Present Practices and Future Impact : Multilingualism in the Undergraduate Writing Classroom

Workshop Presentation
Piia Mustamaki,  Nukhbah Langah,  Marion Wrenn,  Deborah Williams  

What is a global university pedagogy in and for the 21st century and how might it address questions of multilingualism and linguistic diversity of faculty and students? In its exploration of these questions, which have implications for teaching with (or against) generative AI, our panel demonstrates the centrality of the undergraduate writing class as the locus of innovative and adaptive ideas about teaching, learning, and the future of liberal arts education. The panel brings together theoretical discussions about translingual pedagogies and specific practical tools in order to foster conversations and further innovations about working with multilingual students in our classrooms. With the rise of first-year writing programs at universities around the world, which often emphasise the importance of writing in English, it is essential to think about how faculty can engage with the issues of a multilingual classroom in ways that resist pedagogies focused on “remediation” or “fixing.” Drawing upon lessons learned from the global circulation of the liberal arts curriculum– with its emphasis on top-notch writing skills in English -- the panel will shed light on the under-valued potential of a translingual approach in the English-only composition classroom. This panel is composed of scholar-teachers whose papers highlight the ways that translingual pedagogies offer students the opportunity to develop intellectual authority, creative power, and individual agency. The panel will bring together theoretical discussions about translingual pedagogies and specific practical tools in order to foster conversations and further innovations about working with multilingual students across the global university.