Translanguaging in practice: A motherscholar’s journey to nurture Cantonese heritage language development

Abstract This is a critical self-inquiry study that explores how a motherscholar utilized her pedagogical expertise and grappled with structural challenges to support her children’s Cantonese heritage language development. Her strategic use of translanguaging pedagogy not only facilitated her children’s willingness and engagement in speaking Cantonese but also nurtured their transnational identities across the USA and Hong Kong. Despite her pedagogical background, she faced significant challenges due to resource limitations, highlighting systemic issues that affect many multilingual families. In addition, findings revealed tensions between her language ideologies and translanguaging practices, indicating the complexities of applying theoretical knowledge to real-world applications. This motherscholar’s experiences reflect significant societal deficiencies, revealing deep disconnect between her understanding of the importance of developing her children’s multilingualism, transnational knowledge, and identities, and the support available in their existing environment. The study calls for enhanced community and educational support that alleviates individual burdens and promotes a more equitable linguistic landscape, emphasizing the need for support for multilingual upbringing within diverse communities. The implications of these findings are discussed further in the study.