Translanguaging Practices in Composition Scholarship and Pedagogy: Issues, Evidence, and Controversies

Abstract

The notion of translanguaging has hitherto gained prominence in composition scholarship and pedagogy. Scholars have specifically pointed out that translanguaging pedagogy is particularly germane if it is implemented in the teaching and learning of writing in a multilingual setting. Drawing upon the plethora of published studies, these scholars have argued that translanguaging strategies can help maximize students’ linguistic resources and communicative potentials. This conceptual article looks at intellectual endeavors which try to challenge the monolingual ideology and its biases, and to justify the legitimacy of mixing different linguistic codes for achieving desired communicative goals in written communication. Contemporary issues of composition scholarship and pedagogy under translanguaging vantage point of view will be addressed, and evidence of code-meshing from multilingual writers showcasing the acts of translanguaging in academic writing presented. Finally, the article discusses the controversies over the application of the notion of translanguaging in writing research and pedagogy.