Translanguaging within multimodal composition products and processes: A systematic review

ABSTRACT

Digital multimodal composition affords emergent bilingual students (EBs) distinct opportunities to engage with content, develop aspects of identity, and learn about new technology and composing processes. Multimodal composition also offers opportunities for students to leverage the full range of their linguistic repertoires. This study seeks to better understand how EBs deploy, mesh, and orchestrate varied linguistic resources in composing processes and products. More specifically, it systematically analyzes the empirical research on multimodal composing and adolescent EBs, attending to ways that students translanguage within composing processes and products. In composing processes, EBs translanguaged to access and establish information, collaborate with classmates, and interact with communities. In composing products, EBs translanguaged to express identity, add nuance to and augument meaning, and engage audiences. Implications for classroom practice and theories of composition and translanguaging are then discussed, suggesting the importance of pedagogy that is designed for and responsive to students’ language practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Translanguaging
• emergent bilinguals
• digital composition
• adolescent

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mark B Pacheco

Mark B Pacheco is an Assistant Professor of ESOL/Bilingual Education in the School of Teaching & Learning at the University of Florida. His research focuses on multilingual students’ language and literacy practices, and how teachers can support these practices across content areas. He is a former high school ESL and English teacher.

Blaine E Smith

Blaine E Smith is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teaching, and Learning at Vanderbilt University. Blaine’s research examines bi/multilingual adolescents’ digital literacies across contexts, with special attention to their multimodal composing processes. Her work also focuses on developing scaffolded instructional strategies for supporting teachers’ integration of technology in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms.

Eva Combs

Eva Combs is a PhD student in the ESOL/Bilingual Education program at the University of Florida. Her research interests include how people understand multilingualism and its effects on learning, teacher education, and decolonial practices.

Natalie A Amgott

Natalie A Amgott is the Associate Director of Online Language Learning at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research centres how educators and students can leverage multiple modes, such as image, text, sound, and gesture, while learning second languages. She also evaluates the user experience of different stakeholders in higher education when implementing new multiliteracies curriculum for language teaching and learning.