihana Leone & Eide Sa ague a
To ci e his a icle: Oihana Leone & Eide Sa ague a (2024) The case o a pedagogical
anslanguaging in e en ion in a ilingual p ima y school: he s uden s’ oice, In e na ional
Jou nal o Mul ilingualism, 21:4, 2112-2130, DOI: 10.1080/14790718.2023.2224009
To link o his a icle: h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/14790718.2023.2224009
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The case o a pedagogical anslanguaging in e en ion in a
ilingual p ima y school: he s uden s’ oice
Oihana Leone and Eide Sa ague a
Depa men o Educa ional Sciences, Facul y o Educa ion, Philosophy and An h opology, Uni e si y o he
Basque Coun y, UPV/EHU, Donos ia-San Sebas ián, Spain
ABSTRACT
Al hough anslanguaging has become a cen al issue in he
mul ilingual educa ion li e a u e, esea ch on pedagogical
anslanguaging p ac ices emains unde de eloped. This a icle
desc ibes a s udy o 72 p ima y school s uden s (age = 10.68) who
pa icipa ed in an in e en ion based on anslanguaging
pedagogies. Du ing he in e en ion, he bounda ies be ween
Basque, Spanish, and English we e pu pose ully and sys ema ically
so ened o de elop he s uden s’communica i e compe ence in
he h ee languages. The s udy adop ed a quali a i e app oach o
explo e he pedagogical alidi y o anslanguaging. Focus g oup
discussions we e conduc ed as well as class oom obse a ion in
he Basque, Spanish and English language subjec s. Quali a i e
Con en Analysis was conduc ed o analyze he da a. In addi ion,
we analyzed anslanguaging ma e ials comple ed by s uden s o
gain a be e unde s anding o hei pe o mance. The esul s a e
discussed in e ms o specific anslanguaging s a egies designed
o he in e en ion and show an inc ease in s uden s’
me alinguis ic awa eness in he h ee languages. S uden s ound
pedagogical anslanguaging use ul since i acili a es language
compa ison and scaffolds unde s anding and w i en p oduc ion.
In addi ion, hey ound ocabula y s a egies pa icula ly beneficial
o scaffolding o eign language lea ning. Finally, implica ions o
he u u e de elopmen o anslanguaging p ac ices and esea ch
a e b ieflydiscussed.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Recei ed 28 July 2022
Accep ed 31 May 2023
KEYWORDS
T anslanguaging;
scaffolding; me alinguis ic
awa eness; mul ilingual
educa ion
In oduc ion
A numbe o au ho s ha e epo ed he benefi s o so ening bounda ies be ween
languages in he class oom (e.g. Cenoz & Go e , 2015; Cummins, 2017; Ga cía & Wei,
2014), shi ing away om monolingual concep ions abou language eaching o mo e
ecological eaching and lea ning p ac ices (Ho nbe ge , 2005). The e m anslanguaging
has a ac ed conside able a en ion in he scien ific communi y s udying mul ilingualism
© 2023 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial-NoDe i a i es License
(h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which pe mi s non-comme cial e-use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any
medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed, and is no al e ed, ans o med, o buil upon in any way. The e ms on which
his a icle has been published allow he pos ing o he Accep ed Manusc ip in a eposi o y by he au ho (s) o wi h hei consen .
CONTACT Oihana Leone [email p o ec ed] Depa men o Educa ional Sciences, Facul y o Educa ion,
Philosophy and An h opology, Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y, UPV/EHU, Tolosa Hi ibidea 70, 20018 Donos ia-San
Sebas ián, Spain
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUALISM
2024, VOL. 21, NO. 4, 2112–2130
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/14790718.2023.2224009
and language acquisi ion and nowadays, as poin ed ou by Leung and Valdés (2019),
‘ anslanguaging is a mul i ace ed and a mul i-laye ed polysemic e m’(p. 365). Fo he
pu poses o he cu en a icle, we ocus on he pedagogical use o anslanguaging, ol-
lowing he o iginal use o he e m in Wales (Lewis e al., 2012) and go a s ep u he o
explo e new pedagogical p ac ices. These pedagogical s a egies encou age s uden s o
use hei mul ilingual epe oi e o aise me alinguis ic awa eness and benefi om hei
mul ilingualism (Cenoz & San os, 2020; Leone e al., 2020). In any case, as s a e by Tu n-
bull and Dailey-O’Cain (2009, p. 4), ‘ he e is a blind accep ance o he no ion ha exclusi e
a ge -language use is he bes p ac ice’, and his is he no m in mos mul ilingual edu-
ca ional con ex s (O casi as-Vicandi & Leone , 2022). The p esen s udy aimed o
p esen he oices o a g oup o p ima y s uden s who pa icipa ed in an in e en ion
based on pedagogical anslanguaging. Fi s , we define he concep o pedagogical ans-
languaging and e iew he main s udies and pedagogical p ac ices in he a ea, a e
which we desc ibe a case s udy o a pedagogical in e en ion applied o 5 h and 6
h
g ade p ima y s uden s a a ilingual school in he Basque Au onomous Communi y.
Second, in he me hod sec ion, he con ex o he s udy is desc ibed ollowed by pa ici-
pan s, ins umen s and da a collec ion, and analysis. Thi d, he esul s o he s udy a e
explained in e ms o specific anslanguaging s a egies designed o he in e en ion.
Fo ha , we ha e ga he ed mul ilingual s uden s’me alinguis ic eflec ions while de el-
oping language compe ence in a fluid linguis ic pedagogical en i onmen . The a icle
concludes wi h a discussion, including sugges ed implica ions o he u u e de elopmen
o anslanguaging p ac ices and esea ch.
Defining pedagogical anslanguaging
In he cu en s udy, a pedagogical anslanguaging in e en ion was designed o de elop
p ima y s uden s’communica i e compe ence in Basque, Spanish, and English. Cenoz and
Go e (2021) desc ibe pedagogical anslanguaging as planned ins uc ional s a egies
based on he s uden ’s en i e linguis ic epe oi e. The eache plans hese s a egies o
be implemen ed inside he class oom so ha lea ne s benefi om hei mul ilingualism.
The e o e, pedagogical anslanguaging p ac ices include a ious ins uc ional s a egies
based on c oss-linguis ic compa ison wi h he aim o de eloping mul ilingualism and mul i-
li e acy. Conce ning his defini ion, Cenoz and Go e (2021) highligh he ollowing heo -
e ical concep s ela ed o pedagogical anslanguaging ha a e ele an and in insically
connec ed o ou s udy: P io knowledge, scaffolding, and connec ed g owe s.
The e is b oad consensus ha lea ning is enhanced by building on lea ne s’p io
knowledge (B ans o d e al., 2000). As desc ibed by B ans od and colleagues, p io knowl-
edge e e s o he p e-exis ing knowledge ha a s uden possesses due o hei p e ious
expe ience and includes hei cul u al and social knowledge de i ed om hei social
oles. Rega ding pedagogical anslanguaging (Cenoz & Go e , 2021), p io knowledge
includes p e ious in o ma ion abou ocabula y, g amma , p agma ics, and social
aspec s as well as belie s abou he languages in hei epe oi e. I also e e s o he
unde s anding o how hese languages wo k, ha is, he me alinguis ic awa eness o s u-
den s due o hei p e ious language lea ning expe iences. The ma e ials designed o he
cu en s udy aimed o capi alise on s uden s’p e ious linguis ic knowledge by b eaking
bounda ies be ween he languages and allowing me alinguis ic eflec ion ac oss hem.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUALISM 2113
In u n, one o he unc ions o pedagogical anslanguaging is o p o ide scaffolding
as a way o de eloping s uden s’mul ilingual epe oi e, al hough i goes beyond his
pu pose (Cenoz & Go e , 2021). Ga cía (2009) no es ha bilingual eaching s a egies
play a scaffolding unc ion, pa icula ly when used wi h new speake s (see also Jones &
Lewis, 2014). This concep o igina es om he wo k o B une , who defined scaffolding
as ollows: ‘A p ocess o “se ing up” he si ua ion o make he child’s en y easy and suc-
cess ul and hen g adually pulling back and handling he ole o he child as he becomes
skilled enough o manage i ’(B une , 1983, p. 60). Scaffolding is, he e o e, a esou ce
offe ed o e a limi ed ime ame. Once he s uden s ha e in e nalised he knowledge,
i.e. hey can mas e he ac ion p e iously pe o med wi h he help o an expe , he
suppo is hen emo ed. In he cu en s udy, anslanguaging is ega ded as a pedago-
gical ool, and he e o e some o he anslanguaging p ac ices desc ibed la e can be
unde s ood as scaffolding. Wi h anslanguaging p ac ices we e e o specific didac ic
s a egies and ac i i ies in ended o de elop s uden s’mul ilingual epe oi e a he
han named languages in hei epe oi e (see Felle , 2022).
In he p esen s udy, we ha e pu pose ully used he s uden s’s onge languages o
de eloping hei linguis ic compe ence in he o eign language. Based on lea ning he-
o ies in cogni i e psychology, Cummins and Pe sad (2014) ad oca e using he L1
wi hin he class oom. They explain ha as he new knowledge is buil on exis ing cogni-
i e s uc u es, he use o L1 p o ides an oppo uni y o s uden s o ac i a e and expand
exis ing concep ual knowledge. This is pa icula ly ele an o new language lea ne s
because hei linguis ic backg ound knowledge is encoded in hei L1. T anslanguaging
pedagogies –as desc ibed in hei Welsh o igins –aim o o ganise and media e men al
p ocesses such as he assimila ion and accommoda ion o in o ma ion and choosing
and selec ing om he b ain s o age sys ems o communica e in speaking and w i ing.
In u n, Swain and Lapkin (2013) discuss he no ion ha using he L1 in second language
lea ning acili a es cogni i e and me acogni i e skills ha a e essen ial in he lea ning
p ocess (see also Tu nbull & Dailey-O’Cain, 2009) and he e o e con ibu e o he unde -
s anding o challenging and complex lea ning con en . Howe e , acco ding o Swain and
Lapkin, as s uden s (2013) become p oficien in he a ge language, i s use should be
inc eased o ensu e exposu e. Aside om sociocul u al heo y, scaffolding is also linked
o dynamic sys ems heo y due o i s dynamic na u e (Van Gee & S eenbeek, 2005).
Finally, Kupe s e al. (2017) s a e ha scaffolding acili a es s uden s’agency and au on-
omous wo k.
The hi d heo e ical concep ela ed o he p esen s udy is connec ed g owe s, which
was fi s used in dynamic sys ems heo y o explain lea ning and de elopmen p ocesses
(Van Gee , 1994). The concep has since been applied o a ious a eas such as language
lea ning and mul ilingualism o desc ibe he complex, nonlinea , and dynamic na u e o
language de elopmen (He dina & Jessne , 2002). F om a mul ilingual pe spec i e, Cenoz
and Go e (2011) desc ibe connec ed g owe s as skills in diffe en languages ha a e con-
nec ed o one ano he . Fo example, in a s udy wi h s uden s who we e lea ning Basque,
Spanish, and English, hey ound ha he skills used o o ganise con en o o s uc u e a
ex in one language we e connec ed o he de elopmen o hese skills in he o he
languages. The e o e, ollowing Cenoz and Go e (2021), he in e en ion designed o
he cu en s udy uses pedagogical anslanguaging o iden i y connec ed g owe s
2114 OIHANA LEONET AND EIDER SARAGUETA
ac oss languages wi h he aim o acili a ing a mo e efficien de elopmen o a mul ilin-
gual epe oi e.
T anslanguaging s a egies and p ac ices
Since i s o igins in Wales, he concep o anslanguaging has gained wide accep ance in
he bilingual and mul ilingual educa ion esea ch li e a u e (Cenoz & Go e , 2021). None-
heless, anslanguaging p ac ices in he class oom ha e no p og essed o he same
ex en and emain unde de eloped a he pedagogical le el (Canaga ajah, 2011). Pedago-
gical anslanguaging can be used in language and con en classes, and can ake many
o ms. Cenoz and Go e (2021) ha e placed pedagogical anslanguaging p ac ices
in o ou ca ego ies acco ding o he na u e o he pedagogical in e en ion and he
use o diffe en languages wi hin he lea ning ask: (1) Enhancing me alinguis ic awa e-
ness, (2) Use o whole linguis ic epe oi e, (3) In eg a ed language cu iculum, and (4)
anslanguaging shi s. The axonomy p oposed by Cenoz and Go e (2021) accu a ely
cap u es he diffe en didac ic and o ganisa ional s a egies ha we e implemen ed in
he in e en ion desc ibed la e in he me hods sec ions.
Acco ding o Cenoz and Go e (2021, p. 31) he s onges o m o pedagogical ans-
languaging includes hose p ac ices ha ‘aim o de elop me alinguis ic awa eness by
ac i a ing p io knowledge and iden i ying connec ed g owe s so ha s uden s can
make mo e p og ess in he de elopmen o hei mul ilingual skills’. These p ac ices
can be designed a he phone ic, lexical, mo phosyn ac ic, p agma ic, and discou se
le els (Cenoz & Go e , 2021; Leone e al., 2020). Cenoz and San os (2020) conduc ed a
s udy on pedagogical anslanguaging wi h p ima y and seconda y educa ion eache s
in he Basque educa ional sys em. These au ho s employed h ee examples o pedagogi-
cal anslanguaging s a egies in ol ing Basque, Spanish, and English in class. The fi s
example used cogna es in he science class o imp o e ocabula y building and
eading comp ehension. In he second example, a sequence o ac i i ies we e used o
de elop syn ac ic awa eness by compa ing syn ac ic ea u es o he h ee languages.
Finally, in he hi d example, s uden s comple ed a ious anslanguaging ac i i ies
such as eading and w i ing ex s, discussions, and eflec ing on cogna es o de elop
awa eness abou diffe en gen es and egis e s. Cenoz and San os (2020) concluded
ha pedagogical anslanguaging can ake diffe en o ms while summa ising i s po en-
ial o aise s uden s’me alinguis ic awa eness.
Hopp and Thoma (2021) conduc ed wo in e en ion s udies wi h p ima y school s u-
den s lea ning English as a o eign language, in which hey es ed he effec s o plu ilin-
gual eaching on g amma ical de elopmen . In he fi s s udy, he eaching s a egy
aimed a illus a ing he wo d o de diffe ences be ween subjec and objec ques ions
while he second s udy a ge ed he p oduc ion o passi e sen ences. The ea men in
he expe imen al g oup included compa isons be ween English, he majo i y language
(Ge man) and he mino i y languages spoken by some s uden s, while hose in he
con ol g oup comple ed he same ac i i ies in English only. The findings e ealed ha
he plu ilingual me hodological app oach acili a ed g amma ical de elopmen by
inc easing he majo i y language and mino i y language s uden s’awa eness o c oss-lin-
guis ic simila i ies and diffe ences, concluding ha plu ilingual o eign language eaching
was sui able o all lea ne s.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUALISM 2115
O he s udies conce ned wi h de eloping me alinguis ic awa eness a he lexical le el
epo ed a fluid and in en ional use o mo e han one language. A Canadian in e en ion
s udy conduc ed by Lys e e al. (2013) epo ed he benefi s o de eloping mo phological
awa eness by compa ing compounds and de i a ions in English and F ench wi h a mo e
specific ocus on ocabula y de elopmen and mo phological awa eness. In a simila ein,
Leone e al. (2020) epo ed an in e en ion s udy wi h 5 h and 6
h
g ade p ima y s u-
den s. Du ing he anslanguaging in e en ion, wo d- o ma ion s a egies and mo pho-
logical simila i ies among Basque, Spanish, and English we e highligh ed o enhance
mo phological awa eness. The s uden s lea ned o di ide wo ds in o hei smalles
uni s o meaning as well as o de i e wo ds om a gi en affix and use his knowledge
o guess unknown ocabula y. In some o he ac i i ies, he use o he h ee languages
was equi ed o aise c oss-linguis ic awa eness. The au ho s ound ha he anslangua-
ging in e en ion used wi h p ima y educa ion s uden s posi i ely affec ed mo phologi-
cal awa eness in he s uden s’ o eign language (English). In addi ion, pa icipan s
pe cei ed ha he use o anslanguaging s a egies was use ul o hei lea ning while
also being an enjoyable expe ience.
Some esea che s also ad oca e o explici cogna e ins uc ion in class (A eagoi ia &
Howa d, 2015; Cummins, 2007; Cenoz e al., 2022). Cenoz e al. (2022) conside cogna e
iden ifica ion a connec ed g owe ha acili a es he use o p io knowledge encoded
in he s uden s’linguis ic epe oi e o sol e ocabula y gaps in he a ge language.
A eagoi ia and Howa d (2015) conduc ed a s udy wi h 230 6 h and 8 h-g ade s uden s
o La ino o igin. They examined whe he he explici eaching o cogna e wo ds affec s
s uden s’ ocabula y and eading comp ehension. The esul s e ealed a significan
ela ionship be ween Spanish ocabula y knowledge and cogna e knowledge, while
hey also ound a significan co ela ion be ween cogna e knowledge and eading com-
p ehension. Howe e , some s udies claim ha i s uden s’me alinguis ic awa eness and
s a egy de elopmen a e no sufficien ly ad anced, hey migh ail o ecognise cogna es
in a ex (Cenoz e al., 2022; Nagy e al., 1993). The e o e, he explici eaching o cogna e
s a egies migh be necessa y o s uden s o ake ad an age o his connec ed g owe . In
his ega d, Cenoz e al. (2022) ound posi i e effec s o explici cogna e ins uc ions in a
s udy conduc ed in a ilingual educa ion se ing wi h a mino i y language. These au ho s
also ound ha he iden ifica ion o cogna es was linked o hei linguis ic cha ac e is ics
bu no o S uden s’L1, ha is, p ima y school s uden s ake ad an age o bo h Spanish
and Basque when guessing he meaning o he unknown wo d in English.
The use o whole linguis ic epe oi e, he second ype o anslanguaging p ac ice p o-
posed by Cenoz and Go e ’s(2021) encou ages s uden s o use wo o mo e languages o
comple e a lea ning ask, such as changing he language o inpu and ou pu o look o
in o ma ion in diffe en languages. Howe e , hey do no explici ly ocus on de eloping
me alinguis ic awa eness. Fo example, Lin (2015) p oposed he so-called Mul imodal-
i ies/En ex ualiza ion Cycle, whe e s uden s’L1 (Can onese) is used as a scaffold o each-
ing science con en in he second language (English). Lin dis inguishes h ee phases
wi hin his cycle: The ini ial phase is a pe iod o expe imen a ion whe e s uden s make
hei fi s app oach o he subjec h ough mul imodal esou ces ha a e meaning ul
o hem (e.g. images, audio isuals, and hea e). In he second phase, s uden s ead an
academic ex on he opic in L2 and cons uc he meaning o he ex h ough no es
o concep maps in he wo languages. Finally, in he hi d phase, s uden s use hei L1
2116 OIHANA LEONET AND EIDER SARAGUETA
and L2 o c ea e academic ex s (e.g. scien ific expe imen s, exposi o y ex s, and ins uc-
ional ex s).
Pedagogical anslanguaging can also be used o os e s uden s’linguis ic and nonlin-
guis ic cogni i e s uc u es by ac i a ing hei L1. Escamilla e al. (2013) desc ibe he so-
called P e iew- e iew echnique, which consis s o aking sho in e als a he beginning
and he end o he session o ac i a e s uden s’p io knowledge be o e he lesson and
hen la e summa ise he main con en . Mos o he session is augh in he a ge
language. Howe e , Escamilla and colleagues sugges ha he use o s uden s’L1 a
hese wo poin s in he lesson migh acili a e he ac i a ion o exis ing cogni i e s uc-
u es and s abilisa ion o he basic concep s (see also Cummins & Pe sad, 2014).
The use o bilingual books has also been epo ed as a posi i e s a egy in p e-p ima y
educa ion (Seals & Olsen-Reede , 2020) and he hi d g ade o p ima y educa ion (Lys e
e al., 2009). Fo example, Cummins (2005) p oposed he c ea ion o s uden -au ho ed
dual language books by aking he language in which i was o iginally w i en and
hen ansla ing his o he L2, along wi h o he mul imedia and mul ilingual p ojec s
(e.g. c ea ion o iMo ies o Powe Poin p esen a ions) and sis e class p ojec s whe e s u-
den s om diffe en language backg ounds collabo a e using wo o mo e languages
(p. 588).
The hi d ype o pedagogical p ac ice is labelled In eg a ed language Cu iculum.In
his case, s uden s use only he a ge language in class and anslanguaging is
eflec ed in he syllabus o he language classes. An In eg a ed Language Cu iculum
implies he coo dina ion o ac i i ies in diffe en language subjec s by employing
simila me hodological app oaches as well as collabo a ion among eache s (Ap aiz
Jayo e al., 2012; Council o Eu ope, 2001; Lys e e al., 2013). The Basque Educa ion
Depa men has p omo ed he in eg a ed language cu iculum o achie e mo e
efficien language lea ning h ough he coo dina ion o ac i i ies in Basque, Spanish,
and English language classes. In his educa ional con ex , Ap aiz Jayo e al. (2012)
epo ed he ou comes o communica i e p ojec s based on ex ual gen es. Fo
example, s uden s om hi d g ade o seconda y educa ion lea ned how o p oduce a gu-
men a i e ex s in he h ee languages, c ea ing a complain le e in Basque, a ound
able in Spanish, and a leafle in English. The ac i i ies we e sequenced o acili a e
c oss- e e encing so ha s uden s could apply wha hey had lea ned in one language
o he o he languages.
Finally, he ou h ype o pedagogical anslanguaging p ac ice makes use o he so-
called T anslanguaging shi s. These s a egies a e no included in he lesson plan, ha is,
he eache s spon aneously shi language wi h a pedagogical pu pose, by, o example,
ansla ing an unknown wo d o p o iding a sho explana ion in a language o he han
he language o ins uc ion. The e o e ‘ he shi s a s as spon aneous, hey ha e a ped-
agogical alue and, in many cases, hey may be linked o pedagogical anslanguaging’
(Cenoz & Go e , 2021, p. 33). Lewis e al. (2013) analyzed 100 lessons in p ima y and sec-
onda y Welsh schools and ound ha ansla ion was used o cla i ying he e minology
associa ed wi h he lesson ia bilingual wo kshee s and ex books along wi h he ea-
che ’s explana ion. Jones and Lewis (2014) use he e m ‘scaffolding anslanguaging’
o e e o eache -di ec ed explana ions in s uden s’L1, ela ed o Bake ’s(2006:, p.
303) concep o ‘scaffolding language’. Bake p oposed he la e concep o e e o
he suppo ha he eache p o ides o he s uden h ough comp ehensible language.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUALISM 2117
Resea ch ques ions
In his li e a u e e iew we ha e seen ha he c oss-linguis ic esou ces used o capi alise
on s uden s’mul ilingual epe oi e ha e been associa ed wi h posi i e ou comes in
a ious con ex s (A eagoi ia & Howa d, 2015; Cummins, 2007,2017; Ga cía & Wei,
2014; Hopp & Thoma, 2021; Leone e al., 2020; Lin, 2015; Lys e e al., 2013; O casi as-
Vicandi, 2020). Howe e , mos o hese s udies ha e been conduc ed in wo languages.
Thus, he cu en a icle will de ail he implemen a ion o an in e en ion in a ilingual
se ing, wi h he aim o explo ing he expe iences and opinions o p ima y educa ion s u-
den s pa icipa ing in a anslanguaging in e en ion. This wo k is guided by he ollow-
ing ques ions:
RQ1. Wha a e s uden s’ iews on he anslanguaging in e en ion?
RQ2. Wha do s uden s’me alinguis ic eflec ions e eal abou he anslanguaging
in e en ion?
Me hod
We p esen a case s udy o explo e he pedagogical use o anslanguaging as a scaffold-
ing mechanism in language lea ning. A class oom-based e hnog aphy was u ilised (E ick-
son, 2010) o unde s and he dis inc i e ea u es o he phenomenon and i s complexi y
a he han o highligh gene ali ies (S ake, 2000). The pedagogical in e en ion epo ed
in his s udy is pa o a la ge p ojec aimed a de eloping s uden s’communica i e com-
pe ence in Basque, Spanish, and English and a inc easing hei language and me alin-
guis ic awa eness (see Leone e al., 2017,2020). The s udy was conduc ed acco ding
o he s anda d local p ac ice in app o ed human subjec p o ocols a he Uni e si y o
he Basque Coun y.
Con ex
The in e en ion was implemen ed in a single s a e school in he Basque Coun y (Spain).
Mos s uden s belong o he low-middle socioeconomic class. Al hough he main
language o ins uc ion in he school was Basque, and Basque, Spanish, and English
we e all augh as school subjec s. Be o e he in e en ion, we in e iewed school p inci-
pals and analyzed educa ional documen s o ga he gene al in o ma ion abou he school
and specific in o ma ion abou he con en and eaching me hodology used in he h ee
language a s classes (Basque, Spanish, and English). Se e al classes we e obse ed o
de e mine how he school’s me hodology wo ks, and eache s pa icipa ing in he in e -
en ion ac i ely collabo a ed by exchanging hei insigh s and iews on he design o
eaching ac i i ies.
The p ojec adop ed a pedagogical anslanguaging pe spec i e (see Cenoz & Go e ,
2021) and las ed wo school yea s, each one di ided in o h ee phases: Diagnos ic,
implemen a ion, and e alua ion. The da a p esen ed in his s udy we e ga he ed
du ing he implemen a ion phase o he fi s yea . In he fi s yea , he diagnos ic
phase las ed om Sep embe o Janua y. The esea ch eam conduc ed he ollowing
ac i i ies: P esen a ion o he p ojec , class oom obse a ions, and de elopmen o he
2118 OIHANA LEONET AND EIDER SARAGUETA
anslanguaging ma e ials. We also p o ided aining abou he anslanguaging
app oach and p o ided he specific ma e ials o he eache s who pa icipa ed in he
in e en ion du ing his pe iod. A he end o his phase, we conduc ed he p e- es . S u-
den s wo ked wi h he ma e ials o 12 weeks du ing he implemen a ion pe iod in
Basque, Spanish, and English language subjec s. We also held ocus g oup discussions
wi h s uden s a diffe en poin s du ing his phase. Finally, a e he implemen a ion,
we conduc ed he pos - es .
T anslanguaging ma e ials included ac i i ies ha combined wo o h ee languages
and highligh ed simila i ies and diffe ences be ween hem. Since he school’s me hod-
ology is based on g oup wo k a he han on di ec ins uc ion, we de eloped ma e ials
sui able o au onomous wo k. A eache ’s bookle was also c ea ed wi h specific ins uc-
ions on how o use he ma e ials. One o he au ho s o his a icle obse ed class oom
pe o mance and suppo ed eache s du ing he in e en ion. Examples o hese
ma e ials will be desc ibed below, oge he wi h he esul s.
Pa icipan s
The pa icipan s we e 72 s uden s (age = 10.68) om he 5 h (n = 30) and 6 h (n = 42)
g ade o p ima y educa ion, o whom o e hal we e emale (n = 40) and 32 we e male.
All s uden s pa icipa ed in he pedagogical in e en ion in he language classes o up
o 11 hou s pe week: Fou o Basque, ou o Spanish, and h ee o English. They
had Spanish (48.6%), Basque (22.2%) o bo h (25%) as hei L1, and 4.2% o he languages.
They we e all lea ning English as a o eign language a school. The e o e, all s uden s we e
bilingual in Basque and Spanish and eme gen English lea ne s. S uden s we e mo e e-
quen ly exposed o academic con en in Basque, as his is he main language o ins uc-
ion in his school. Howe e , mos o hem use Spanish a home wi h hei pa en s, he
dominan language in hei su ounding sociolinguis ic a ea. English is a o eign
language, and hus he compe ence in his language is conside ably lowe .
Ins umen s
Focus g oup wi h s uden s. Due o he pa icipan s’age, he s uden s comple ed a w i en
eflec ion as a p elimina y s ep be o e conduc ing he ocus g oup discussion. Be o e p o-
ceeding wi h he g oup discussion, he s uden s indi idually answe ed he fi e open-
ended ques ions on an answe shee , w i ing hei esponses in Basque. The ques ions
we e designed o cap u e he mul ilingual p ac ices s uden s had expe ienced wo king
wi h anslanguaging modules. Fo he pu pose o he cu en s udy, we specifically a -
ge ed he analysis o he ollowing h ee ques ions:
1. Wha ha e you lea ned in his module?
2. Wha has su p ised you mos when you wo ked wi h wo o mo e languages a he same
ime?
3. You know some Basque, Spanish, and English. Does wha you know in one language help
you o lea n ano he language?
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUALISM 2119
class ooms while ollowing a diffe en cu iculum (O casi as-Vicandi & Leone , 2022). The
exce p s om he ocus g oup discussion wi h s uden s and class oom obse a ions
clea ly exempli y how he bounda ies be ween languages we e so ened du ing he ans-
languaging in e en ion wi h he pedagogical pu pose o in eg a ing he diffe en p ac-
ices desc ibed by Cenoz and Go e (2021). When compa ing he wo app oaches, he
majo i y o he s uden s ound i pa icula ly use ul o wo k wi h he h ee languages
oge he and belie e ha hey lea n mo e his way.
Conce ning he second esea ch ques ion, many educa ional agen s, including he
Council o Eu ope (2001), ha e ad oca ed o he in eg a ed ea men o languages
wi hin he cu icula. Based on he s uden s’commen s, i migh be sugges ed ha
hese connec ions ha e been s eng hened due o he mo e fluen use o languages in
he h ee subjec s. The s uden s’me alinguis ic eflec ions e eal he po en ial o pedago-
gical anslanguaging o enhance hei me alinguis ic awa eness ac oss languages. Fo
example, a he ex ual le el, as in he communica i e p ojec epo ed by Ap aiz Jayo
e al. (2012), he goal was o s uden s o ealise ha hey can use wha hey ha e
lea ned abou he cha ac e is ics o each gen e o p oduce simila ex s in he h ee
languages. In he cu en pedagogical p ojec , s uden s w o e ex s in Basque, Spanish,
and English in he Basque language class while he p ojec conduc ed by Ap aiz Jayo
e al. (2012) was limi ed o coo dina ing he sequence o ac i i ies be ween each
language, alloca ing a sepa a e space and a diffe en eache o each language class.
Simila ly, Lys e e al. (2013) epo ed a s udy based on he coo dina ion o ac i i ies in
F ench and English classes wi h he aim o os e ing mo phological awa eness in bo h
languages. Ye again, sepa a e spaces and diffe en eache s we e ea ma ked o he
wo languages. In he cu en s udy, we go beyond he p inciple o coo dina ing ac i i ies
by p oposing s onge pedagogical anslanguaging p ac ices o de elop c oss-linguis ic
awa eness (Cenoz & Go e , 2021). Some o hese ac i i ies a e in ended o de elop s u-
den s’me alinguis ic awa eness a he ocabula y le el and include mo e han one
language in he same ac i i y. Posi i e ou comes ega ding eaching wo d o ma ion
s a egies ac oss languages ha e also been epo ed in a s udy ela ed o his same
p ojec (Leone e al., 2020), wi h he cogna e s a egy being he mos alued among s u-
den s. Indeed, p e ious s udies o cogna e ins uc ion ha e yielded somewha posi i e
esul s (A eagoi ia & Howa d, 2015; Cenoz e al., 2022; D essle e al., 2011; Felle ,
2022; Whi e & Ho s , 2012). Mo eo e , in he cu en s udy, he eache s’spon aneous
language shi s we e equen ly obse ed wi h he pu pose o p omo ing unde s anding
(Jones & Lewis, 2014; Lewis e al., 2013) and enhancing me alinguis ic awa eness.
Ou findings highligh he po en ial o pedagogical anslanguaging o suppo o eign
language lea ning. Acco ding o Ga cía (2009) he use o L1 can se e as a scaffold when
s uden s’compe ence in he a ge language is poo , as in he case o he s uden s in he
cu en s udy. The exce p ega ding he bilingual book se es as a clea example o how a
s uden ’s s onge language (Basque) can ac i a e exis ing concep ual knowledge and
suppo he unde s anding o a s o y in a o eign language (English). This pedagogical
s a egy has also been used wi h younge s uden s in Canada and New Zealand wi h sa -
is ac o y esul s (Lys e e al., 2009; Seals & Olsen-Reede , 2020). Indeed, he benefi s o
using s uden s’L1 o lea ning ano he language ha e been epo ed in ocabula y lea n-
ing (A eagoi ia & Howa d, 2015; Leone e al., 2020; Cenoz e al., 2022; Whi e & Ho s ,
2012) and he de elopmen o li e acy (Swain & Lapkin, 2013). S uden s in he cu en
2126 OIHANA LEONET AND EIDER SARAGUETA
s udy pe cei ed wo d o ma ion and cogna e iden ifica ion as alid s a egies. Fu he ,
he in e en ion made mos s uden s awa e ha hey can capi alise on linguis ic knowl-
edge encoded in Spanish and Basque o suppo he unde s anding o unknown wo ds in
English.
In addi ion, he p ojec was implemen ed in a school wi h a pa icula pedagogical
app oach ha places g ea emphasis on s uden au onomy and whe e on al eaching
is e y limi ed. In he English subjec , we ha e seen ha ins uc ions w i en in he s uden s’
L1/L2 (Basque) can also scaffold ask comp ehension when au onomous lea ning and
s uden agency is he goal (Kupe s e al., 2017). Lewis e al. (2013) ha e epo ed how ea-
che s’o al explana ions in s uden s L1 can be beneficial. In sho , he esul s o he cu en
s udy highligh he po en ial o using anslanguaging as a scaffolding mechanism by p o-
iding inpu in he L1/L2 when he s uden s’compe ence in he L3 is limi ed. Howe e , o
mo e ad anced language s uden s, anslanguaging s a egies aimed a de eloping me a-
linguis ic awa eness and in eg a ing language cu iculum seem mo e app op ia e.
Conclusions
The de elopmen and analysis o pedagogical anslanguaging p ac ices ha e c i ical
implica ions o esea ch and p ac ice in language educa ion. In his a icle, we ha e ana-
lyzed anslanguaging s a egies h ough he lens o he s uden expe ience, obse ing
examples o ma e ials ha acili a ed s uden s’unde s anding and c ea i e p oduc ion.
An impo an unc ion o pedagogical anslanguaging is he de elopmen o me alin-
guis ic awa eness ac oss languages explo ed a he lexical and mo phological –as well
as discu si e –le els. We ha e also obse ed how anslanguaging encou ages he use
o language as a media ing agen in cogni i e p ocesses. S uden s alue he oppo uni y
o wo k wi h anslanguaging ma e ials because hey belie e ha he simul aneous use o
he h ee languages helps hem o capi alise on hei exis ing knowledge mo e eadily.
And while s uden s epo ed gains in all h ee languages, hey s essed he benefi s o
anslanguaging o acili a ing o eign language lea ning.
This s udy was explo a o y and limi ed o analyzing pedagogical p ac ices in only one
school. The e o e, he findings canno be gene alised and should simply be aken as an
example o how o pu pedagogical anslanguaging in o p ac ice. As an a enue o
u he esea ch, we would ecommend conduc ing addi ional in e en ion s udies in
diffe en educa ional con ex s o examine how anslanguaging s a egies can be
adap ed o o he pedagogical app oaches, sociolinguis ic eali ies, and educa ional
s ages. Howe e , despi e such limi a ions, he findings p esen ed he e cons i u e a s a -
ing poin owa ds showing how anslanguaging pedagogies can ake many o ms. Mo e-
o e , he findings indica e ha all hese pedagogies a e sui able o imp o ing s uden s’
linguis ic compe ence in languages ha a e ypologically dis inc and wi h a diffe en
s a us and p esence in each social con ex . Taken oge he , he esul s o his s udy
make a significan con ibu ion o he pedagogical anslanguaging li e a u e by b idging
he exis ing gap be ween anslanguaging heo y and p ac ice.
Disclosu e s a emen
No po en ial conflic o in e es was epo ed by he au ho (s).
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUALISM 2127
Funding
This wo k was suppo ed by Basque Go e nmen [g an numbe IT1666-22]; Minis e io de Ciencia e
Inno ación [g an numbe PID2019-105818GB-I00].
ORCID
Oihana Leone h p://o cid.o g/0000-0002-8801-5455
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