16 Students’ Languages Matter: Translingualism and Critical Language Awareness

The three authors of this chapter are professors at the University of Toronto, which draws students from around 170 countries and regions (University of Toronto, 2023). When we consider students’ language backgrounds, we note that while English or French is the first language for many, a significant number of students are native users of a language other than these two. Even local students come to our Mississauga campus with vast linguistic and cultural diversity, with more than half reporting a mother tongue other than English (Statistics Canada, 2022). Faculty who teach writing also represent linguistic diversity. For example, Janine was raised in Jamaica and speaks patois and English. Zhaozhe grew up in China, and English is his second language. Mark’s mother tongue is English, but his American version has many different phrases and spellings than Canadian English.

The University of Toronto is only one of many universities that enroll students (and employ professors!) who hail from a wide range of linguistic backgrounds. In the face of this unprecedented linguistic diversity, university writing courses are moving away from certain assumptions:

• That writing in a Canadian context must be done in either English or French, and that everyone does this easily.
• That students’ prior experience of writing in another language or variety of English does not matter.
• That instructors’ role is primarily to correct students’ grammar and to teach the “correct” way to write in a university setting.

In recent decades, key concepts that have framed reflection on and revision of such assumptions include translingualism and critical language awareness.

Translingualism and Critical Language Awareness

Translingualism highlights the idea that we, as writers, regardless of our dominant language, draw on various language resources (e.g., first/native language, home language, vernacular English, internet slang, emojis, etc.) to make and negotiate meaning (see Canagarajah, 2013; Silva & Wang, 2021). Writing in standardized English is not the only legitimate means of making and negotiating meaning. Studies by Velasco and Garcia (2014) and Zhang-Wu (2022) also confirm the value of translingualism as an asset during the writing process, especially during brainstorming and drafting.

In practice, we are always already meshing various language resources during the invention phase; translingualism encourages you to meaningfully (and courageously) experiment with this meshing in an informed manner. For example, the Chinese word “写作 (xie zuo)” literally translates to “writing and inventing” in English. As a result, finding a single English word that captures the nuanced essence of the original Chinese term might prove challenging. In such cases, Zhaozhe would experiment with using “写作 (xie zuo)” to convey his message, accompanied by a brief English explanation to ensure comprehension among his Canadian audience. Clearly, we need to be prepared to explain and potentially defend our translingual practice, as we would any other rhetorical choices, and yet the incorporation of languages other than English can potentially enrich a piece of writing.

Related to this last point, critical language awareness (CLA) (Shapiro, 2022) speaks to our ability to recognize, critique, and negotiate the power and privilege of language, especially one that tends to structure how we think, write, and live (e.g., standardized Academic English). Cultivating CLA empowers us to question why certain languages are perceived as more powerful than others, even when we still need to use them in certain contexts.

What Does This Mean for Writing Courses?

In our writing courses, we encourage students to use languages that are not standardized Academic English, and we ask them to help their audiences by providing translation or summary in English when necessary. Students in writing courses might consider whether that might be an option for them in their own courses. They could also think about using academic sources that are not written in English, or about including non-western academic research in their assignments (Zhang-Wu, 2022). There are rewards but also risks involved for students in bringing their language resources into play. We write to be read, and it is a good idea for students to speak with their professors about the appropriateness of these sources and about using translations when needed.

Professors, in their turn, could signal their attitude of openness to translingual practices. For instance, Janine is open about her identity and linguistic background with her students, thereby creating a welcoming space for students to be translingual. We encourage students to look for translingual spaces and opportunities when searching for courses, or to ask instructors about such affordances or opportunities in assignments. Janine has found that students often feel compelled to document their writing journeys in Canadian contexts only. For example, an Indonesian student may not have felt it appropriate to mention writing pleasures or challenges that they may have experienced in their own country of birth. However, Janine has found that writing about experiences in non-western and non-English communities is a way in which her students have engaged in translingual writing, in addition to claiming their entire linguistic histories. Using this approach enriches students’ writing because they are drawing on diverse experiences and a much more expansive linguistic repertoire.

Conclusion

As students approach university writing, we encourage them to remember two important points. First of all, the linguistic and cultural history of writers matters, and they do not need to leave it behind. Translingual theory tells us that all of us draw from a wide range of linguistic tools, even if English is our mother tongue. When a writer phrases things differently from another writer—even another writer whose first language is English—that is not necessarily a bad thing. Such language variation is not only normal, it can lend a special kind of magic to writing.

Second, we encourage students to think about the contexts in which they are writing and to make conscious decisions about the language they use to communicate. If a student is writing a lab report, for example, it may be important to get as close to “standard” as they can. However, there are many university genres that will be enriched by conscious translingual application of other languages or linguistic patterns. At the centre of CLA is students’ right to make those decisions for themselves. If students speak or write in ways that are different from standardized Academic English, that need not limit them. In fact, it may help them write something uniquely powerful.

                                                                    References

Canagarajah, A. S. (2013). Translingual practice: Global Englishes and cosmopolitan relations. Routledge.

Shapiro, S. (2022). Cultivating critical language awareness in the writing classroom. Routledge.

Silva, T., & Wang, Z. (Eds.). (2021). Reconciling translingualism and second language writing. Routledge.

Statistics Canada. (2022, August 17). Mother tongue by first official language spoken and knowledge of official languages: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions. Retrieved November 11, 2023, from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810017001&geocode=A000535%2021005

University of Toronto. (2023). Quick facts. Retrieved November 11, 2023, from https://www.utoronto.ca/about-u-of-t/quick-facts

Velasco, P., & García, O. (2014). Translanguaging and the writing of bilingual learners. Bilingual Research Journal, 37(1), 6–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2014.893270

Zhang-Wu, Q. (2022). “Keeping home languages out of the classroom”: Multilingual international students’ perceptions of translingualism in an online college composition class. Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1558/jmtp.21280