Beyond seeking equivalents: exploring Chinese master’s students’ use of machine translation as a translanguaging process in EAP writing

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose This study employs the translanguaging theory to explore how Chinese master’s students use machine translation (MT) as part of their semiotic and spatial repertoires in the English for academic purpose (EAP) writing process. Design The study gathered data through interviews, field observations, screen recordings, artifacts of written texts, and post-class conversations to show students’ use of MT and their perceived affordances and constraints. The data were subject to thematic analysis. Findings Students flexibly employed their biliteracy and digital literacy to improve MT outputs. They also integrated MT with other semiotic and spatial resources, which empowered their negotiation of linguistic and cultural differences. However, the challenges for the translanguaging approach to using MT arose from the emphasis on monolithic language standards over students’ rhetorical agency and linguistic flexibility in the EAP educational context. Originality/value This study reveals that multilingual learners could draw upon the full range of their meaning-making toolkits, encompassing linguistic, semiotic, and cultural resources with spatial affordance in their MT engagement in EAP writing. The study suggests that EAP education should value students as bilingual/multilingual authors who can compose with a broad spectrum of linguistic, multimodal, and spatial resources, with MT being a key component, to enrich their learning practices.