Promoting translanguaging in the ESL classroom: A closer look into Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates

Characterized by using a holistic view of language, translanguaging is deemed to offer a fresh vision for intercultural education. It is a pedagogical strategy through which bi/multilinguals could swiftly switch between their linguistic resources. Yet, similar to other contexts in this globalized world, regional Arab educators are repeatedly faced with educational policies, reflective of Phillipson's (1992) Monolingual Fallacy, inherently maintaining that teaching should entirely be done through English. Little is said about such Euro-Americano-centric practices within regional scholarship. In our over a decade of ESL teaching experiences at the tertiary level in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, Arabic has constantly been condemned for allegedly interfering with L2 teaching and learning. Guided by the Unequal Englishes theoretical framework, this chapter explores how in-class translanguaging practices might challenge Euro-Americano-centric notions stemming from globally influenced unequal power relations between speakers. It explores ways through which intercultural communication, through translanguaging, could support instructional practices in the education setting.