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Article published In: Decolonial Approaches to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Applied Linguistics: Addressing local and global EDI challenges
Edited by Kyria Finardi, Marina Orsini-Jones and Azirah Hashim
[AILA Review 38:2] 2025
► pp. 187–215

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Redefining English language teaching in Punjab

Embracing translanguaging and plurilingual competence for equity, diversity and inclusion

ORCiD logo with link | Coventry University
ORCiD logo with link | Coventry University
Published online: 11 December 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.25006.sur
Abstract
Translanguaging is an innovative pedagogical approach that embraces and leverages learners’ linguistic and cultural diversity to support learning. It has gained significant traction in multilingual education settings, especially in linguistically diverse contexts like India. This article explores the role of translanguaging in promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in English Language Teaching (ELT) classrooms in Punjab, in alignment with India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Through a mixed-methods approach that includes 45 surveys and five interviews with teachers from various educational settings in Punjab, the study investigates how translanguaging practices are integrated into ELT, the challenges teachers face, and how these practices align with EDI principles. The paper examines whether and how translanguaging promotes linguistic equity and helps validate students’ cultural identities and feelings of inclusion. It illustrates the pedagogical challenges ELT teachers face, particularly in mixed-language and mixed-ability classrooms. The findings show that teachers often struggle with balancing students’ linguistic backgrounds while promoting proficiency in English, the language of instruction. The results also indicate that despite the NEP’s 2020 call for multilingualism in India, problematic issues related to teacher preparedness, classroom management, and resource limitations persist. This study makes an original contribution to the growing body of knowledge on translanguaging and EDI, suggesting that plurilingual competence offers valuable insights for inclusive educational practices. In light of the findings, it proposes that successful implementation will require addressing systemic challenges related to teacher training and educational policy alignment.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Data collection process: Instruments and participants
    • 3.2Data analysis
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • Pedagogical benefits of translanguaging
      • Benefit 1: Translanguaging facilitates comprehension and bridges language gaps
      • Benefit 2: Translanguaging boosts student confidence and classroom engagement
      • Benefit 3: Translanguaging promotes plurilingual competence
      • NEP 2020’s role in sociocultural and linguistic diversity in education
      • Policy-practice gap: Over-reliance, teachers’ beliefs and institutional constraints
      • The need for a balanced approach to translanguaging
      • Teacher agency and classroom strategies
  • 5.Conclusion and implications for future research and practice
  • References
References (63)
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