Multilingualism and translanguaging as a resource for teaching and learning in French Guiana

International audienceThe French educational system commonly invalidates the multilingualism of primary school children. Education in French Guiana, a French overseas territory, also operates under this system and therefore minority languages (Indigenous languages, Creole languages, Migrant languages and so on) are rarely or never taken into account in schools. Official texts do not prohibit the use of languages other than French in the classroom; however, education officials often state that other languages are prohibited when advising and evaluating teachers. However, ethnographic fieldwork and data from a range of schools in French Guiana show that in everyday interactions teachers do codeswitch and that children's mother tongues are often used in the classroom by the children (in some form of translanguaging), by the teachers, and by other participants. This paper shows that multilingualism and translanguaging can be a positive asset for both teaching and learning