Bilingual/Multilingual Qualitative Research

Bibliographic Data

ID23716133
AuthorsOreto García (0000-0002-1405-9965), Ofelia García, María-Elena Gómez-Parra, María‐Elena Gómez‐Parra
Year2025
Pages1-8
Publication date2025-12-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueEncyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0983.pub2
OpenAlexW4416917749
ISBN9781405198431
LanguageEN
References cited34

This entry examines the paradigm shift in multilingualism research, tracing its evolution from monolingual‐based understandings to more nuanced approaches that recognize the complexity of linguistic practices. Traditional conceptualizations of bilingualism as double monolingualism and code‐switching as discrete language alternation have been challenged, instead embracing translanguaging—the fluid deployment of individuals' complete linguistic repertoires without rigid adherence to named language boundaries. While early research in bilingualism favored positivistic quantitative methodologies, contemporary scholarship increasingly employs qualitative approaches to better capture the dynamic, interdependent systems of plurilingual practices. This methodological shift reflects broader epistemological changes in understanding language as socially constructed and embedded in power relations, as well as the “reflexive turn” in research that acknowledges the subjective, dialogic nature of knowledge production. This article outlines the evolution of qualitative research on multilingualism, focusing on how translanguaging has impacted our research questions about language and multilingualism, and ways of doing research. As a decolonizing method, translanguaging research requires new analytical methods for different onto‐epistemologies.

Dialogic · Interdependence · Multilingualism · Neuroscience of multilingualism · Qualitative research · Scholarship · Translanguaging

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