STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF TRANSLANGUAGING STRATEGIES AND THEIR ROLE IN SPEAKING FLUENCY IN EFL CLASSROOMS

Abstract

Speaking fluency remains a major challenge for EFL students, particularly when linguistic and affective barriers arise during oral communication. In multilingual contexts such as Indonesia, students possess linguistic resources in Indonesian and English that can be flexibly drawn upon through translanguaging. This study aimed to explore students' perceptions of the role of translanguaging in supporting speaking fluency and to identify the translanguaging strategies perceived as most helpful. A qualitative descriptive design was employed, involving four active fourth- and sixth-semester students from an English Education Study Program selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews conducted online and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis. The findings revealed four themes concerning students' perceived role of translanguaging: supporting idea formulation, maintaining speech flow during difficulties, reducing affective pressure, and functioning as conditional rather than universal support. In addition, four translanguaging strategies were identified as helpful: L1-based idea planning and translation, strategic language alternation, cross-linguistic lexical problem-solving, and bilingual peer and pre-speaking discussion, with L1-based planning emerging as the most consistently reported strategy. The study concludes that translanguaging is perceived as a strategic and conditional linguistic resource rather than a substitute for English practice, and that its use should be adjusted to students' needs and the demands of specific speaking situations. ABSTRAK Kelancaran berbicara merupakan tantangan utama bagi mahasiswa EFL, terutama ketika hambatan linguistik dan afektif muncul selama komunikasi lisan. Dalam konteks multibahasa seperti Indonesia, mahasiswa memiliki sumber daya linguistik berupa bahasa Indonesia dan bahasa Inggris yang dapat digunakan secara fleksibel melalui translanguaging. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengeksplorasi persepsi mahasiswa mengenai peran translanguaging dalam mendukung kelancaran berbicara serta mengidentifikasi strategi translanguaging yang dianggap paling membantu. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain deskriptif kualitatif dengan melibatkan empat mahasiswa aktif Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris semester empat dan enam yang dipilih melalui purposive sampling. Data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara semi-terstruktur individual secara daring dan dianalisis menggunakan analisis tematik enam tahap Braun dan Clarke. Hasil penelitian mengungkap empat tema terkait persepsi peran translanguaging, yaitu dukungan terhadap formulasi ide, pemeliharaan kelancaran bicara saat mengalami kesulitan, pengurangan tekanan afektif, serta sifatnya yang kondisional dan tidak universal. Selain itu, ditemukan empat strategi translanguaging yang dipersepsikan membantu, yaitu perencanaan ide berbasis bahasa pertama, pengalihan bahasa strategis, pemecahan masalah leksikal lintas bahasa, dan diskusi dwibahasa sebelum berbicara, dengan perencanaan berbasis bahasa pertama sebagai strategi yang paling konsisten dilaporkan. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa translanguaging dipersepsikan sebagai sumber daya linguistik strategis yang bersifat kondisional, bukan pengganti praktik berbahasa Inggris, sehingga penggunaannya perlu disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan mahasiswa dan tuntutan situasi berbicara.