Translanguaging and Digital Technologies in the Realm of Language Learning

Abstract

In the globalized world that we live in, people communicate by using not only their primary language, but all the languages they know complemented by the use of multimodal elements, like images, videos, emoticons, memes, and more. This idea of using the whole linguistic and semiotic repertoire for communication is called translanguaging. This chapter focuses on the notion of translanguaging and explores its implementation in relation to digital tools. It offers an evolution of the definition of translanguaging, and it continues by analyzing it as a theoretical and pedagogical approach. It also explores, based on the literature, the way that translanguaging can be practically implemented in educational practice and in combination with digital technologies. This chapter provides cases and examples of digital translanguaging, and it concludes by determining the gaps in the literature and the potential future steps in this area.