Influence of translanguaging in writing across languages: a case of multilingual primary students in Sri Lanka
List of Authors
  • Nihmathulla, Mohmed Cassim Badurusaman

Keyword
  • ESL, Multilingual Students,Primary School Education, Second Language Writing, Tamil, Translanguaging, Sinhala, Sri Lanka

Abstract
  • Studying aspects of multilingualism, such as the dynamics of multilingual and linguistic variation, is a widely documented phenomenon. What remains relatively less explored in such studies, however, concerns how translanguaging (TL) influences writing across languages. This study considers essays written by three students at the primary level of education in Sri Lanka in their first language (L1/Tamil), second language (L2/English) and third language (L3/Sinhala). The purpose of the study is to comprehend how TL practices influence their writing and to report on the reflections of the students and their teachers on TL in writing. The study provides insights into how TL supports student writing across languages and the views of teachers and students on TL in writing. Additionally, implications for the education of multilingual students are discussed. Li, W., & García, O. (2022). Not a first language but one repertoire: Translanguaging as a decolonizing project. RELC Journal, 53(2), 313-324.https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882221092841Lindgren, E., Westum, A., Outakoski, H., & Sullivan, K. P. H. (2017). Meaning-makingacross languages: a case study of three multilingual writers in Sápmi. International Journal of Multilingualism,14(2), 124–143.https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2016.1155591Merriam, S.B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. Jossey-Bass.Muguruza, B., Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2023): Implementing translanguaging pedagogies in an English medium instruction course. International Journal of Multilingualism, 20(2), 540–555. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2020.1822848Otheguy, R., O. García,& W. Reid (2015). Clarifying translanguaging and deconstructing named languages: A perspective from linguistics. Applied Linguistics Review, 6(3), 281–307. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2015-0014Orellana, M. F., Martínez, R. A., & Martínez, D. C. (2014). Language brokering and translanguaging: Lessons on leveraging students’ linguistic competencies. Language Arts, 91, 311–312.Schneider, E. (2016). Hybrid Englishes: An exploratory survey. World Englishes,35, 339–354.https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12204Sayer, P. (2013). Translanguaging, TexMex, and bilingual pedagogy: Emergent bilinguals learning through the vernacular. TESOL Quarterly, 47(1), 63–88. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.53Stake, R. E. (1994). Case studies. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research(pp. 236–247). Sage.Tullock, B.D., & Fernández-Villanueva, M. (2013).The role of previously learned languages in the thought process of multilingual writers at the Deutsce Schule Barcelona, Research in the Teaching of English, 47(4), 420–441.https://doi.org/10.58680/rte201323633Velasco, P., & García, O. (2014). TL and the writing of bilingual learners. Bilingual Research Journal: The Journal of the National Association for Bilingual Education, 37, 6–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2014.893270 Williams, C. (1994). Arfarniad o ddulliau dysgu ac addysgu yng nghyddestun addysg uwchradd ddwyieithog [An evaluation of teaching and learning methods in the context of bilingual secondary education] (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Wales, Bangor.Worthy, J., Durán, L., Hikida, M., Pruitt, A., & Peterson, K. (2013). Spaces for dynamic bilingualism in read-aloud discussions: Developing and strengthening bilingual and academic skills. Bilingual Research Journal:The Journal of the National Association for Bilingual Education, 36, 311–328.https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2013.845622

Reference
  • 1. Angelova, M., Delmi Gunawardena, D., & Volk, D. (2006). Peer teaching and learning: Coconstructing language in a dual language first grade. Language and education, 20(3), 173– 190. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500780608668722
    1. Bauer, E. B., Persiado, V., & Colomer, S. (2017). Writing through partnership: Fostering translanguaging in children who are emergent bilinguals. Journal of Literacy Research, 49(1), 10–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296X16683417
    2. Blackledge, A., Creese, A., & Takhi, J. K. (2014). Beyond multilingualism: Heteroglossia in practice. In May, S. (Ed.), The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and bilingual education (pp. 191–215). Routledge.
    3. Blasena, L. (2020). Influence of translanguaging interventions on writing in elementary immersion [Master of Arts in Education Action Research]. St Catherine University, Sophia.
    4. Block, D. (2007). Bilingualism: Four assumptions and four responses. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 1, 66–82. https://doi.org/10.2167/illt043.0
    5. Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative research for education: Theories and methods. Pearson.
    6. Boyatzis, R. E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. SAGE Publications.
    7. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
    8. Canagarajah, A. S. (2006). Toward a writing pedagogy of shuttling between languages: Learning from multilingual writes. College English, 68, 589– 604.
    9. Canagarajah, S. (2011). Codemeshing in academic writing: Identifying teachable strategies of translanguaging. The Modern Language Journal, 95(3), 401–417. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2011.01207.x
    10. Canagarajah, S. (2013). Translingual practice: Global Englishes and cosmopolitan relations. Routledge. Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2011). Focus on multilingualism: A study of trilingual writing. The Modern Language Journal, 95(3), 356–369. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540- 4781.2011.01206.x
    11. Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2017). Translanguaging as a pedagogical tool in multilingual education. In J. Cenoz, D. Gorter, & S. May (Eds.), Language awareness and multilingualism. Encyclopaedia of language and education (pp. 309–321). Springer.
    12. Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2020). Teaching English through pedagogical translanguaging. World Englishes, 39(2), 300–311. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12462
    13. Cervantes-Soon, C. (2014). A critical look at dual language immersion in the new Latin@ diaspora. Bilingual Research Journal, 37, 64–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2014.893267
    14. Creese, A., & Blackledge, A. (2010). Translanguaging in the bilingual classroom: A pedagogy for learning and teaching? The Modern Language Journal, 94, 103–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2009.00986.x
    15. Dorner, L., & Layton, A. (2014). "?Cómo se dice?" Children's multilingual discourses (or interacting, representing, and being) in a first-grade Spanish immersion classroom. Linguistics and Education, 25(1), 24–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2013.12.001
    16. Dworin, J. E. (2003). Insights into biliteracy development: Toward a bidirectional theory of bilingual pedagogy. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 2, 171–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 1538192702250621
    17. Dworin, J. E., & Moll, L. (2006). Guest editor’s introduction. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 6, 234-240. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798406069795
    18. Flores. N., & García, O. (2017). A critical review of bilingual education in the United States: From basements and pride to boutiques and profit. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 37, 14– 29. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190517000162
    19. García, O. (2009). Bilingual education in the 21st Century: A global perspective. John Wiley & Sons.
    20. García, O., & Li, W. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. Macmillan.
    21. García, O., & Li, W. (2018). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. Bellaterra Journal of Teaching & Learning Language & Literature, 11(1), 85–95. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/jtl3.764
    22. Gort, M. (2008). “You give me idea!” Collaborative strides toward bilingualism and biliteracy in a two-way partial immersion program. Multicultural Perspectives, 10(4), 192–200.
    23. Gort, M. (2012). Code-switching patterns in the writing-related talk of young emergent bilinguals. Journal of Literacy Research, 44(1), 45–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296x11431626
    24. Hélot, C. (2014). Rethinking bilingual pedagogy in Alsace: Translingual writers and Translanguaging. In A. Blackledge & A. Creese (Eds.), Heteroglossia as practice and pedagogy (pp. 217–238). Springer.
    25. Herdina, P., & Jessner, U. (2002). A dynamic model of multilingualism. Multilingual Matters.
    26. Kiramba, L. K. (2017). Translanguaging in the writing of emergent multilinguals. International Multilingual Research Journal, 11(2), 115–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2016.1239457
    27. Kobayashi, H. & Rinnert, C. (2013). L1/L2/L3 writing development: Longitudinal case study of a Japanese multicomponent writer, Journal of Second Language Writing. 22, 4–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2012.11.001
    28. Li, W. (2011) Moment analysis and translanguaging space: Discursive construction of identities by multilingual Chinese youth in Britain. Journal of Pragmatics, 43, 1222–1235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.07.035
    29. Li, W. (2017). Translanguaging as a practical theory of language. Applied Linguistics, 39(1), 9– 30. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amx039
    30. Li, W., & García, O. (2022). Not a first language but one repertoire: Translanguaging as a decolonizing project. RELC Journal, 53(2), 313-324. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882221092841
    31. Lindgren, E., Westum, A., Outakoski, H., & Sullivan, K. P. H. (2017). Meaning-making across languages: a case study of three multilingual writers in Sápmi. International Journal of Multilingualism, 14(2), 124–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2016.1155591
    32. Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. JosseyBass.
    33. Muguruza, B., Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2023): Implementing translanguaging pedagogies in an English medium instruction course. International Journal of Multilingualism, 20(2), 540–555. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2020.1822848
    34. Otheguy, R., O. García, & W. Reid (2015). Clarifying translanguaging and deconstructing named languages: A perspective from linguistics. Applied Linguistics Review, 6(3), 281–307. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2015-0014
    35. Orellana, M. F., Martínez, R. A., & Martínez, D. C. (2014). Language brokering and translanguaging: Lessons on leveraging students’ linguistic competencies. Language Arts, 91, 311–312.
    36. Schneider, E. (2016). Hybrid Englishes: An exploratory survey. World Englishes, 35, 339–354. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12204
    37. Sayer, P. (2013). Translanguaging, TexMex, and bilingual pedagogy: Emergent bilinguals learning through the vernacular. TESOL Quarterly, 47(1), 63–88. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.53
    38. Stake, R. E. (1994). Case studies. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 236–247). Sage.
    39. Tullock, B. D., & Fernández-Villanueva, M. (2013). The role of previously learned languages in the thought process of multilingual writers at the Deutsce Schule Barcelona, Research in the Teaching of English, 47(4), 420–441. https://doi.org/10.58680/rte201323633
    40. Velasco, P., & García, O. (2014). TL and the writing of bilingual learners. Bilingual Research Journal: The Journal of the National Association for Bilingual Education, 37, 6–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2014.
    41. Williams, C. (1994). Arfarniad o ddulliau dysgu ac addysgu yng nghyddestun addysg uwchradd ddwyieithog [An evaluation of teaching and learning methods in the context of bilingual secondary education] (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Wales, Bangor.
    42. Worthy, J., Durán, L., Hikida, M., Pruitt, A., & Peterson, K. (2013). Spaces for dynamic bilingualism in read-aloud discussions: Developing and strengthening bilingual and academic skills. Bilingual Research Journal: The Journal of the National Association for Bilingual Education, 36, 311–328. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2013.845622