Translanguaging Pedagogy and English Language Development in Multilingual Nigerian Primary Classrooms

This study investigates the impact of translanguaging pedagogical practices on English language development in multilingual primary school classrooms in Nigeria, comparing classrooms where teachers apply structured translanguaging to those employing an English-only instructional policy. Translanguaging, the strategic use of students' full multilingual repertoire as a learning resource, has produced strong evidence of positive effects on language learning and content comprehension in global multilingual education research, but its empirical application in Nigerian primary classrooms remains limited in the published literature. A quasi-experimental design was implemented across eight primary schools in Rivers and Ogun States, with four schools in each state randomly assigned to translanguaging and comparison conditions. Teachers in the translanguaging schools received six weeks of pedagogical training followed by structured implementation support over one full academic term. English language proficiency pre-tests and post-tests, classroom observation, and teacher and student interviews were used as data collection instruments. Quantitative analysis using analysis of covariance examines the effect of translanguaging on English proficiency gains, controlling for baseline scores and school-level variables. Qualitative data provide insights into classroom implementation dynamics. Findings indicate significant positive effects of translanguaging on English reading comprehension and oral production in both state contexts, with the strongest effects in the lowest-proficiency classrooms. Teachers report initial discomfort transitioning from English-only norms but increasing confidence as the term progresses. Keywords: translanguaging, primary school, English language development, multilingual pedagogy, Nigeria.