Chinese Language and Discourse - Volume 15, Issue 2, 2024

Multimodality and translanguaging are groundbreaking concepts that researchers and teachers in second language education have increasingly embraced over the past decade. Despite their potential to transform traditional monolingual and monomodal approaches to assessment design, these concepts remain largely unexplored in Chinese language teaching, particularly as legitimate assessment strategies. This study was conducted with a large group of ab initio beginners of Chinese at a Western university. It first analyses students’ digital multimodal composing (DMC) projects, a video assessment designed to enable students to showcase their learning achievements multimodally and multilingually. It then discusses the challenges students encountered when engaging with this novel assessment approach for the first time. Findings demonstrate that in this DMC project students created a translanguaging space with rich trans-semiotic resources, actively engaging in communication through their newly acquired language despite being absolute beginners in their first few weeks of learning. Furthermore, due to the novelty of the assessment design, the study also found that some students encountered challenges such as uneven technical skills and the complexity of the assessment design. The study suggests that teachers should reconceptualise their approach to teaching Chinese in the digital age, focusing on empowering learners to apply their language skills in real-life communication contexts. Building ownership of their L2 learning can strengthen their motivation to learn Chinese more effectively and creatively.

In CSL/CFL classrooms, translanguaging has gained support for its ability to aid teachers in explanation and classroom management, and enrich students’ learning by bringing their experience and knowledge to the classroom. This study, employing Multimodal Conversation Analysis, investigates the co-construction of a translanguaging space in a novice CFL classroom and the coordination of diverse semiotic resources to enhance student participation. The analysis reveals a fluid and dynamic translanguaging space where students seamlessly integrate multilingual, embodied and material resources to participate actively while the teacher utilises various semiotic resources to foster understanding and facilitate their participation. The findings underscore the significance of establishing a translanguaging-friendly environment in CFL classrooms and also show the need for a nuanced understanding of translanguaging practices.

Using the think-aloud protocol (TAP), the study investigates the strategies used by beginner and pre-intermediate learners of Chinese when studying Chinese characters through typing. Drawing on concepts from translanguaging, embodiment and LS (learning strategies), a novel notion of translanguaging learning strategies (TLS) and an innovative typology of TLS were proposed. The study found that the pre-intermediate group tended to resort to TLI (translanguaging interdependency) and IE (imagined embodiment) more often than the beginners. TLS for typing were also compared with those for handwriting. While CFL learners mainly relied on HE (haptic embodiment) when typing to learn, a wider range of TLS, including IE, TLI and TSI (trans-semiotising interdependency), were drawn from during handwriting. As a pioneer in situating learning strategies in a translanguaging framework, the study calls for further empirical research to validate the proposal of TLS and its typology.

The medium of instruction (MoI) in the bilingual education of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture is regulated through two modes. The first stipulates that Putonghua should be used for most school subjects, while the second requires exclusive use of Putonghua as the MoI for all subjects. In 2023, a field trip was conducted to investigate the ongoing implementation of MoI in bilingual schools for Tibetan students in Aba Prefecture.

This research initially examines the current bilingual education situation for Tibetans in two local schools, with a focus on classroom teaching supported by the first MoI mode. It reveals that translanguaging pedagogy is a primary practical strategy employed to adapt to the transition from the first MoI mode to the second. Furthermore, it scrutinises attitudes and localised strategies of teachers, students and parents towards this transitional process, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current medium of instruction for Tibetan students.

The findings indicate that (1) teachers’ translanguaging practices significantly contribute across three dimensions; (2) stakeholders’ attitudes towards bilingual education transformation vary; and (3) partial national initiatives offer support to promote the transition in different ways. Finally, this paper briefly summarises existing discrepancies related to MoI transitions and translanguaging practice, and offers insights into future developments in MoI transition for minority ethnic students attending bilingual schools in China.

In sociolinguistics, the concept of linguistic soundscaping is developed to document the formation of social spaces over time as influenced by linguistic actions. Using a multimodal perspective, this enquiry looks into the dynamic and interactive nature of the typical linguistic soundscape, situating the issue in a public teaching-and-learning space at a university in China. The study adopts a method of linguistic sound walks, to capture real-time sensory encounters with the linguistic soundscape and to understand how these auditory elements influence students’ perceptions of their environment.

The study focuses on two main perspectives: the objective characterisation of the linguistic soundscape within university public spaces, and the subjective perceptions of students experiencing these soundscapes. The first perspective involves systematically documenting and categorising the types of sound present, providing a comprehensive overview of the auditory environment. The second perspective explores how students interpret and react to these soundscapes, revealing insights into their sensory experiences and evaluations of their learning environment. These perspectives are combined to demonstrate the importance of the auditory dimension in shaping educational experiences and social interactions within university settings.

The findings highlight the diversity and complexity of the linguistic soundscape, emphasising its role in fostering a sense of community and influencing students’ emotional and cognitive responses to their surroundings. This study contributes original insights into the multimodal nature of linguistic landscapes and underscores the value of auditory elements in understanding social spaces in educational contexts.