RUSSIAN-DOMINANT AND KAZAKH-DOMINANT STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND USAGE OF TRANSLANGUAGING: A CASE WITH A RURAL KAZAKH-MEDIUM INSTRUCTION SCHOOL

Abstract

Following trilingual education policy in Kazakhstan, students’ whole linguistic repertoire has been involved in classrooms by employing a translanguaging approach. However, absence of studies on translanguaging besides the English medium instruction context, raises questions about students’ perceptions and usage of translanguaging in other contexts. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore and compare the seventh - tenth grade Russian -dominant (RDSs) and Kazakh-dominant (KDSs) students’ perceptions and usage of translanguaging in a rural school with the Kazakh-medium instruction in the North Kazakhstan Region. Research questions explore KDSs’ and RDSs’ perceptions and usage of translanguaging and identify similarities and/or differences between them based on the dominant language. Ruiz’s (1984) conceptual framework of language orientations with language as a right, resource, and problem was employed in the study. The study used a qualitative research approach with case-study design and semi-structured interviews as a data collection instrument. The maximum variation purposeful sampling was used to recruit ten KDSs and RDSs for one-on-one online interviews. Findings showed that 70% of KDSs and RDSs participants were positive about translanguaging and reported using it as a right and/or resource in studying and communication processes. However, 30% of participants perceived translanguaging negatively as a problem due to feelings of disrespect to the mother tongue or non-acceptance but still acknowledged using it. It implies that students’ awareness about translanguaging should be raised, and they should be provided with linguistic support. There were also more similarities than differences found between participants’ perceptions and usage of translanguaging which implies that if students are supported by teachers, translanguaging may be used more effectively for multilingual education development.