Dr. Michael Rabbidge – Featured Speaker @ KOTESOL 2026
Featured Session
Reframing English Education: Translanguaging, Identity, and Ideological Resistance
This presentation examines how translanguaging, or the dynamic use of all a speaker’s languages, offers new ways to reimagine English education in Korea. Drawing on classroom research with both university and elementary teachers and learners, it highlights how translanguaging enables students to resist the constraints of English-only policies, reclaim their linguistic rights, and express authentic multilingual identities. Through classroom narratives and teacher reflections, the talk shows how translanguaging reduces language anxiety, enhances participation, and fosters emotional safety in learning environments long shaped by test-driven and monolingual ideologies.
At the same time, the session explores how teachers’ translanguaging stances challenge the broader systems of linguistic hierarchy and neoliberal accountability that govern Korean ELT. It argues that translanguaging is not simply a pedagogical method, but an act of ideological resistance that reconnects language learning with equity, empathy, and identity. The presentation concludes with practical strategies for teachers and institutions seeking to create more inclusive, multilingual, and socially just classrooms.
Biosketch
Michael Rabbidge is a senior lecturer in applied linguistics at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. His research examines translanguaging, language ideology, and identity in multilingual education, investigating how these dynamics shape English language teaching and teacher identity across Aotearoa New Zealand, Korea, and Afghanistan. Drawing on over twenty years of international teaching and teacher-education experience, Dr. Rabbidge’s work highlights how multilingual practices foster authenticity, autonomy, and equity in language classrooms. He has published widely on translanguaging pedagogy, teacher identity, and critical language policy. At Waikato, Dr. Rabbidge teaches across the postgraduate TESOL programs, serves as program lead for Postgraduate Teaching and Learning, and supervises research that advances inclusive pedagogies, multilingual justice, and the sociopolitical dimensions of English language education.
Web Link
Dr. Rabbidge’s Faculty Profile: https://profiles.waikato.ac.nz/search?by=text&type=user&v=Rabbidge
Recent Publications
Rabbidge, M., & Zaheeb, A. S. (2025). Evolving landscapes of investment: Revisiting the model of investment in the face of sociopolitical shifts. International Journal of TESOL Studies, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.58304/ijts.250710
Rabbidge, M. (2026). Translanguaging as a socio-critical practice in Korean EFL classrooms: Identity, agency, and emotional well-being. In P. Férez Mora & Y. Coyle (Eds.), Pioneering socio-critical approaches in English as a foreign language (EFL) research (pp. 191–220). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3373-0040-5.ch007
Rabbidge, M. (2025). Translanguaging in ELT. In A. Nazari, N. (Ed.), Empowering the English language teacher in a multipolar environment. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-4839-9_11
Rabbidge, M., & Gomez, Y. R. (2024). How perceived rights and duties influence identity positions in an international TESOL graduate program. TESOL Journal, 15, Article e814. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.814
Rabbidge, M., & Banerjee, M. (2022). Positional identities of an international student in South Korea: Denied rights and neglected duties. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 23(5), 613–626. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2021.2014844
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