Teacher contingency in the Chinese immersion classroom of young learners: A translanguaging perspective

Previous research on Chinese-English dual language programs in the United States has found that teaching effects are often compromised by communication and classroom management issues due to cultural differences. Since classroom teaching does not always unfold as language teachers’ planning, it is important for teachers to be able to cope with unscripted actions, and maintain the flow of teaching. Using multimodal conversation analysis, this research focuses on the contingent use of multimodal and verbal resources by a Chinese teacher in a Chinese immersion classroom of English-speaking young learners. Drawing on the theory of teacher contingency and translanguaging, this research shows through the contingent orchestration of semiotic resources, language teachers can transform unplanned moments or unexpected student responses into meaningful learning opportunities, establish rapport, and create improvised teaching materials.