Translanguaging for Critical Literacies: A Systematic Review of the Literature

• In Event: Assessing the State of the Art in Bi-/Multilingual Education Research and Scholarship

Abstract

This systematic review examines the intersection of translanguaging and critical literacies in worldwide linguistically and culturally diverse educational contexts from 2014 to 2024. Translanguaging, a framework for understanding bi/multiliteracies, challenges language inequity and monoglossic instruction models by embracing bi/multilinguals’ full linguistic repertoires. By analyzing empirical studies, this review explores how translanguaging supports critical literacy practices in teaching and learning, repositioning bi/multilinguals as active, resourceful, knowledge producers, and critical agentive actors in education, community, and society. Using PRISMA guidelines, the review identifies key trends in research contexts, theoretical frameworks, and methodologies, and highlights the implications for future research, advocating for pedagogies that empower bi/multilingual students as critical agents in their communities and broader society through translanguaging.

Authors

• Vikrant Chap, Purdue University

• Jiadi Zhang, University of Missouri - St. Louis