Abstract
Recently, research theorizing bilinguals’ fluid and transcending language practices has flourished. As the strategic use of more than one named language in meaning-making begins to gain validation, educators and researchers have explored the pedagogical implications of such practices in the understanding and education of bilinguals. Aligning with these explorations, this article presents a case study of a bilingual scholar’s meaning-making practice. Relying on a translanguaging lens and a multilingual perspective on creativity, I document how Professor Wang, a Chinese-American anthropologist, utilizes his full communication toolkit to navigate the academic activities of teaching, researching and writing. The findings suggest Wang translanguages to achieve the purpose of culture learning and representation. Particularly, translanguaging creativity emerges as perceived boundaries between named languages are crossed. This study of an experienced bilingual aims to inform our understanding of how to support emergent bilinguals in reaching their full learning potential in our schools.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Special issue: translanguaging practice in diverse contexts
- Research Articles
- Translanguaging design in a third grade Chinese Language Arts class
- Translanguaging practices of students in science and math classes in a Chinese/English dual language bilingual program
- Translanguaging space in a bilingual program in New York City Chinatown middle school
- Chinese graduate students’ translanguaging practice in the context of academic writing in English
- Translanguaging practices of Chinese/English bilingual engineers’ communications in the workplace
- Translanguaging practice: creative mind of a bilingual scholar
- Translanguaging in writing: a bilingual PhD student’s reflection
- Commentary
- “Not a bad thing”: a commentary on translanguaging among Chinese bilinguals
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Special issue: translanguaging practice in diverse contexts
- Research Articles
- Translanguaging design in a third grade Chinese Language Arts class
- Translanguaging practices of students in science and math classes in a Chinese/English dual language bilingual program
- Translanguaging space in a bilingual program in New York City Chinatown middle school
- Chinese graduate students’ translanguaging practice in the context of academic writing in English
- Translanguaging practices of Chinese/English bilingual engineers’ communications in the workplace
- Translanguaging practice: creative mind of a bilingual scholar
- Translanguaging in writing: a bilingual PhD student’s reflection
- Commentary
- “Not a bad thing”: a commentary on translanguaging among Chinese bilinguals