Translanguaging As a Strategy to Improve Reading Engagement and Comprehension Among Students
Abstract
This study investigated the implementation of translanguaging as an instructional strategy and its impact on the reading engagement and comprehension of Senior High School students in selected public secondary schools in Cebu and Bohol. Employing a descriptive-quantitative multi-site research design, the study involved 246 respondents, composed of 6 English language teachers and 240 student learners from Antonio R. Lapiz National High School in Naga, Cebu; Corella National High School in Bohol; and San Fernando Open/Night High School in Cebu. Data were collected through structured survey questionnaires, standardized reading competency tests aligned with the Department of Education’s Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs), and academic grading records. Findings revealed that teachers frequently utilized oral translanguaging practices, including direct word translation and spontaneous rephrasing (3.11), while formal bilingual instructional materials and adaptive assessments were seldom used (1.67) due to institutional preferences for monolingual instruction. Results further showed that students performed at a Proficient level in literal text retrieval under MELC 3.1 (2.64). However, performance declined in higher-order literacy skills, with learners rated Nearly Proficient in vocabulary context-clue decoding under MELC 3.3 (2.32) and inferential reasoning under MELC 3.2 (2.18). Academic records indicated that 70.84% of students remained within the lower passing grade ranges of 75–79 and 80–84. The study also identified significant institutional and affective barriers (3.45), including learner anxiety associated with English-only policies and the lack of bilingual learning resources. The findings suggest that translanguaging, when systematically integrated into instruction, can support reading engagement, comprehension, and overall academic performance among Senior High School learners, thereby informing evidence-based instructional improvements across diverse multilingual Philippine secondary school contexts.