Translanguaging Practices in Students’ Inferential Comprehension During Narrative Text Discussions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33394/jollt.v14i4.20247Keywords:
Inferential comprehension, Multilingual setting, Narrative discussion, Translanguaging practicesAbstract
The growing linguistic complexity of Indonesian EFL classrooms has exposed a significant gap between students' multilingual realities and existing pedagogical approaches, particularly in developing inferential comprehension of narrative texts. While translanguaging has gained theoretical traction as a means of leveraging students' full linguistic resources, empirical evidence of its practical implementation in this context remains limited. This study aims to explore how translanguaging practices in small group discussions support university students' inferential meaning-making when engaging with narrative texts. Employing a descriptive qualitative design, this study involved four Indonesian university EFL students as participants. Data were collected through recorded Zoom small group discussions and analyzed using Miles and Huberman's interactive model of data analysis. The findings reveal that translanguaging functions as a cognitive tool facilitating multiple inference types including logical, predictive, causal, and sociocultural while supporting a multi-stage process of exploration, negotiation, and formalization of meaning. These results indicate that students' cross-linguistic movement is not a communicative obstacle but rather a strategic resource for constructing deeper textual understanding. In conclusion, translanguaging meaningfully enhances inferential comprehension by enabling students to integrate their linguistic, cognitive, and cultural resources simultaneously. These findings imply that EFL educators and curriculum designers should reconceptualize multilingual classroom practices by intentionally incorporating translanguaging as a legitimate pedagogical strategy to strengthen reading literacy instruction.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Erwin Ashari, Rahma Fadila, Albert Efendi Pohan, Eka Yusniar Simatupang , Berlin Sibarani, Masitowarni Siregar, Lloyd B. Ranises, Fadhl Mohammed Awadh Gharamah
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