The Roles of Translanguaging in Multilingual Chinese International Students’ Academic Literacy Development in Canadian Higher Education

Abstract

Delving into students’ sociocultural and educational backgrounds, this study explores the divergent roles of translanguaging in graduate-level multilingual Chinese students’ academic literacy development. Ten Chinese graduate students studying at a Canadian institution participated in semi-structured interviews voicing their lived translanguaging experiences in Anglophone classrooms. Thematic analysis of interview data revealed four intricate and occasionally shifting roles of translanguaging: (a) a source of cognitive relief, (b) a tool for agentic identity negotiation, (c) a practical means to achieve goals, and (d) a context-dependent option. These roles illuminate students’ perspectives on how translanguaging operated in their English-dominant classrooms in Canada. The findings contribute to understanding translanguaging as a multifaceted and even contrasting resource, disrupting an overly romanticized view of it as a panacea. Notably, this study sheds light on the productive tensions different participants experience towards translanguaging as they navigate varying conditions, such as differing English proficiency levels and personal learning preferences. These insights underscore the context-dependent rather than universally prescriptive nature of translanguaging, thereby suggesting that translanguaging is most effective when exercised agentively, strategically, and responsively across various literacy development contexts.