Afterword. Translingual lives and writing pedagogy: Acculturation, enculturation, and emancipation (original) (raw)

2022, oward a transnational University: WAC/WID across borders of language, nation, and discipline

This chapter explores concepts, discussions, challenges, and strengths of transnational and translingual scholarship on writing included in the book “Toward a transnational University: WAC/WID across borders of language, nation, and discipline”. Should teachers suppress, tolerate, or encourage the use of (vernacular) language varieties, hybrid semiotic forms, and culturally-diverse epistemic rationales for academic purposes? Even if teachers decide to ignore this question, their pedagogical practices will necessarily embody a particular answer to it. To suppress language varieties responds to subtractive approaches and promotes a process of acculturation; to tolerate language varieties draws from additive and accommodative approaches and promotes a process of enculturation; and to encourage language varieties draws from critical and heteroglossic approaches and promotes emancipation. One of the conclusions is that it is not a responsibility of non-traditional students to adapt to the traditional university and the monolingual/monoglossic imperative, but a responsibility of traditional universities to adapt to new learning needs and opportunities, as well as new cultures, languages, identities, and trajectories. Students viewed as “problematic” can no longer be sent somewhere out of the classroom to have their language—and their world view—“fixed”.