Towards decolonizing L2 writing pedagogy: translingual and transmodal resources

Abstract

Scholarly conversations in writing pedagogy increasingly centre our roles in reproducing epistemic and structural biases, and consequently the need to decolonize our curriculum. These conversations can be especially informative for L2 writing instruction, given its focus on the academic socialization of ESL for non-Western students. This article argues for translingual and transmodal resources as a way towards decolonizing L2 writing pedagogy. Framing these approaches to writing instruction in terms of ‘border thinking’, I argue that they open the classroom space for L2 and L1 students during process-based writing instruction. They enable students to use the various semiotic and material resources to produce knowledge and learn authentically. I end by illustrating pedagogic activities I use in the classroom shaped by these paradigms in terms of their alignment with Indigenous and non-Western traditions, and how they position L2 writers in the academy as resourceful learners.