Abstract:

This paper aims to discuss and demonstrate how translanguaging can be a way to enhance computer literacy in polylingual CLIL course at Kazan Federal University (KFU).

Computer literacy is an essential skill for students in our modern world. Computer literacy gives students the opportunity to expand their horizons to learn skills they would not have the opportunity to acquire in the traditional classroom. That is why almost all educational programs contains computer literacy courses. Thus, students enrolled in the program "Russian as a foreign language" have to study “Computer Science” course for professional purposes. It is rather difficult to acquire the content in Russian language for foreign students as they think in mother tongue and their background knowledge have formulated in native language. Thus, the question arises: “What is the best way to help students to comprehend the content in Russian language?

As a solution, many researchers suggest to use Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), where translanguaging plays important role to engage students to use their emerging academic language and bilingual repertoires. According to recent studies, translanguaging offers many benefits to language learners, in particular is to deepen understanding of the content. In CLIL context translanguaging is concerned as sort of catalyst for shifting from language-oriented to content-oriented CLIL model. In other words, the principle of translanguaging assume that the use of mother tongue can serve as a resource to comprehend the content.

In this article we describe educational techniques based on the principle of translanguaging which can assist the foreign students to understand the content of “Computer Science” course such as: to discuss content in small groups using two languages; to brainstorm during class activities; to respond to a teacher’s question in mother tongue; to provide assistance to peers during activities; to enable participation by lower proficiency students.

The survey among students was conducted to assess the effectiveness of translanguaging educational techniques. Thirty-two master students from the Institute of Philology and Intercultural Communication of Kazan Federal University participated in this survey. The results of the survey showed that the implementation of translanguaging educational techniques for teaching “Computer Science” course received positive feedback, which was a prerequisite for further development in this area.

Keywords:

Translanguaging, CLIL, computer literacy, foreign students.