Translingual practices in Chinese as a second language writing: Variations across language proficiency levels

Abstract

This study investigates the variations in multilingual students’ translingual practices across language proficiency levels in the context of Chinese as a second language (CSL) writing. The case study examined multilingual students’ CSL writing across different proficiency levels at a Sino-US joint-venture university in China, with the aim to understand the variations in translingual practices across these levels. The findings revealed that as language proficiency advanced, there was a corresponding increase in the sophistication of translingual practices, which was manifested in a rise in nuanced, strategic, and culturally inclusive writing. The gradual development in language proficiency allowed students to navigate beyond lexical boundaries and embrace linguistic and cultural diversity, which indicated a change from a monolingual viewpoint to a translingual one. These findings underscore the vital role of language proficiency in both the research and implementation of translingual practices, indicating that translingual practices extend beyond mere scaffolding to involve the development of translingual and transcultural competence. This points toward the need to foster linguistic diversity and cultivate this competence within classroom environments to optimize the enactment of translingual practices for CSL writing education.

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