Re-examining Codeswitching and Translanguaging in Education: Towards a Sociolinguistic Intersectionality Approach to Language-in-education Planning Multilingual Classrooms

• In Event: Language, multilingualism, and literacy in global contexts

Proposal

Languages-of-education planning in multilingual contexts can be challenging and multifaceted, especially within contexts where there are many competing languages. In addressing some challenges coupled with varying complexities, this study explores the language of education planning and implementation through the lens of sociolinguistic intersectionality. The paper aims to present a sociolinguistic intersectional approach to language-of-education policy formulation and implementation using the multilingual situation in Ghana. The study espouses the concept of a sociolinguistic intersectionality approach to language-in-education planning as a way of perceiving any form of code choice in the classroom because of social and linguistic factors. It discusses the need to go beyond promoting codeswitching and translanguaging in the classroom to address the complex social and linguistic factors that impact classroom code choices. We present a synergy between social and linguistic factors as contributing to adopting an ideal medium of instruction in the classroom, using Ghana as a case study.

The paper explores two main research questions:
1. What are the sociolinguistic situations in various communities in Ghana and the country at large, and how can that inform the language of education policy in the country?
2. How can the sociolinguistic backgrounds of teachers and learners inform the language of education policy and implementation in Ghana?

Studies on language-in-education in multilingual classrooms often focused on either social factors or linguistic factors, with most of the studies emphasising the need to adopt bi/multi-lingual code choices such as codeswitching and translanguaging in the classroom (c.f. Agbozo & ResCue, 2021; Asare-Nyarko, 2012; Yevudey 2017). Ghana has over 73 living indigenous languages with approximately 50 non-mutually intelligible languages (Eberhard, Gary & Fennig, 2025). English is the official language for all formal communication, and it is adopted as the main medium of instruction from primary grade 4 to tertiary level. Multilingual code choices in Ghana have been documented in the literature to be prevalent in the classroom, particularly at the lower primary levels where the policy stipulates L1 as the medium of instruction.

Using data from recordings of classroom interactions, teacher interviews, pupil focus groups, ethnographic notes, and questionnaire surveys, this paper focuses on the multilingual situation at the lower primary levels exploring how multiple but interrelated factors influence code choices in the classroom. The paper also unpacks the complex social and linguistic experiences of learners and teachers and the country's socio-linguistic situation, analysing how crucial these factors are in formulating a feasible language-in-education policy leading to educational quality and the promotion of peace within multilingual contexts.

The paper discusses the need to go beyond promoting codeswitching and translanguaging in the classroom to address the complex social and linguistic factors that impact classroom code choices. The study suggests that the sociolinguistic intersectionality approach to exploring language-in-education planning in multilingual contexts like Ghana will reveal how factors such as the socio-linguistic situation of a country, the socio-linguistic diversity of the immediate community of a school, and the socio-linguistic backgrounds of teachers and learners can inform any language-in-education planning. It is, therefore, argued that language-in-education planning should be reconceptualised to reflect the complex socio-linguistic situations at the individual, educational, and national levels.

Keywords: codeswitching, translanguaging, language in education, sociolinguistic intersectionality, language planning, multilingualism

References
Agbozo, G. E., & ResCue, E. (2021). Educational language policy in an African country: Making a place for code-switching/translanguaging. Applied Linguistics Review, 12(4), 503-522.

Asare-Nyarko, C. (2012). Akan-English Codeswitching in some Selected Churches in Accra. MPhil Dissertation. Linguistics Department: University of Ghana, Legon.
Eberhard, D. M., Gary F. S., & Fennig, C. D. (eds.). (2025). Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Twenty-eighth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: https://www.ethnologue.com/

Yevudey, E. (2017). Bilingual practices in Ghanaian primary schools: Implications for curriculum design and educational practice (Doctoral dissertation, Aston University).

Authors

• Albert Abban, University of South Carolina

• ELVIS RESCUE, University of Essex, UK