Translanguaging as Ontological Praxis and the Reconstitution of Educational Subjectivities

This chapter interrogates multilingual classrooms as pivotal arenas of identity formation, where translanguaging, motivation, and agency converge to reconfigure educational justice. It argues that identity is not a secondary byproduct of language acquisition but the central axis through which belonging, recognition, and empowerment are cultivated. Translanguaging emerges as a transformative praxis that resists monolingual hegemony, legitimizes hybridity, and redefines professional and learner selves. Motivation and agency illuminate how aspirational futures and resistant acts enable teachers and students to contest institutional constraints, while affective economies of pride, shame, and vulnerability shape participation. The discussion highlights that classrooms are simultaneously sites of opportunity and struggle, where linguistic hierarchies collide with democratic possibilities. Implications span pedagogy, policy, curriculum, and teacher education, emphasizing translanguaging, reflexivity, and critical awareness as systemic imperatives.