Multilingual writer

Last updated December 13, 2024

A multilingual writer is a person who has the ability to write in two or more languages, or in more than one dialect of a language.^[1] Depending on the situation and the environment, these writers are often identified with many labels, such as second-language writers, non-native speakers, language learners, and many others.^[1] In Life as a Bilingual by François Grosjean, it is mentioned that approximately 50% to 70% of the world’s population is bilingual.^[2]

Multilingual literacy programs
Translingualism in multilingual writing
Pedagogy in multilingual writing
Multilingual teachers in writing
Writer identity for multilingual writers
Challenges multilingual writers' experience in writing
Multilingual writers in college
List of multilingual writers
References
Further reading

Multilingual writers have the ability to be more aware of many aspects of their writing process and their final product.^[3] In addition, the domain of two or more languages and dialects allows these writers to have unique rhetorical perspectives and a remarkable ability to perform the skills at hand.^[4] Multilingual writers are often discouraged because they are held to native-speaker or monolingual standards, and most educational systems end up discouraging multilingual literacy.^[5]

Multilingual literacy programs

Around the world, educational institutions are creating programs to encourage multilingual literacy and give tools and support to multilingual writers. For example, in the United States, The Norman E. Eberly Multilingual Writing Center at Dickinson College^[4] is an ongoing program that benefits multilingual students by giving them a space where their abilities are appreciated and they are given tools that help their learning process as well as the knowledge they put out to the world.

Translingualism in multilingual writing

Translingualism is an intellectual movement that contributes to the pedagogy and philosophy of writing.^[6] This applies to multilingual writers who utilize various linguistic features in speaking and writing. There is a relationship with the process of code-meshing in writing, leading to the development of unique writing identities for many multilingual individuals.^[6]

Teachers can be open to understanding the different linguistic variations that their students may use and how they can be applied to different scenarios in writing when applicable. As there are different modes of linguistic variation in communication, different levels of usage are involved.

Pedagogy in multilingual writing

Teachers are looking into the student writer's identity regarding academic writing and different academic expectations. They discovered that there is a demand for more care and attention to the use of language in teaching. Writing is not simply about building the “basics” of academic writing taught in middle and high school.^[7]

A study done by George Mason University showed that multilingual students felt a great change in their writing identities when they changed their languages to English.^[7] Students desire more guidance in the learning process of writing academically and developing academic writing proficiency.

Students who write in their native language connect to their culture which provides them with a more “rich” and descriptive writing experience than when they wrote in English. This finding entailed that students felt limited in their writing in the English language.

As a result, students would like to learn how to use their native language’s voice more in writing in English. Teachers can support this desire by being open to student suggestions and learning their writing styles, ideas, and categories to understand the diverse language and writing methods students need to succeed in writing in English.

Multilingual teachers in writing

It isn’t only students who go through the exploration of writing and shaping their writer's identity; teachers do too. Some teachers are also multilingual and are searching for their writing identity as well.

Research by Dorthy Worden Chambers and Analeigh E. Horton^[8] found that there is an increasing diversity in the population of current and future teachers of writing. This is beneficial for students but it is also necessary to put in time and care to develop the teacher's identity. A literacy narrative project is an assignment for teachers to develop their identity, to learn and improve their language and literacy skills to know the discussions of “standard” language ideologies. Teachers create new identities and foster new teaching strategies through their learning process and use them to cater to their students’ identities in multi-literacy, “multilingual, and multi-competent identities.”^[8]

The main takeaway from this research is that there are limitations to teachers relying on “traditional” teaching ideas. The limitations are more prominent in participant Lee’s findings where teachers deal with constraints trying to develop their desired identities in their workplace. It is important to allow teachers more time to explore and learn about language and literacy and ideologies that create language “stereotypes” to discover their own identities. They then create a teaching style that values their students’ multicultural and linguistic identities in writing.

Writer identity for multilingual writers

For Multilingual Writers, developing a writer's identity requires time and an adequate environment to develop. Being in a learning environment that fosters one’s writing identity can be impactful for multilingual students.^[9]

An academic study done by Barbara Bird, Dough Downs, Moriah McCraken, and Jan Reiman from “Next Steps: New Directions for/ in Writing about Writing” looks into the study of how the Writing Studies 101 course and “Bridging program” classes help positively impact students' search for their voice and expand their writing knowledge.

The study the scholars carried out was a “case-based reflection” on students who are English language learners trying to find their writing identity in “Writing Studies 101: Exploring Writing, a first-year, contract- and portfolio-graded workshop course at the University of Alberta”. They studied students' reflections and referenced them in their articles as evidence.

The scholars found that these classes aid multilingual students in rediscovering their voices and learning to incorporate their mother language into their brainstorming and writing. They also discovered that for students who liberate their speaking voice, their writing voices would come after and this is seen with students sharing their ideas through talking and writing. Through reading a diverse variety of literature, students in the class could also gain inspiration in shaping their identity by trying to apply other people's writing styles to their works. This process would then allow students to find their style of writing over time.

Another realization for the scholars is incorporating different writing activities for students to allow them to further their writing identity: They specifically mentioned that “low-stakes generative writing” which includes freewriting, copious writing, etc., can improve fluency, and the focus and understanding of difficult texts.

The “WRS 101” class’ use of generative writing and integrating feedback strategies helps multilingual students discover newly founded identities that do not exclude their other identities. This class helps guide students out of linguistic deprivation and instead allows them to be more engaged in learning their writing journey and express their own writing styles. It also improves self-efficacy.

Challenges multilingual writers' experience in writing

Some challenges that student face when switching their first language (L1) to their second language (L2) happen during their transition from first language (L1) written classes to second language (L2) written classes and any challenges that arise within this scope.

In the Journal of Second Language Writing by Diane Belcher and Alan Hirvela, they looked into the various identities of multilingual writers transitioning from L1 writing class to L2 classes and we realized that Therethere There is often not enough attention put into understanding students' experiences in transitioning their writing “voices” from the “L1” to “L2” writing classes.^[10]

Research from Diane Belcher and Alan Hirvela illustrates that the definition of a writer's voice comes with challenges with a lack of research on how voice may be taught to the students. More effort needs to be put into understanding the writers' identities and their conception of what writing is through their voices.

Three case studies were implemented on three Latin American graduate writing students with the focus on voice as an “analytical” tool to learn about the struggles of the students transitioning from one writing class “L1” to another “L2”. Essentially, the experience of multilingual writers is affected by the breakdown use of “voice”; a usual marker that relates to identity and self-characterization.

Scholars discovered that there is not enough attention put into understanding the students’ experiences in the “L1” writing class and their transition goals into developing a “voice” in the “L2” class.

Research is important and necessary to face the definition of the voice of a writer which comes with challenges to gain a greater understanding of the voices and identities of multilingual writers that already exist. More research is needed to look into how voice may be taught to the students and put more effort into understanding the identities of the writers and their conception of what writing is through their voice.

Multilingual writers in college

Multilingual writers in college often face unique challenges in academic writing contexts, where monolingual norms are generalized. In this context, multilingual students frequently need assistance and support from additional campus resources, one of the main sources being the university writing center ^[11]. The research underscores the necessity of providing tailored support to these students from writing centers while highlighting the lack of adjustment and teaching awareness for multilingual college writers. Effective tutoring for multilingual students requires a focus on understanding linguistic experiences, maintaining open attitudes, and employing inclusive practices^[12]. Collaboration between multilingual writers and tutors-in-training is also beneficial, where both groups enhance their skills and develop a greater appreciation for linguistic diversity^[13].

Besides finding assistance from writing centers, self-directed study is also an essential process for multilingual students to learn college-level writing. Self-directed language development, while beneficial, is most effective when paired with structured, classroom-based language instruction to address the diverse needs of first-year multilingual writers^[14]. Linguistically responsive writing programs advocate for instruction that adapts to students’ backgrounds to boost writing confidence and self-efficacy^[11]. The CCCC's 2018 statement on second language writing also calls for equitable practices that recognize the assets multilingual writers bring to academic discourse^[15].

List of multilingual writers

W. E. B. Du Bois American-Ghanaian sociologist and activist.
Kahlil Gibran Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer.
Xiaolu Guo. Chinese-British novelist and film director.
Guillermo del Toro. Mexican filmmaker and author.
Junot Díaz Dominican-American writer, academic, and editor.
Ariel Dorfman. Argentine-Chilean writer and human rights activist.
Eva Hoffman. Polish-American writer and academic.
Kazuo Ishiguro. Japanese-British novelist.
Jack Kerouac. American writer.
Jhumpa Lahiri. American author.
Vladimir Nabokov Russian-American novelist.

Related Research Articles

In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. These alternations are generally intended to influence the relationship between the speakers, for example, suggesting that they may share identities based on similar linguistic histories.

English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), English as a second language (ESL), English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), English as an additional language (EAL), or English as a new language (ENL), these terms denote the study of English in environments where it is not the dominant language. Programs such as ESL are designed as academic courses to instruct non-native speakers in English proficiency, encompassing both learning in English-speaking nations and abroad.

Language transfer is the application of linguistic features from one language to another by a bilingual or multilingual speaker. Language transfer may occur across both languages in the acquisition of a simultaneous bilingual, from a mature speaker's first language (L1) to a second language (L2) they are acquiring, or from an L2 back to the L1. Language transfer is most commonly discussed in the context of English language learning and teaching, but it can occur in any situation when someone does not have a native-level command of a language, as when translating into a second language. Language transfer is also a common topic in bilingual child language acquisition as it occurs frequently in bilingual children especially when one language is dominant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Language immersion</span> Use of two languages across a variety of educational subjects

Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including maths, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction are referred to as the L1 and the L2 for each student, with L1 being the student's native language and L2 being the second language to be acquired through immersion programs and techniques. There are different types of language immersion that depend on the age of the students, the classtime spent in L2, the subjects that are taught, and the level of participation by the speakers of L1.

An interlanguage is an idiolect developed by a learner of a second language (L2) which preserves some features of their first language (L1) and can overgeneralize some L2 writing and speaking rules. These two characteristics give an interlanguage its unique linguistic organization. It is idiosyncratically based on the learner's experiences with L2. An interlanguage can fossilize, or cease developing, in any of its developmental stages. It is claimed that several factors shape interlanguage rules, including L1 transfer, previous learning strategies, strategies of L2 acquisition, L2 communication strategies, and the overgeneralization of L2 language patterns.

Second language writing is the study of writing performed by non-native speakers/writers of a language as a second or foreign language. According to Oxford University, second language writing is the expression of one's actions and what one wants to say in writing in a language other than one's native language. The process of second language writing has been an area of research in applied linguistics and second language acquisition theory since the middle of the 20th century. The focus has been mainly on second-language writing in academic settings.

Sequential bilingualism occurs when a person becomes bilingual by first learning one language and then another. The process is contrasted with simultaneous bilingualism, in which both languages are learned at the same time.

Composition studies is the professional field of writing, research, and instruction, focusing especially on writing at the college level in the United States.

English-language learner is a term used in some English-speaking countries such as the United States and Canada to describe a person who is learning the English language and has a native language that is not English. Some educational advocates, especially in the United States, classify these students as non-native English speakers or emergent bilinguals. Various other terms are also used to refer to students who are not proficient in English, such as English as a second language (ESL), English as an additional language (EAL), limited English proficient (LEP), culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), non-native English speaker, bilingual students, heritage language, emergent bilingual, and language-minority students. The legal term that is used in federal legislation is 'limited English proficient'.

The generative approach to second language (L2) acquisition (SLA) is a cognitive based theory of SLA that applies theoretical insights developed from within generative linguistics to investigate how second languages and dialects are acquired and lost by individuals learning naturalistically or with formal instruction in foreign, second language and lingua franca settings. Central to generative linguistics is the concept of Universal Grammar (UG), a part of an innate, biologically endowed language faculty which refers to knowledge alleged to be common to all human languages. UG includes both invariant principles as well as parameters that allow for variation which place limitations on the form and operations of grammar. Subsequently, research within the Generative Second-Language Acquisition (GenSLA) tradition describes and explains SLA by probing the interplay between Universal Grammar, knowledge of one's native language and input from the target language. Research is conducted in syntax, phonology, morphology, phonetics, semantics, and has some relevant applications to pragmatics.

In language learning research, identity refers to the personal orientation to time, space, and society, and the manner in which it develops together with, and because of, speech development.

A dialogue journal is an ongoing written interaction between two people to exchange experiences, ideas, knowledge or reflections. It is used most often in education as a means of sustained written interaction between students and teachers at all education levels. It can be used to promote second language learning and learning in all areas.

Multi-competence is a concept in second language acquisition formulated by Vivian Cook that refers to the knowledge of more than one language in one person's mind. From the multicompetence perspective, the different languages a person speaks are seen as one connected system, rather than each language being a separate system. People who speak a second language are seen as unique multilingual individuals, rather than people who have merely attached another language to their repertoire.

Emergent literacy is a term that is used to explain a child's knowledge of reading and writing skills before they learn how to read and write words. It signals a belief that, in literate society, young children—even one- and two-year-olds—are in the process of becoming literate. Through the support of parents, caregivers, and educators, a child can successfully progress from emergent to conventional reading.

Translingual phenomena are words and other aspects of language that are relevant in more than one language. Thus "translingual" may mean "existing in multiple languages" or "having the same meaning in many languages"; and sometimes "containing words of multiple languages" or "operating between different languages". Translingualism is the phenomenon of translingually relevant aspects of language; a translingualism is an instance thereof. The word comes from trans-, meaning "across", and lingual, meaning "having to do with languages (tongues)"; thus, it means "across tongues", that is, "across languages". Internationalisms offer many examples of translingual vocabulary. For example, international scientific vocabulary comprises thousands of translingual words and combining forms.

Translanguaging is a term that can refer to different aspects of multilingualism. It can describe the way bilinguals and multilinguals use their linguistic resources to make sense of and interact with the world around them. It can also refer to a pedagogical approach that utilizes more than one language within a classroom lesson. The term "translanguaging" was coined in the 1980s by Cen Williams in his unpublished thesis titled "An Evaluation of Teaching and Learning Methods in the Context of Bilingual Secondary Education". Williams used the term to describe the practice of using two languages in the same lesson, which differed from many previous methods of bilingual education that tried to separate languages by class, time, or day. In addition, Vogel and Garcia argued that translanguaging theory posits that rather than possessing two or more autonomous language systems, as previously thought when scholars described bilingual or multilingual speakers, bilinguals and multilingual speakers select and deploy their languages from a unitary linguistic repertoire. However, the dissemination of the term, and of the related concept, gained traction decades later due in part to published research by Ofelia García, among others. In this context, translanguaging is an extension of the concept of languaging, the discursive practices of language speakers, but with the additional feature of using multiple languages, often simultaneously. It is a dynamic process in which multilingual speakers navigate complex social and cognitive demands through strategic employment of multiple languages.

Rosa María Manchón Ruiz is a Spanish linguist. She is currently a professor of applied linguistics at the University of Murcia, Spain. Her research focuses on second language acquisition and second language writing. She was the editor of the Journal of Second Language Writing between 2008 and 2014.

Rosalind Ivanić is a Yugoslav-born British linguist. She is currently an honorary professor at the Department of Linguistics and English Language of Lancaster University, United Kingdom. Her research focuses on applied linguistics with a special focus on literacy, intertextuality, multimodal communication, adult literacy, educational linguistics, critical language awareness, punctuation, and second language writing. Along with Theo van Leeuwen and David Barton, she is considered one of the most prominent researchers on literacy.

The Sydney School is a genre-based writing pedagogy that analyses literacy levels of students. The Sydney School's pedagogy broadened the traditional observation-based writing in primary schools to encompass a spectrum of different genres of text types that are appropriate to various discourses and include fiction and non-fiction. The method and practice of teaching established by the Sydney School encourages corrective and supportive feedback in the education of writing practices for students, particularly regarding second language students. The Sydney School works to reflectively institutionalise a pedagogy that is established to be conducive to students of lower socio-economic backgrounds, indigenous students and migrants lacking a strong English literacy basis. The functional linguists who designed the genre-based pedagogy of the Sydney School did so from a semantic perspective to teach through patterns of meaning and emphasised the importance of the acquisition of a holistic literacy in various text types or genres. ‘Sydney School’ is not, however, an entirely accurate moniker as the pedagogy has evolved beyond metropolitan Sydney universities to being adopted nationally and, by 2000, was exported to centres in Hong Kong, Singapore, and parts of Britain.

References

1 2 Vieira, Kate (24 August 2019). "An Introduction to Multilingual Writers at UW-Madison". UW-Madison. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
↑ Grosjean, François. Life as a Bilingual: Knowing and Using Two or More Languages.
↑ Wesleyan University (2022). "Multilingual Writers, Writing at Wesleyan". Wesleyan University. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
1 2 Lape, Noreen (2019). "From English-centric to multilingual: The Norman E. Eberly Multilingual Writing Center at Dickinson College". Composition Forum. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
↑ Enright, Kerry A. (2011). "Multilingual writing in an age of accountability: From policy to practice in U.S. high school classrooms". Journal of Second Language Writing. 20 (3): 183–195. doi:10.1016/j.jslw.2011.05.006 – via Elsevier.
1 2 Gevers, Jeroen (2018-06-01). "Translingualism revisited: Language difference and hybridity in L2 writing". Journal of Second Language Writing. 40: 73–83. doi:10.1016/j.jslw.2018.04.003. ISSN 1060-3743.
1 2 Zawacki, Terry Myers; Habib, Anna Sophia (2014). "Internationalization, English L2 Writers, and the Writing Classroom: Implications for Teaching and Learning". College Composition and Communication. 65 (4): 650–658. ISSN 0010-096X. JSTOR 43490878.
1 2 "CF 45: Becoming Multilingual by Dorothy Worden-Chambers and Analeigh E. Horton". compositionforum.com. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
↑ Next Steps: New Directions for/in Writing about Writing. University Press of Colorado. 2019. ISBN 978-1-60732-841-4. JSTOR j.ctvfwwrs9.
↑ Costino, Kimberly A.; Hyon, Sunny (June 2007). ""A Class for Students Like Me": Reconsidering relationships among identity labels, residency status, and students' preferences for mainstream or multilingual composition". Journal of Second Language Writing. 16 (2): 63–81. doi:10.1016/j.jslw.2007.04.001. ISSN 1060-3743.
1 2 Ferris, D.; Eckstein, G. (October 2020). "Language matters: Examining the language-related needs and wants of writers in a first-year university writing course". Journal of Writing Research. 12 (2): 321–364. doi:10.17239/jowr-2020.12.02.02. ISSN 2030-1006.
↑ Johnston, Allie (2023). "Multilingual Student Writers in Higher Education: Increasing Support for Multilingual Student Writers in a Writing Center Context". Open Words: Access and English Studies. 15 (1): 163–184. doi:10.37514/OPW-J.2023.15.1.08. ISSN 2690-392X.
↑ Anderson, Lynne Christy; Holly, Megan (2024). "Writing Beyond Expectations: A Collaboration Between Tutors-in-Training and First-Year Multilingual Writers". WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship. 49 (1): 14–19. doi:10.37514/WLN-J.2024.49.1.04.
↑ "GUEST REVIEWERS". Research in the Teaching of English. 36 (1). 2001-08-01. doi:10.58680/rte20011741. ISSN 0034-527X.
↑ ksuchor (2018-06-06). "CCCC Statement on Second Language Writing and Multilingual Writers". Conference on College Composition and Communication. Retrieved 2024-12-12.