Polytechnic University of Valencia Congress, Seventh International Conference on Higher Education Advances

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¿Y si usamos los dos? Attitudes towards Translanguaging in an L2 Spanish Writing Course
Gema Lopez-Hevia, Sergio Ruiz-Perez

Last modified: 07-06-2021

Abstract


In the past decade, the second language acquisition (SLA) field has challenged the understanding of bi/multilingual speakers and even second language (L2) learners (Valdés, 2005). This multilingual reconception has brought the use of translingual practices to the forefront of the SLA discussion. Translanguaging is a new approach to language use, bilingual acquisition, and bilingual education that sees all acquired languages (or those being acquired) as components of one bi/multilingual repertoire (García & Wei, 2014). Discussions of specific pedagogical applications of translingualism have remained limited and have been regarded as speculative (Gervers, 2018; Matsuda, 2014). It is still unclear how such pedagogies would address the diverse needs of bi/multilingual student writers. Based on the need to further understand the use of translanguaging in the classroom, the present article explores the translingual practices and attitudes of students in a Spanish undergraduate writing class that permitted flexible use of translanguaging. Results from surveys and interviews suggest that students can better focus on the message they want to convey without linguistic pressure. Additionally, pairing students for collaborative writing enhances their overall drafting development.

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