Reimagining English Language Learners from a Translingual Perspective

This article explores the potential implications of theorizing in translingualism and translanguaging for foreign language teaching and learning. I discuss key terminology and introduce a translingual continuum as a potential way to understand language use practices both within and across communities. I report on an exploratory study into the self-identified future language use profiles of 116 adult EFL learners studying in the United Kingdom, the majority of whom perceive a need for translingual practices in their varied futures. I discuss the implications, both of these findings and other research for language teaching pedagogy, considering how translingual competence may differ from communicative competence, and providing practical suggestions for teachers working in different contexts. I also discuss how reimagining the language classroom as a translingual community potentially provides a way of redefining notions of authenticity and the role of the teacher as a translingual practitioner, thereby avoiding the divisive native-speaker--non-native-speaker dichotomy.