Multilingual practices in EFL classrooms and what they mean for motivation
What is it about?
In many English classes, students are expected to use English only, even when they already know and use other languages. This study examines what happens when learners draw on their full linguistic repertoires (often called translanguaging) while learning English, and how this relates to their motivation. We surveyed 386 multilingual university students in an intensive English program in Türkiye and analyzed how frequently they used multilingual strategies (e.g., multilingual note-taking, planning, researching, and peer collaboration) and how motivated they felt about learning English. Overall, students who reported more translanguaging practices also reported more positive English learning experiences and stronger visions of themselves as future English users (e.g., imagining using English confidently in social/professional life). In contrast, translanguaging was not meaningfully related to motivation driven by external pressures and expectations (e.g., learning English to meet others’ demands).
Why is it important?
This article adds quantitative evidence to a conversation that is often dominated by ideological debate: do multilingual classroom practices support motivation in EFL settings? Using a large survey dataset from a multilingual university context in Türkiye, we show that translanguaging is positively associated with students’ engagement and their future-oriented motivation (their “ideal” self as an English user), while links to externally imposed expectations are weak. Practically, the findings suggest that legitimizing students’ multilingual meaning-making (rather than policing it) can support motivation and classroom engagement, especially for learners at lower proficiency levels in intensive programs. At the same time, the lack of relationship with “ought-to” pressures points to a structural tension: institutional and societal expectations often remain tied to English-only norms, even when multilingual practices help learning.