Translingual personal narrative writing for CÉGEP EAL instruction : an action-research pilot study

Abstract

"This article presents an action-research investigation of a personal narrative writing unit that I developed and taught through a translingual approach in my CÉGEP-level EAL classroom. I provide an outline of the unit for instructors. The goal of sharing my action-research study is to contribute to a growing body of linguistically inclusive pedagogical resources and to evaluate the affordances of personal narrative writing for creating an inclusive language classroom. Findings from my study suggest that personal narrative writing provided a novel and challenging English learning experience for the multilingual students. Students showed pride in their writing as well as a detailed awareness of their strengths and weaknesses, which suggests that students were able to strengthen their linguistic confidence. Further research is needed to determine if such instruction encourages students to question language hierarchies, to feel more comfortable with linguistic diversity, and/or to develop confidence in their multilingual identities and skills." -- provided by the author