From Passive to Productive: A Best Practice of Translanguaging and Multimodal Business Communication in Vocational EFL Classrooms
Keywords:
translanguaging, digital multimodal composing, vocational college, best practiceAbstract
Although communicative approaches are widely advocated in EFL contexts, their implementation often fails to engage low-proficiency vocational students in a meaningful way. Low English proficiency among vocational college students in Indonesia often results in minimal participation in learning. This article describes best practices for implementing translanguaging and multimodal-based learning to increase student engagement and productivity in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classes. These practices were applied to students in the Tourism Business Management (D4) programs in a polytechnic environment with relatively low English proficiency levels. The learning was designed in the form of a project to create a business proposal, infographic, and poster, presented using the digital platform Canva as a form of multimodal composition. Next, students discussed the results of their work through Google Classroom, using a translanguaging approach that flexibly incorporated Bahasa Indonesia, English, and Malay to support understanding and interaction. The results of the practice showed an increase in active student participation, courage in expressing ideas, and a better understanding of the learning material. The use of multimodal allows students to express ideas more variedly, while translanguaging acts as a bridge to overcome language barriers. However, challenges such as limited vocabulary and dependence on Bahasa Indonesia were still encountered. Overall, this practice demonstrates that integrating translanguaging and multimodal learning in a vocational context can transform students from passive to more productive English users. This approach is recommended as an inclusive and contextual learning strategy for students with limited English proficiency.
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