Taking the Leap: Supporting Multilingual Writers Through Translanguaging

Abstract

AbstractTranslanguaging pedagogies support student writers in expressing themselves using their full language repertoires, writing for authentic audiences, and connecting to their identities. However, many teachers, particularly those who identify as “monolingual” and teach in English‐medium classrooms, may not know how to introduce translanguaging into their writing instruction. This study explores how three pre‐service teachers enrolled in a writing methods course enacted translanguaging pedagogies in their English‐medium student teaching classrooms. Drawing on case study methods, this article highlights entry points to translanguaging pedagogies in writing instruction, suggesting that teachers can foster translanguaging by crafting invitations to compose bilingually, choosing topics and genres intentionally, using strategic supports, and pushing themselves to step beyond their comfort zones. Ultimately, this article argues that all teachers of writing can begin to invite their students’ languages into their writing classrooms, creating spaces where children draw on their full language repertoires as they make and express meaning.