Online translanguaging and multiliteracies strategies to support K‐12 multilingual learners: Identity texts, linguistic landscapes, and photovoice

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to the burgeoning of online, blended, and hybrid classrooms. The transition to virtual learning has been a challenge for many teachers and learners, but for multilingual learners (MLs) who have to navigate the virtual learning environment in a new language, online learning can be particularly difficult. Translanguaging (Garcia et al., 2017) and multiliteracies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2015) theories call for teachers to support MLs by activating their prior knowledge, connecting to their lives, integrating their home languages and cultures, and engaging them in learning through multiple modalities. This theory-based practice article discusses three pedagogical strategies based on translanguaging and multiliteracies theories which are designed for multilingual K-12 classrooms with an online learning component: (1) digital identity texts, (2) linguistic landscapes, and (3) photovoice. The examples presented in the article were developed through the authors' collaborative and reflective engagement with each other, and drawn from their respective work with K-12 MLs and the preservice teachers preparing to teach MLs in mainstream classrooms in Ontario, Canada. The authors offer suggestions for how the proposed translanguaging and multilingual strategies can challenge monolingual practices, develop critical language awareness, and expand students' diverse language and literacies practices.