The relationship between translanguaging and second language critical thinking during second language writing process

Abstract

There has been growing research interest in how bi-/multilinguals mobilise their existing linguistic, semiotic, and cultural resources during their cognitive process. One strand of such research examines how the process of translanguaging, defined as a multimodal linguistic practice involving the use of one’s full linguistic repertoire, may be performed by bi- /multilingual students for meaning construction during their cognitive process. Critical thinking (CT) is interconnected with argumentation, so argumentative writing is regarded as a common medium of displaying CT. However, it is challenging for bi-/multilingual students to perform CT during their second/foreign language (L2/FL) argumentative writing process. Since the role of translanguaging in L2 CT performance remains under-researched, the present study examined whether and how translanguaging may correlate with L2 CT performance by exploring bi/multilinguals’ frequencies and functions of translanguaging during their L2 writing process. The overarching purpose of the research was to explore the relationship between translanguaging frequencies and L2 CT performance during the L2 writing process. Four groups of the participants were formed by 62 Chinese adult English as a foreign language (EFL) students, based on their English proficiency and Chinese CT levels. The English proficiency levels were measured through College English Test-Band 4 (CET-4) and an English vocabulary test named C-test. The Chinese CT levels were assessed through a Chinese argumentative writing task. The participants were also invited to write an English argumentative essay under think-aloud conditions, and then participated in semi-structured stimulated recall interviews. These data collection methods generated the data about the participants’ translanguaging frequencies, their L2 CT scores, as well as their perceptions of translanguaging and L2 CT. The study showed the following main findings: (1) translanguaging occurred during the L2 writing process of each participant, and translanguaging was a frequent practice for most of the participants; (2) the overall translanguaging frequencies of the low-level L2 students were significantly higher than those of their high-level counterparts; (3) the high-level L2 students translanguaged significantly less frequently for Monitoring than their low-level counterparts did; (4) the high-level firstlanguage (L1) CT students translanguaged for Reasoning and Planning significantly more often than their low-level counterparts did; and (5) no significant relationship existed between translanguaging frequencies and L2 CT performance. The study has made theoretical, empirical, and pedagogical contributions to L2 educational research. Firstly, the research has empirically justified both the multimodal nature of translanguaging and the recursive nature of writing processes. Secondly, the evidence about high frequencies and functions of translanguaging can challenge the beliefs and practices rooted in monolingualism-oriented L2 teaching, motivating L2 educators to utilise their students’ linguistic, cultural, and semiotic resources for maximising learning effectiveness and/or efficiency. Thirdly, L2 writing instruction should target at not only linguistic accuracy and complexity but also higher-order thinking skills. More pedagogical attention needs to be paid to enhancing students’ L2 CT proficiency. L2 students are encouraged to perform translanguaging more frequently for higher-order cognitive and metacognitive functions (i.e., Reasoning, Monitoring, Evaluating), since these functions may be more likely to facilitate students’ demonstration of their CT skills in L2.