Applying translanguaging pedagogy to scaffold non-English major juniors on writing scripts for English presentations

Abstract

To tackle students’ English writing problems while they are drafting scripts for presentations, in this project, we propose applying translanguaging pedagogy as well as smartly utilizing Google Translate to scaffold college juniors on writing scripts for their presentations. The participants are from three intact classes of non-English major juniors taking the required “Advanced English Expression” course, where each participant will draft their scripts in Chinese first, then translate them both on their own and through Google Translate. During the revision period, teacher’s consultation will also be offered. By referring to their Google-translated version text, the students revise their self-written English scripts to achieve what they want to express. We believe that through such curriculum planning and design, the students can learn to make good use of their mother tongue and technology, cultivate critical thinking skills, and improve their knowledge and skills in English writing. This study is based on an action research method and goes to great lengths to increase teaching quality in the long run. Three versions (self-written version, Google translated version and post-edited version) of scripts from each participant in the three intact classes will be collected and further divided into two groups according to the students’ English proficiency levels for analysis. Two online writing assessment software (VocabProfiler and Scribens) are used for quantitative analysis to compare the differences in grammar and vocabulary of the three texts. Also, three trained raters employ qualitative text analysis by closely examining any improved changes in grammar and word use from each participant’s self-written to post-edited versions of scripts. Both the quantitative and qualitative results will be triangulated with the ones from the questionnaires and interviews to gain further insights. It is hoped that this research will shed light on how translanguaging pedagogy can scaffold EFL students on their writing skills and how the students of two different proficiency levels perceive toward this practice. The results of the study can be a great reference to teachers who teach ESL/ EFL writing.