Thesis
Navigating teachers and students' ideological stances on monolingual pedagogy and native-speakerism : fostering translanguaging in English for academic purposes classrooms ; an exploratory case study of a Saudi university.
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2026
- Thesis identifier
- T17582
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 202267396
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- In the evolving landscape of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), the study makes a paradigm shift toward multilingualism by aiming to deconstruct dominant standard-language ideologies and to foster translanguaging pedagogy in the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classroom. Using a qualitative methodology, the study employed six semi-structured interviews with ‘Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers’ (NNESTs), six semi-structured focus groups with twenty-five students, and six classroom observations of beginners (A1) and pre-intermediate (A2) students in the EAP classrooms. The study consisted of four stages: 1-stance, 2- fostering translanguaging to explore its affordances in the EAP classrooms, 3- classroom observations, and 4- reflection. It began with exploring teachers' and students' ideological stances on monolingual pedagogy and native-speakerism to explore whether these perspectives intersect with their perceptions of translanguaging pedagogy. The stance stage aimed to explore the participants' perceptions of the often-implicit English-only policy, the monolingual principle in second-language teaching and learning, the native speaker model, the dominant Anglo-American varieties of the language, and the teachers’ attitudes towards teaching methodologies underpinned by monolingual ideologies. Following the stance stage, the study focused on applying the translanguaging theory in practice to explore the affordances of this pedagogy within the research context. The next stage involved classroom observations of teachers’ and students’ engagement with translanguaging pedagogy. Then, the reflection stage illuminated the pedagogical functions and interpersonal implications of translanguaging pedagogy, highlighting the challenges faced by teachers and students. The findings highlighted teachers’ agency in challenging monolingual norms, the native speaker model, and their belief in context-based teaching. In comparison, most of the students opposed the English-only policy and reported strong connections with their native Arabic-speaking teachers due to shared linguistic and cultural backgrounds. However, some students demonstrated limited awareness of World Englishes and the dynamic spread of the language as a lingua franca, which contributed to their structural and standard view of the language, leading to a bias toward Anglo-American varieties and the ‘native speaker’ model. Their stance on native speakerism revealed that this standard ideology is often shaped by the wider global power attributed to English-speaking Western countries, their language varieties, and publishing institutions. Ultimately, the study endorsed the intersection between participants’ ideological stances on monolingual pedagogy, native speakerism and their perceptions of translanguaging pedagogy. This small-scale, qualitative study underscores the importance of creating an educational environment that values bilingualism. It highlights the pedagogical and interpersonal benefits of translanguaging pedagogy and encourages educators to develop the agency necessary to apply translanguaging creatively in their own contexts. The study was conducted in Saudi Arabia and aims to contribute to the field by investigating translanguaging in an under-investigated context, where Arabic and English hold different positions of power, with Arabic designated as the national language and English often attributed global significance as a language of power. However, the study’s limited scope suggests that further research is needed to explore its implications across broader contexts and populations.
- Advisor / supervisor
- John, Tomasz
- Govender, Navan
- Resource Type
- DOI
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PDF of thesis T17582 | 2026-02-27 | Public | Download |