Leveraging translanguaging strategies for primary years writing

Dr Susan Rook, Senior Lecturer in Primary Literacy at RMIT University, speaks with Dan Zhou from Monash University, about her newly funded VicTESOL project on translanguaging strategies for primary years writing.

Dan: Sue, I came across the news that you have secured VicTESOL funding for a research project on Translanguaging strategies for primary years writing. Congratulations! Could you tell us more about this project?

Sue: Sure. I’m one of four researchers working alongside Associate Professor Naomi Wilks-Smith, Dr. Lynne Bury, and Professor Robyn Cox. This project focuses on working closely with teachers at Brunswick South Primary School in Melbourne. The first phase involves delivering professional development to teachers, explaining what translanguaging is, its benefits for writing, and strategies for teachers to incorporate it into their practice.

We’ll help the teachers plan writing units for the next term, focusing on writing strategies that encourage agency. In the following term, the teachers will implement the strategies with support, including mentoring from us and experienced teachers of EAL/D students within the school. Finally, we will interview the teachers to gather their perceptions on how the strategies worked, and whether the students felt more agency and engagement in the writing process.

Dan: That sounds like an amazing project. What first interested you in using translanguaging for literacy?

Sue: It started with one report titled Writing Realities (2022), which originated in the UK and argued that students need more agency and choice in their writing so that their whole lives and identities are reflected in their work. This idea resonates particularly in classrooms where English is prioritized over other languages, often leaving bilingual or multilingual students feeling disconnected from their cultural identity. The report proposed six principles—writer identity, critical literacies, culturally sustaining pedagogy, multiliteracies, translanguaging, and intertextuality—that help students feel their whole identity is reflected in their writing.

The four of us have all taught in primary schools and most of us have worked in multicultural settings, resonated with this document. It became a springboard for us applying for a small RMIT grant to produce a literature review on translanguaging in the Australian context, which we’ve since submitted. Personally, I’ve always focused on giving children agency in literacy, particularly in writing, which is why this approach spoke to me so deeply.

Dan: How do you plan to use translanguaging in the classroom to support students’ writing and their agency?

Sue: First, we need to engage positively with the teachers and ensure the strategies are aligned with their units. For instance, when students are producing a report, bilingual or multilingual students could choose which language to research in and take notes. They could also write sections in the language of their choice, depending on the intended audience for the report. One example is creating an information report about Year 4 at the school, which could be shared with parents in their home language to make it more accessible.

For narratives, students could plan parts in their home language and some in English. They could also mix languages depending on the character’s background. For example, if a character speaks Vietnamese, parts of the narrative could be in Vietnamese. Students could even blend languages to create a hybrid version that feels authentic to them. Another example is creating dual-language texts, like retelling a well-known story in both their home language and English, which they could share with younger children who speak the same home language.

Translanguaging can also work well with genres like newspaper reports. A student who speaks Cantonese might write a witness statement in Cantonese and then translate it into English. The goal is to offer students the freedom to choose and express themselves in the way that feels most natural.

Dan: Why is it important for you to work closely with the teachers on this project?

Sue: We recognize that, for this to work, it has to be practical and feasible in the classroom. Teachers are the ones who will make the changes happen. They can provide valuable insights into what strategies are effective, what challenges they face, and how to make this work in their specific teaching context. As researchers, it’s essential that our findings translate into real classroom practice, and that’s why teacher input is vital throughout the project. Their opinions on what will work and what won’t are integral to ensuring the strategies are both meaningful and effective.

Dan: What challenges do you think might arise?

Sue: Translanguaging is very much dependent on teacher attitudes. Teachers are often overworked, and adding another strategy to their workload can feel overwhelming. Writing is already one of the most difficult subjects to teach, so introducing something like translanguaging could feel like an added complication. However, we need to show teachers how translanguaging can improve student engagement and motivation, especially in writing.

Many students struggle to connect with topics because they feel alienated from them, and translanguaging can make writing feel more relevant to their lived experiences. We hope it will improve student achievement by giving them more agency in the process and helping them stay engaged for longer periods. If students can plan and write in their first language, they may be more creative and ambitious than if they had to write in a second language.

The biggest barrier, however, is Australia’s assessment system, particularly NAPLAN, which assesses writing in English. This high-stakes assessment influences everyday teaching, especially in Year 3 and Year 5. Teachers are understandably focused on meeting NAPLAN requirements, and moving away from an English-only focus is a big challenge. But we hope that incorporating home languages in planning and writing might be more acceptable to some teachers, especially in the early stages.

Dan: What do you hope teachers will gain from this project?

Sue: The primary goal is to provide teachers with practical strategies, planning examples, and resources. We plan to host this on the VicTESOL website to create resources for teachers. It’s also an opportunity for us as teacher trainers to gain experience incorporating translanguaging into the classroom, which we can pass on to pre-service teachers. This will help them understand how to use translanguaging in their own teaching.

Dan: What do you hope to see come out of this project?

Sue: I hope to see greater acceptance of the benefits of translanguaging and the importance of giving students choices in their writing. We need to move to give students the agency to feel that their whole identity is valued by the education system, not just part of it.

Biography:

Dr Susan Rook is a senior lecturer in primary literacy at RMIT University in Melbourne. Susan’s research focuses on how we can give students agency over both their response to texts and in their writing choices as well as using a range of creative pedagogies to teach reading and writing.

Reference:

Young, R., Ferguson, F., Kaufman, D., & Govender, N. (2022). Writing Realities. Brighton: The Writing for Pleasure Centre. https://writing4pleasure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/the-wfp-centre-writing-realities.pdf