The pedagogical component of our research targets the interaction between all the languages known by learners in order to facilitate additional language (Lx) development. Our work embraces the tenets of crosslinguistic pedagogy challenging traditional approaches imposing target-language-only communicative activities in class. This new framework promoting the use of learners’ entire linguistic repertoires is based on recent research demonstrating the positive effects of crosslinguistic practices on different aspects of language and identity development of plurilingual learners.

In the Canadian context, research using the crosslinguistic framework has mostly focused on bilingual development, and almost exclusively in French-English/English-French immersion programs.Similarly, research having investigated crosslinguistic classroom practicesin the U.S.A. has mostly been conducted in dual language programs targeting emerging bilinguals of English and Spanish.In these programs, learners usually share the same native and target languages. However, both Canadian and American social and linguistic landscapes are increasingly diverse, thus leading learners’ linguistic repertoires to be increasingly complex. Some learners make use of more than two languages in day-to-day communicative situations, and their repertoires include a wider range of languages. Our research takes into account these social changes.

Building on the concept of languaging, where language is seen and used as a learning tool to acquire new knowledge, the notion of translanguaging refers to the process of acquiring new knowledge by mobilizing different languages as a resource. We propose to use translanguaging as strategic classroom practice in order to eliminate knowledge barriers on languages and between languages, and allow learners to use their plurilingual repertoires as a resource to develop new language knowledge.