Unequal translanguaging: the affordances and limitations of a translanguaging space for alleviating students’ foreign language anxiety in language classrooms

[Tai, Kevin Wai Hin]

Dear Members of the SIG,

I would like to take this opportunity to share this new paper that is published in Applied Linguistics Review.  This study employs translanguaging as an analytical framework to explore how creating emotionally secure translanguaging spaces can help mitigate ethnic minority students’ anxiety in learning Chinese as an Additional Language (CAL) in Hong Kong. The findings reveal that establishing a secure translanguaging environment in CAL classrooms can potentially ease ethnic minority students’ anxiety related to learning CAL.

Nevertheless, the teachers’ reliance on certain linguistic resources for scaffolding ethnic minority students’ CAL learning could potentially limit the transformative power of the translanguaging space, as teachers do not fully tap into the students’ entire linguistic repertoire for scaffolding students’ CAL learning and reducing their anxiety. This oversight indicates a missed opportunity to utilize the full range of linguistic resources available in the classrooms, which could potentially aid in scaffolding students’ understanding and reducing their anxiety.

The study presents the concept of “unequal translanguaging,” emphasizing that if teachers, due to their unfamiliarity with students’ linguistic or multimodal knowledge, fail to fully utilize these resources, it could potentially compromise the effectiveness of the translanguaging space. Such a situation may result in a learning environment that does not entirely acknowledge or value the linguistic diversity and multimodal knowledge of all students. Therefore, it is recommended that teachers establish a translanguaging space in language classrooms by tapping into students’ linguistic knowledge, especially for named languages that teachers may not know. These students can become valuable resources for facilitating understanding and creating meaning during classroom interactions.

Open Access Link: https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2025-0049

Reference: Tai, K. W. H. (2025). Unequal Translanguaging: The Affordances and Limitations of a Translanguaging Space for Alleviating Students’ Foreign Language Anxiety in Language Classrooms. Applied Linguistics Review, Advance online publication.

Thanks again,

Kevin Tai 

Professor Kevin W. H. Tai

PhD (UCL), FHEA, FRSA  

Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy Education

Co-Director, Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education

Faculty of Education 

The University of Hong Kong

Honorary Research Fellow, IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, University College London

Editor, The Language Learning Journal (Routledge) 

Acting Co-Editor, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Routledge)

Executive Guest Editor, International Journal of Applied Linguistics (Wiley) 

The World’s Top 2% Most-Cited Scientist (Languages and Linguistics), Stanford University 2024 (Elsevier)

Email (HKU): kevi...@hku.hk  

Email (UCL): kevi...@ucl.ac.uk  

Telephone: (852) 3917 6107  

Website: https://web.edu.hku.hk/faculty-academics/kwhtai

[Li Wei]

Sharing a piece on 'Code-Switching and Translanguaging', in International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, 3rd Edition.

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[Wei, Li]

Very pleased to share this new publication!

Professor Li Wei, PhD, FBA, MAE, FAcSS, FRSA  

Director & Dean, UCL Institute of Education (IOE), UCL's Faculty of Education and Society

#1 for Education in QS world university rankings by subject every year since 2014.

Professor of Applied Linguistics, University College London (UCL)

Executive Officer: Samantha Arnold | t: +44 (0)207 612 6004 | Internal 06004 | e: s.ar...@ucl.ac.uk | w: www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe

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[Tai, Kevin Wai Hin]

Dear Members of the SIG,

Together with Jaeho Jeon, Seongyong Lee, and Li Wei, we have published the following article in Applied Linguistics (Oxford University Press) that explores three dilemmas that the use of GenAI can introduce when integrated into education: creativity-standardization, inclusion-fixity, and meaning-form. We address these dilemmas from a translanguaging perspective (Li 2018; Tai 2024; Jeon, Coronel-Molina and Lee 2025), which we argue helps to diagnose and resolve them.

Reference:

Jeon, J., Li, W., Tai, K. W. H., and Lee, S. (2025). Generative AI and Its Dilemmas: Exploring AI from a Translanguaging Perspective. Applied Linguistics, Advance online publication.

Open Access Link to the Paper: https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amaf049

Many thanks,

Kevin Tai 

Professor Kevin W. H. Tai

PhD (UCL), FHEA, FRSA  

Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy Education

Co-Director, Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education

Faculty of Education 

The University of Hong Kong

Honorary Research Fellow, IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, University College London

Editor, The Language Learning Journal (Routledge) 

Acting Co-Editor, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Routledge)

Executive Guest Editor, International Journal of Applied Linguistics (Wiley) 

The World’s Top 2% Most-Cited Scientist (Languages and Linguistics), Stanford University 2024 (Elsevier)

Email (HKU): kevi...@hku.hk  

Email (UCL): kevi...@ucl.ac.uk  

Telephone: (852) 3917 6107  

Website: https://web.edu.hku.hk/faculty-academics/kwhtai

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From: Wei, Li <li....@ucl.ac.uk>
Sent: 30 July 2025 15:10
To: Tai, Kevin Wai Hin <kevi...@ucl.ac.uk>
Cc: Special Interest Group for Translanguaging and Inclusive Education <sig...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: NEW - Generative AI and its dilemmas: exploring AI from a translanguaging perspective