Learning strategies and translanguaging space: Self-repetition with alternation of languages in an L2 Chinese classroom

Abstract

This study attempts to contribute to the translanguaging literature by analysing the phenomenon of the alternating use of languages in self-repetition in the discursive practices in a second language (L2) classroom. Using a database comprising 40 hours of video-recordings of online tutorials in a Chinese course at a university in Hong Kong, this study analyses the meaning and function of self-repetition with translanguaging (SRT) when used by learners. The study finds that SRT is used by L2 learners as a learning strategy that creates space, enabling them to use translanguaging to learn and use a target language. The results of this study argue that SRT is a cognitive mechanism or device by which a learner acquires an L2. The authentic recordings from the classroom add new data for the analysis in some universal sense of translanguaging and language learning. The findings of this study highlight SRTs’ multifunctional features, which can be utilized by teachers to improve teaching effectiveness.