Abstract Translanguaging practices in Chinese as a second language (CSL) classrooms have been a heated topic in recent years, despite the longstanding Chinese-monolingual ideology. Against this backdrop, we have explored the functions of translanguaging practices in CSL classroom and the interplay of translanguaging and learners’ participation, by comparing the language practices of a translanguaging-oriented classroom and a Chinese-monolingual classroom. We found the functions of classroom translanguaging include meaning-negotiation, peer-assisting, efficiency-increasing and communication encouraging. The findings also reveal that although multilingual practices can also be found in the Chinese-monolingual classroom, they are characterized by a norm-conforming pattern, in contrast to the norm-breaking pattern in the translanguaging-oriented classroom, and the latter can empower students and motivate them to become engaged in Chinese learning. Moreover, multilingual practices deliberately adopted by teachers can be regarded as pedagogical translanguaging and facilitate learner engagement only when there exists no discrepancy between their pedagogical ideology (i.e. advocating translanguaging) and practices. Based on our findings, we advocate a reflection and adjustments to the current monolingual policy in CSL classroom.
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