From Yi Language to Mandarin: translanguaging practices and identity construction between actual and ought-to L1 selves
-
Hengzhi Hu
,
Aixiang Mi
,
Jingwen Ou
and
Harwati Hashim
Abstract
In multilingual classrooms where heritage and dominant languages coexist unequally, translanguaging is often encouraged pedagogically, yet its identity-shaping potential remains underexplored. This case study, situated in a Mandarin-medium secondary classroom in China, investigates how translanguaging involving Yi Language, a heritage language and actual first language (L1) for students, mediates their identity construction in relation to Mandarin, the state-sanctioned ought-to L1. Drawing on classroom observations and student interviews, we identified teacher- and student-initiated translanguaging practices that fulfilled pedagogical, relational, epistemic, and identity-affirming functions. Despite shared instruction, students demonstrated three distinct identity profiles: resistant, emergent, and reflexive. These profiles reflected differing perceptions of heritage language legitimacy and varied responses to the linguistic hierarchy embedded in the classroom. The findings suggest that translanguaging should be understood not merely as a pragmatic teaching strategy but as an ideological and epistemic act that shapes learners’ identity trajectories within broader sociolinguistic structures.
Funding source: Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Award Identifier / Grant number: GG-2024-030
Funding source: Xichang University
Award Identifier / Grant number: YBS202405
-
Research ethics: This project has been ethically approved by the Research Ethics Committee at Xichang University and conducted in accordance with institutional guidelines and the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki, including respect for participants’ autonomy, privacy, and informed consent.
-
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. As the study involved minors, additional consent was secured from their legal guardians and the school’s administration.
-
Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
-
Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.
-
Research funding: This research was co-funded by the Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (grant code: GG-2024-030) and Xichang University (grant code: YBS202405).
-
Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.
References
Afreen, Asma & Bonny Norton. 2022. Bangla and the identity of the heritage language teacher. Educational Linguistics 1(1). 152–178. https://doi.org/10.1515/eduling-2021-0008.Search in Google Scholar
Aronin, Larissa & Muiris Ó. Laoire. 2022. An advanced guide to multilingualism. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.10.1515/9780748635658Search in Google Scholar
Beaudrie, Sara M. & Sergio Loza. 2023. Heritage language program direction: Research into practice. New York: Routledge.10.4324/9781003257271Search in Google Scholar
Bi, Ying. 2020. Analysis of the negative transfer of middle school students’ Yi language to English phonetic learning – taking the Yi language branch (Sani) language of Shilin County as an example. Innovation and Practice of Teaching Methods 3(4). 52–55. https://doi.org/10.26549/jxffcxysj.v3i4.4061.Search in Google Scholar
Birney, Megan E. 2023. Self and identity: The basics. New York: Routledge.10.4324/9780429274534Search in Google Scholar
Bisai, Samrat & Smriti Singh. 2024. Translanguaging: Centralizing the learner in multilingual classroom transactions. MEXTESOL Journal 48(3). https://doi.org/10.61871/mj.v48n3-1.Search in Google Scholar
Braun, Virginia & Victoria Clarke. 2021. Thematic analysis: A practical guide. London: Sage.Search in Google Scholar
Cai, Yuxuan. 2022. A study on the current situation of language use and language attitudes of ethnic minority pre-college students – taking Sichuan Agricultural University as an example. Modern Linguistics 10(11). 2503–2513. https://doi.org/10.12677/ml.2022.1011342.Search in Google Scholar
D’Angelo, Francesca. 2021. Translanguaging: A “practical theory of languages” to support minority language education. Studi di Glottodidattica 2. 24–35. https://doi.org/10.15162/1970-1861/1326.Search in Google Scholar
Fisher, L., M. Evans, K. Forbes, A. Gayton, Y. Liu & D. Rutgers. 2024. Language experiences, evaluations and emotions (3Es): Analysis of structural models of multilingual identity for language learners in schools in England. International Journal of Multilingualism 21(1). 418–438. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2022.2060235.Search in Google Scholar
Forbes, Karen, Michael Evans, Linda Fisher, Angela Gayton, Yongcan Liu & Dieuwerke Rutgers. 2021. Dveloping a multilingual identity in the languages classroom: The influence of an identity-based pedagogical intervention. The Language Learning Journal 49(4). 433–451. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2021.1906733.Search in Google Scholar
García, Ofelia & Wei Li. 2014. Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. London: Palgrave Pivot London.10.1057/9781137385765_4Search in Google Scholar
Ghimire, Laxman. 2021. Multilingualism in education in Nepal: Ideology and identity. New York: Routledge.10.4324/9781003159964Search in Google Scholar
Helmer, Kimberly Adilia. 2020. Learning and not learning in the heritage language classroom: Engaging Mexican-origin students. London: Channel View Publications.10.21832/9781788927642Search in Google Scholar
Hennink, Monique, Inge Hutter & Ajay Bailey. 2020. Qualitative research methods. London: Sage.Search in Google Scholar
Hennink, Monique M. & Bonnie N. Kaiser. 2020. Saturation in qualitative research. New York: Sage.Search in Google Scholar
Higgins, E. Tory. 1989. Self-discrepancy theory: What patterns of self-beliefs cause people to suffer? Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 22. 93–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60306-8.Search in Google Scholar
Jefferson, Gail. 2004. Glossary of transcript symbols with an introduction. In Gene H. Lerner (ed.), Conversation analysis: Studies from the first generation, 13–31. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/pbns.125.02jefSearch in Google Scholar
Kleemann, Carola. 2021. Pedagogical translanguaging to create sustainable minority language practices in kindergarten. Sustainability 13(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073613.Search in Google Scholar
Leonet, Oihana, Eider Saragueta & Eli Arocena. 2024. Shifting the perception of languages and their status through the use of pedagogical translanguaging as a tool to increase language awareness. Language, Culture and Cirruclulum 37(3). 363–384. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2024.2344562.Search in Google Scholar
Li, Wei & Tong King Lee. 2024. Transpositioning: Translanguaging and the liquidity of identity. Applied Linguistics 45(5). 873–888. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amad065.Search in Google Scholar
Liang, Sihua. 2015. Language attitudes and identities in multilingual China: A linguistic ethnography. Cham: Springer.10.1007/978-3-319-12619-7Search in Google Scholar
MacSwan, Jeff. 2022. Introduction: Deconstructivism – a reader’s guide. In Jeff MacSwan (ed.), Multilingual perspectives on translanguaging, 1–42. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.10.2307/jj.22679761.5Search in Google Scholar
Mendoza, Anna. 2023. Translanguaging and English as a lingua franca in the plurilingual classroom. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.10.21832/MENDOZ3436Search in Google Scholar
Ngarsou, Voudina. 2022. First language and second language in the multilingual context. J-Lalite Journal of English Studies 3(2). 144–153. https://doi.org/10.20884/1.jes.2022.3.2.6944.Search in Google Scholar
Özkaynak, Onur. 2025. State monolingualism and its emotional impacts on multilingual identity construction: Insights from the Turkish context. International Journal of Multilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2025.2485178.Search in Google Scholar
Prilutskaya, Marina. 2023. Examining pedagogical translanguaging: A systematic review of the literature. Languages 6(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6040180.Search in Google Scholar
Rajendram, Shakina. 2021. The affordances of translanguaging as a pedagogical resource for multilingual English language classrooms in Malaysia. In Kathleen M. Bailey & Donna Christian (eds.), Research on teaching and learning English in under-resourced contexts, 185–198. New York: Routledge.10.4324/9781003057284-14Search in Google Scholar
Schwartz, Mila & Miriam Shogen. 2024. Guardians of the Circassian heritage language: Exploring a teacher’s agency in the endeavour of endangered language maintenance. Languages 9(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9080275.Search in Google Scholar
Showstack, Rachel, Diego Pascual y. Cabo & Damián Vergara Wilson. 2024. Language ideologies and linguistic identity in heritage language learning. London: Routledge.10.4324/9781003349686Search in Google Scholar
Siebenhütter, Stefanie. 2023. The multilingual profile and its impact on identity: Approaching the difference between multilingualism and multilingual identity or linguistic identity. Ampersand 10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amper.2023.100123.Search in Google Scholar
Su, Xiaoling & Qiaoer Long. 2022. On the mother tongue involvement in English teaching of middle and primary school in minority area. Journal of Huaihua University 41(4). 125–128. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1671-9743.2022.04.024.Search in Google Scholar
Tai, Kevin W. H. 2023. Multimodal conversation analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis: A methodological framework for researching translanguaging in multilingual classrooms. London: Routledge.10.4324/9781003351047Search in Google Scholar
Tavares, Vander. 2021. International students in higher education: Language, identity, and experience from a holistic perspective. Lanham: Lexington Books.10.5040/9781666994827Search in Google Scholar
Vogel, Sara. 2022. Attending to and transforming power dynamics in translanguaged research relationships and methodology. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 1(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmal.2022.100021.Search in Google Scholar
Yang, Chunsheng. 2024a. Chinese sociolinguistics: Language and identity in Greater China. New York: Routledge.10.4324/9781003344162Search in Google Scholar
Yang, Yuanyu. 2024b. Domestic translanguaging research in the last decade: Visualization analysis based on CiteSpace. Modern Linguistics 12(7). 305–311. https://doi.org/10.12677/ml.2024.127559.Search in Google Scholar
Zhang, Ping & Bob Adamson. 2025. Language attitudes of ethnic minority secondary school students in Urumqi, China. International Journal of Comparative Education and Development 27(2). 146–159. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCED-08-2024-0070.Search in Google Scholar
Zhou, Yue & Yongcan Liu. 2023. Theorising the dynamics of heritage language identity development: A narrative inquiry of the life histories of three Chinese heritage speakers. Language and Education 37(3). 383–400. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2022.2068351.Search in Google Scholar
© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
