Google Translate and Biliterate Composing: Second Graders' Use of Digital Translation Tools to Support Bilingual Writing

• In Event: Repositioning Criticality in the Writing and Literacies Classroom

Abstract

Emergent bilingual students in the U.S. often attend English-dominant schools where their bi- and multi-lingual language resources are ignored and dismissed. In this paper, I draw from social literacies and placed resources perspectives to explore how second-grade students used Google Translate as a tool to support their biliterate composing in an English-dominant classroom. Results from constant comparative and discourse analyses illustrate how students used Google Translate to support inclusion of bilingual text and to interact with peers, while also occasionally encountering limitations to its use. I conclude by discussing implications for pedagogy, including possibilities and challenges of including digital tools to support biliterate composing in English-dominant classrooms.

Author

• Lindsey Rowe, The Ohio State University - Columbus