The role of translanguaging in learning culturemes

Abstract

While the benefits of translanguaging for language learning and teaching have been widely discussed in literature, little research has focused on its connection to learning culture. This study explores how spontaneous translanguaging supports learning Russian culturemes in Catalan-Spanish bilingual adult students taking the B1 Russian language course. Data collected through fieldwork reveal that translanguaging serves to help students clarify the meaning of culturemes and point to problems in their comprehension when translation does not help. That is due to the semiotic, paradigmatic, or syntagmatic asymmetry existing between culturemes in Russian and the languages in the students' linguistic repertoires, which confirms existing research on translanguaging and culturemes. The classroom observations demonstrate that, when trans-languaging, the students draw on their native languages rather than additional languages. This novel finding extends the theory and practice of translanguaging by showing that adult students do not completely deploy all of the linguistic and cultural resources available.