Exploring Trans-languaging in an English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) Classroom – A Grade Ten Experience

The objective of this article was to explore translanguaging as a teaching strategy to aid comprehension in class. The study was conducted at three high schools under Ntambanana Circuit in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, that offer English as a second language and isiZulu as a first language. A mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative) was used in the study. Learners’ written comprehension tests were analysed, and interviews were also conducted with the learners. Ten grade-ten learners from each school were purposively sampled and the study sample comprised thirty learners. The findings revealed that comprehension improved generally among students when the input language was English and the output language was isiZulu, although there was not much difference noted when the input language was isiZulu and the output language was English. The article concludes that the use of learners’ first language in a second language classroom improves their understanding of learning materials presented in the second language.