Translanguaging and Multiliteracies in the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Classroom

In our extremely technologized world, enabling students to use a variety of media and modes in learning is an important component of the 21 st century education. It is necessary to foster communication with diverse audiences and to encourage students to become critical designers of technologically mediated communications. Translanguaging and multiliteracies as approaches in applied linguistics hold promise to achieve these goals in the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classroom. This article discusses translanguaging as a concept, its use in the classroom, and its development as pedagogy. The article also examines the teaching of reading and writing, literacy, multiliteracies, and how the latter relates to the 21 st century education. Further, the article discusses the intersections between translanguaging and multiliteracies while drawing out some implications for the ESOL classroom.