“Can you teach us (Catalan) in Spanish?”

Read full text
Authors: Lídia Gallego-Balsà
Cited by: 2
References: 40

Abstract

Abstract This paper explores the complex sociolinguistic landscape of Catalonia, examining how international students and Catalan language instructors adopt distinct stances regarding pedagogical translanguaging. While international students acknowledge Spanish as a beneficial scaffold to learn Catalan, instructors often favor a monolingual Catalan approach as a form to resist the language’s historical subordination. The study argues that embracing pedagogical translanguaging holds significant social justice implications, fostering minority language revitalization and promoting linguistic complementarity over exclusionary monolingual ideologies. This approach could also help mitigate tensions in bilingual educational contexts, as supported by recent translanguaging research.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Multilingual Education and Policy Second Language Learning and Teaching Political Systems and Governance

Publication details

Journal / source
Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts
Publisher
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Volume
12
Issue
2
Pages
115–138
Publication date
10 February 2026
Language
EN