Translanguaging in Australian Classrooms

Australian classrooms are among the most linguistically diverse in the world, with more than 350 languages spoken across the nation. Yet, despite this rich reality, schools continue to be shaped by the enduring dominance of English monolingualism. Translanguaging in Australian Classrooms calls for a fundamental rethinking of teacher education, curriculum, and pedagogy to better reflect and harness the plurilingual repertoires of today’s learners.
At the heart of this book is the concept of Plurilingual Pedagogical Knowledge (PPK), a transformative framework that equips teachers to move beyond traditional literacy models and to value, mobilise, and affirm students’ full communicative resources. Drawing on practitioner inquiry and richly detailed case studies, the book demonstrates how translanguaging can be enacted across subject areas, from mathematics and science to social studies and the arts.
Challenging entrenched language ideologies, this volume positions teachers as agents of linguistic equity, capable of designing inclusive classrooms that support both academic success and cultural identity. It offers a compelling vision for teacher education in Australia, one that places linguistic justice at the centre of professional practice and reimagines the future of schooling through the dynamic possibilities of plurilingualism.

Sue Ollerhead is Associate Professor of Education in Literacy and Language at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. Her academic career spans several countries and continents, shaped by a lifelong commitment to linguistic and social justice in education. Before moving to the Pacific, she held senior roles at the University of New South Wales and Macquarie University in Australia, where she was Director of Secondary Education and specialised in language teacher education.
Born and raised in South Africa, a country known for its twelve official languages, Sue developed an early interest in multilingualism and the role of language in shaping educational opportunity. This interest has guided and shaped her career, which has included roles in language teaching and educational publishing across sub-Saharan and North Africa, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Sue’s work focuses on the relationship between language, identity, and power in schools, with a particular emphasis on multilingual classrooms and the need for culturally responsive teaching. She has written extensively on these themes and her research is widely published in academic journals. Her writing explores how teachers can better support diverse learners through approaches that honour students’ languages, backgrounds, and ways of knowing.
Across all her roles, as a researcher, teacher educator, and advocate, Sue brings a deep commitment to equity and a belief in the transformative power of education when it is inclusive, grounded in context, and informed by the communities it serves.