New webinar in the series 'Conversations on Language Policy in Africa'.

In the multilingual classroom, translanguaging functions strategically or spontaneously as a tool for effective instruction; however, language-in-education policies often complicate this practice. The case study presented here was conducted in Santrokofi, Ghana, to investigate translanguaging as a pedagogic practice within a multilingual classroom constrained by a restrictive bilingual education policy. The study delineates the nature and functions of translanguaging in this setting.

The findings affirm that the multilingual classroom is a critical site for translanguaging. However, the study observed that while translanguaging occurred between English and Ewe, the learners' mother tongue, Selee, was excluded due to the English-Ewe bilingual policy. Teachers consequently discouraged the use of the mother tongue, a phenomenon that inhibits learners from maximizing their full linguistic repertoire. We posit this exclusion as a significant constraint to effective translanguaging and propose a re-examination of Ghana's language-in-education policy, alongside teacher reorientation, to reverse negative attitudes and align with recommendations for mother-tongue instruction.