Translanguaging theories emphasize a fluid, dynamic view of language and differ from code-switching/mixing theories by de-centring the analytic focus from the language(s) being used in the interaction to the speakers who are making meaning and constructing original and complex discursive practices. Trans-semiotizing theories further broaden the focus to analyse language as entangled with many other semiotics (e.g. visuals, gestures, bodily movement) in meaning making. In this paper recent developments in trans/languaging and trans-semiotizing theories are discussed in conjunction with fine-grained classroom analyses to illustrate the key role played by trans/languaging and trans-semiotizing practices in the dialogic construal of content meaning in content-based education.

While translanguaging research has been gaining currency worldwide, calls have been made for deepening its theorisation and providing more systematic pedagogical guidance. To contribute to this discussion, this study is informed by a fluid, distributed, dynamic process view of human meaning-making. Through a fine-grained multimodal analysis of classroom activities and interactions, it elucidates the translanguaging/trans-semiotising practices of an experienced science teacher trying out a CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) approach inspired by the Multimodalities-Entextualisation Cycle (MEC) in a Grade 10 biology class in Hong Kong. Post-lesson interviews and survey indicated that such practices generated a positive impact on the students in the continuous flow of knowledge co-making. Implications of the study for furthering the theorisation and practices of translanguaging/trans-semiotising will be discussed.

Although people may readily refer to Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. as Anglophone countries, recent demographic and sociolinguistic profiles of these countries indicate that they are actually both Anglophone and multilingual, and in some of their cities, even more multilingual than Anglophone. Recent research also indicates that when plurilingual approaches to teaching and learning were tried out in these settings challenges arose due to the ‘either-or’ binary thinking often found in institutional policies and among some instructors. In this paper, the rich semiotic practices and repertoires of migrant and international students are discussed to call for a shift from a deficit model to an asset model of teaching. Some possible ways to break through these ‘either-or’ binaries are offered through using a heteroglossic, plurilingual lens.

While much scholarly work has contributed to the theorizing of translanguaging, in this article, we sketch an alternative model based on materiality and information theory (Bateson, Gregory. 1951. Information and codification; and Conventions of Communication. In Jurgen Ruesch & Gregory Bateson (eds.), Communication: The social matrix of psychiatry, 168–227. New York: Routledge; Lemke, Jay L. 2015. Feeling and meaning: A unitary bio-semiotic account. In Peter Pericles Trifonas (ed.), International handbook of semiotics, 589–616. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer) to theorize translanguaging together with flows, through reconsidering issues of speech events in which features normally associated with different language systems co-occur. And in doing so, we hope to contribute to the ongoing theorizing work in the field of translanguaging.

In content and language integrated learning (CLIL) classrooms, it is assumed that non-language content subjects provide more authentic communicative contexts for students to learn a foreign/second/additional language (L2). However, learning abstract concepts and academic language in an L2 simultaneously is also challenging for CLIL students. It is thus important for CLIL teachers to unpack and repack both abstract concepts and academic discourse for the students. ‘Semantic waves’, which model classroom practices of both unpacking and repacking, is arguably a key to understanding cumulative knowledge-building. Applying the concepts of semantic profiles and semantic waves, this paper analyses the classroom discourse of two CLIL science lessons in Hong Kong. In one lesson, the semantic profile mainly consists of downward shifts. The teacher adopted various useful strategies to unpack science concepts, especially with multimodalities, everyday L2 and students’ L1 resources. Yet, there was limited repacking. In contrast, some repacking was observed in another lesson, where the teacher provided explicit instruction on academic language and guided students through academic writing tasks. A semantic wave can thus be observed there. These findings on strategies for unpacking and repacking provide significant insights into knowledge building in CLIL contexts, and may hence illuminate CLIL pedagogical practices.