given to the sociolinguistic contexts of schools, especially in situations where
a minority language coexists with a majority language as media of instruction.
It has been observed that there is a tendency in Welsh-medium schools in
predominantly English-speaking areas to control the use of translanguaging,
as there is a growing concern that allowing the use of English texts for trans-
languaging purposes might be a stepping-stone for introducing more of the
majority language (English). This is of particular concern to educators in areas
where the minority language (Welsh) is already marginalised in the commu-
nity outside the school. The language balance of the pupils in the classroom
also needs to be addressed carefully in the context of translanguaging activi-
ties. The balance of majority and minority language pupils in a classroom will
mean that teachers need to differentiate the translanguaging tasks. For exam-
ple, some Welsh-speaking pupils may need additional support with English
language tasks and some English speaking pupils will possibly need additional
support with the Welsh language tasks. Pupils will need access to subject-
related terminology in order to complete translanguaging tasks successfully
and should be able to access subject-related vocabulary by consulting dictionar-
ies, glossaries or specific vocabulary sheets prepared by the teacher.
Discussion
This chapter has identified how teachers organise bilingual provision in
the classroom. Although it has attempted to present a typology of language
arrangements in bilingual classrooms in Wales it must be emphasised that
the linguistic complexity evident in bilingual classrooms makes the produc-
tion of a simple typology extremely difficult. It is almost impossible to dis-
tinguish between some types of language arrangements, as for example,
code-switching (see Chapters 5 and 6) occurs in a number of arrangements,
and there was overlap of strict language separation and flexible language use
approaches. Baker (1993: 15) referred to the ‘kaleidoscopic variety’ of bilin-
gual educational practice in Wales, and this chapter demonstrates that the
wide range of classroom language arrangements in bilingual schools in Wales
needs to be documented and analysed to establish what is good bilingual
practice in schools situated in diverse socio-economic communities.
Particular focus has been placed on the origins of translanguaging and
also how translanguaging is developing in its definition. Reference is made
to different types of translanguaging which is evident from current research
into bilingual schools in Wales, especially the distinction between teacher-
directed translanguaging and pupil-directed translanguaging. Discussion is
included about the advantages of translanguaging and also reference to
dimensions of teacher-directed translanguaging such as scaffolding translan-
guaging and presenting translanguaging cues to help pupils to complete
translanguaging activities in the classroom. To close, consideration is given
168 Part 4: Bilingual Education