Translanguaging in a bilingual writing programme: the mother tongue as a resource for academic success in a second language

This paper reports on a writing programme I started at Bronx Community College to improve academic success among recently immigrated Spanish-speaking students by linking ESL courses to Spanish academic literacy courses within the framework of a learning community. My reflection begins by articulating the pedagogical rationale for looking beyond ‘English-only’ approaches to the teaching of college writing in the context of the U.S. language demographics. I discuss how the linked course model facilitated the circumvention of ‘normative English monolingual ideologies’ and the implementation of a translingual approach to college writing in an institution where English is the only language of instruction. Drawing on a longitudinal study that includes a comparative analysis of academic success metrics and in-depth interviews, I show how the translingual pedagogical strategies that emerged from the linked courses facilitated English academic literacy acquisition and the ability to succeed through this language.