Beyond a Single Language/Single Modality: Crossing Multimodal/Translingual Pedagogies
Recent publications such as Horner, Selfe, and Lockridge’s, “Translinguality, Transmodality, and Difference: Exploring Dispositions and Change in Language and Learning" (2015), indicate an increased interest in moving beyond what has been described as the “single language/single modality” approach to writing. As part of this continuous move beyond the boundaries of Standard Written English (SWE), scholars working in multimodal pedagogies (e.g., Ball, Arola, Sheppard, 2014; Barry, Hawisher, and Selfe, 2012) and scholars exploring the emerging translingual approach to composition (Canagarajah, 2014; Horner and Kopelson, 2014) encourage students to employ and blend a variety of semiotic resources to communicate.
This site was created by Laura Gonzales, Lilian Mina, Cristina Sanchez-Martin, Jacki Fiscus, and Ann-Shivers McNair in preparation for our roundtable on Multimodal/Translingual pedagogies at the 2016 Computers and Writing Conference. Though we are starting by sharing our own assignment sheets and resources, our goal is to expand this space by encouraging other contributions from scholars and teachers who push the boundaries between multimodality and translingualism in their teaching and scholarship. We envision this site as a resource where teachers can share examples of how they enact multimodal/translingual pedagogies in a wide range of disciplines and contexts. If you would like to add your teaching materials to this site, please send your materials along with a short description to Laura Gonzales (gonzlaur@gmail.com).
Multimodal "Untranslatable" Assignment by Cristina Sánchez-Martín
This activity will give students the opportunity to: 1.Understand the dynamic nature of language and its relationship to other semiotic resources, 2. Understand that different modes of writing aside from the textual mode work as effective translation resources, 3. Compose a multimodal genre, and 4. Understand the ecological and sociocultural factors that inform the enactment of certain linguistic practices in determined genres. For more info contact Cristina: cristinasmartin@gmail.com
Multimodal Argument by Lilian Mina
This multimodal project was a remediation of an argumentative written essay in a FYC class for multilingual students at Miami University. The project takes about four weeks and I always ask students to write a short reflection at its conclusion. For more info contact Lilian: lilian.mina@gmail.com
Translation and Localization in Technical Communication Syllabus by Laura Gonzales
This syllabus includes assignments and readings foregrounding translation and localization within technical communication. Multimodal/Translingual pedagogies are enacted by presenting translation as a framework to help technical communication students leverage linguistic and technical skills as they work with communities and professional organizations. For more info contact Laura: gonzlaur@gmail.com
Rhetoric in the Making: A Project Sequence by Ann Shivers-McNair
This sequence is designed for an undergraduate course in multimodal rhetoric and technical communication. Students bring a wealth of linguistic, cultural, disciplinary, and composing resources, and the sequence is designed to create space for students to draw on and share those resources, to explore and take risks, to set appropriately challenging goals and be accountable to them, and to learn and apply concepts from rhetoric and technical communication as they build toward a final project. For more info contact Ann: asmcnair@uw.edu
Personal Linguistic Reflection and Genre Re-Mix Assignment by Jacki Fiscus
The theme of this course is about language and identity: how beliefs about language work, how language effects the stereotypes we have about how people, and how intertwined language is with our identities. These assignments are intended to help students begin thinking critically and reflectively about language, the stereotypes we hold about language, and where those stereotypes may have come from.For more info contact Jacki: jaclyn.m.fiscus@gmail.com