Codemeshing in Academic Writing

Codemeshing in Academic Writing: Identifying Teachable Strategies of Translanguaging
Author(s): SURESH CANAGARAJAH

Source: The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 95, No. 3, Special Issue: Toward a Multilingual
Approach in the Study of Multilingualism in School Contexts (Fall 2011), pp. 401-417
Published by: Wiley on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers
Associations
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Codemeshing in Academic Writing:
Identifying Teachable Strategies
of Translanguaging
SURESH CANAGARAJAH
The Pennsylvania State University
Department of Applied Linguistics
303 Sparks Building
University Park, PA 16803
Email: ascl6@psu.edu
Studies on translanguaging of multilingual students have turned their attention to teachable

strategies in classrooms. This study is based on the assumption that it is possible to learn
from students' translanguaging strategies while developing their proficiency through a dialog-
ical pedagogy. Based on a classroom ethnography, this article describes the translanguaging
strategies of a Saudi Arabian undergraduate student in her essay writing. Her strategies are
classified through thematic coding of multiple forms of data: drafts of essay, journals, class-
room assignments, peer review, stimulated recall, and member check. The strategies are of 4
types: recontextualization strategies, voice strategies, interactional strategies, and textualization
strategies. The study describes how the feedback of the instructor and peers can help students
question their choices, think critically about diverse options, assess the effectiveness of their
choices, and develop metacognitive awareness.
THE ABILITY OF MULTILINGUAL SPEAKERS ies of translanguaging outside school contexts,

we
to shuttle between languages, treating the have not developed pedagogical strategies
diverse
languages that form their repertoire for as developing
an such practices in the classroom.
In a -recent
integrated system - labeled translanguaging has study on translanguaging practices
in bilingual
received recent scholarly attention. We have many classrooms, Creese and Blackledge
studies on multilingual communicative strategies
(2010) emphasized "the need for further research
to explore
outside the classroom - that is, codeswitching to what 'teachable' pedagogic resources
negotiate meanings and identities in rural and
are available in flexible, concurrent approaches
urban contexts (e.g., De Fina, 2007; Eastman,
to learning and teaching languages bilingually"
1992); crossing to borrow an out-group (p. token113).to In making this call, they echoed what
adopt new community relationships and other
identi-scholars like Lin and Martin (2005) have
alsostreet
ties (e.g., Hill, 1999; Rampton, 2009); and considered important in order to move
signage in linguistic landscapes where multilin-
multilingual language acquisition forward.
gual and multimodal resources are deployed The with
studies we do have on school contexts show
rhetorical effectiveness (e.g., Gorter, 2006). The

translanguaging to be a naturally occurring phe-
question that educators have now begunnomenon.
to ask is In the majority of these studies, acts
how to develop in classroom contexts the of translanguaging are not elicited by teachers
intuitive
through
communicative strategies multilinguals display in conscious pedagogical strategies. They
are produced
everyday life. Although we have fascinating stud- unbidden. In fact, in many of these
cases, translanguaging occurs surreptitiously be-
hind the backs of the teachers in classes that
The Modern Language Journal, 95, iii, (2011)
DOI: 10.11 11/J.1540-4781.2011.01207.X proscribe language mixing (see the studies from
0026-7902/ 1 1 /401-41 7 $1 .50/0 diverse communities in Heller & Martin-Jones,
©201 1 The Modern Language Journal 2001; Lin & Martin, 2005). In the more proactive
402 The Modern Language Journal 95 (201 1)
situations, teachers have provided cerns to consider discourse

safe issues. Additionally,
spaces for
students to adopt their multilingual we have to go beyond repertoire
a focus on the communi-
for learning purposes, and cation
teachers
of meaning tothemselves
consider rhetorical effec-
have collaborated with students tiveness.in Some would argue
using thethatreper-
grammar cannot
toire as a resource, as in the be separated
study fromby discourse,
Creese and meaning
and from
Blackledge (2010) (see also Canagarajah,
rhetoric. Most of the studies on 1995).
multilingual class-
Pedagogical approaches such room as thecommunication
biliteracyhave not considered
work-dis-
shop (Garcia, 2009) and continua of biliteracy
cursive and rhetorical issues. They have largely in-
model (Hornberger, 2003) theorize terpreted the types howofstudents
language mixing and social
may shuttle between languages negotiations and to modalities in
demonstrate communicative func-
their learning. However, we tionality still have and metalinguistic
a long way competence.
to We have
go in developing teaching strategies to consider discourse out and of rhetorical
these strategies to
broadly conceived models. judge translanguaging appropriateness and effec-
What current classroom studies show is that tiveness and to develop a critical orientation to
translanguaging is a naturally occurring assessment phe- and instruction.
nomenon for multilingual students. Translan- In this study, I address translanguaging in writ-
guaging cannot be completely restrained ing.by Composition brings discourse and rhetori-
monolingual educational policies. It can cal occur
issues sharply into focus. Effective writing is
with minimal pedagogical effort from teachers. not a matter of stringing well-formed sentences.
However, such studies might give the impression Authors have to do so with rhetorical effective-
that translanguaging does not have to be taught. ness. Furthermore, unlike the relatively sponta-
It might be argued that if it occurs naturally neous in speech act, the monitored and somewhat
the most unbidden contexts, translanguaging is
detached activity of writing involves strategic op-
so fully developed among multilingual students tions and choices. Students have to develop a crit-
in their home and community contexts thatical there
awareness of the choices that are rhetorically
is nothing further for the school to add, more othereffective. In fact, writing is largely developed
than provide a context for it to be practiced. in schools, unlike speech. Beyond possessing lin-
Such studies are bolstered by cognitive orienta- guistic competence, one has to learn the rele-
tions to competence that posit that translanguag- vant textual and rhetorical conventions for literate
activity. However, translanguaging in literacy is

ing is "natural" to multilinguals (Bhatia 8c Ritchie,
2004, p. 794; see also Franceschini, 2010). more This challenging than in speaking. Because for-
line of thinking leads to the tendency of multi- mal writing is a high-stakes activity in schools, with
lingual scholars and researchers to romanticize serious implications for assessment, translanguag-
the translanguaging practices of students.ing Most
is heavily censored in literate contexts.
such studies do not identify any limitations or There
er- are very few studies on translanguaging
rors in the multilingual practices of the students. in writing. The studies we have are product-
What may appear as grammatical deviations or
oriented (i.e., textual interpretation) and do not
idiomatic novelties are explained as a positive explore the process in order to identify writing or
case of transfer from the other languages in discourse
one's strategies. Blommaert's (2008) study on
repertoire rather than a negative case of inter- the writing of two Congolese in French produces
ference, in keeping with the multicompetence some interesting observations on translanguaging
model of Cook (1999). (which he called heterography) . However, he
I would argue that there is still more for mul- interprets the hermeneutical problems in the
tilingual students to learn in translanguaging. written product, not the development of this
Departing slightly from the cognitivist models proficiency. Gorter and Cenoz (2010) have also
to competence adopted by the above-mentioned interpreted the translanguaging that occurs in stu-
scholars, I would adopt a practice-based model dent writing (with a mix of Spanish, Basque, and
to explain the way such competences arise from English) for their sentence-level significance. Oth-
the socialization of multilinguals in contact situ- ers have theorized the possibility of translanguag-
ations (see Canagarajah, 2007). From this point ing in literacy. Hornberger (2003) has theorized
of view, practice is necessary for the develop- this as continua of biliteracy, Garcia (2009) in terms
ment of competence and proficiency. There is al- of pluriliteracy, and Gutiérrez (2008) as textual
ways room for more effective reading and writing third spaces. These scholars show fascinating ex-
practices, not to mention artful and persuasive amples of translanguaging in literacy to bring out
oral communication. To envision such improve- their social and linguistic significance. However,
ments, we have to go beyond sentence-level con- they did not assess their rhetorical effectiveness
Suresh Canagarajah 403
or provide insights
writing, and revising their intodrafts in relationtheto
duction and reception.
readings on writing, instructor feedback,In and peer the
and composition, criticism. some studies
African American students and scholars mix In addition to the successive drafts of essays
their vernacular with standard written (abbreviated
English hereafter as Dl, D2, etc.), I enjoyed
(Canagarajah, 2006b; Young, 2004). These access to other materials from this course. The
stud-
ies have adopted the term codemeshing. students
Whereas kept a weekly journal of their responses
on readings
codeswitching treats language alternation as and writings (abbreviated as J).
Their contributions to the more formal activities
involving bilingual competence and switches
between two different systems, codemeshing
(A) related to the course and their peer commen-
tary (PC) on the literacy narratives of others were
treats the languages as part of a single integrated
also available
system. Unlike translanguaging, codemeshing to me. The students also answered
also accommodates the possibility of surveys

mixingand interviews (I) on their literacy devel-
communicative modes and diverse symbol sys-during the course. In selected cases, as in
opment
the situation
tems (other than language). In this article, I use of Buthainah, I conducted a stimu-
lated recall interview (SR). I pointed to instances
translanguaging for the general communicative
in the essay to query Buthainah's attitudes, ob-
competence of multilinguals and use codemeshing
for the realization of translanguaging in jectives,
texts. and expectations. I also gave Buthainah
a draft for her response on my interpretation
THE STUDY of her codemeshing practices. This served as a
form of member checking (MC). My references
I report on a graduate student's codemeshing
to the prior draft are abbreviated as DFT. Consent
in a literacy narrative, which was part ofwas aobtained
uni- from students to quote from their
interviews and artifacts from the course.
versity course on the teaching of second-language
writing. The choices the student makes, which I adopt
arean ernie approach (i.e., insider perspect-
interpreted in the light of ethnographic ive) to on
data understand Buthainah's own interpreta-
her attitudes and opinions throughout the tions and explanations of her writing strategies
course
and triangulated through stimulated recall and and
communicative
a objectives. To this end, I am
member check procedure, as evident in generating
the mul- constructs ground up through an in-
terpretation of the multiple forms of qualitative
tiple drafts of the article, enable us to understand
her translanguaging practices and identify data from my classroom research. I did a thematic
teach-
able pedagogical strategies. The Saudi Arabian coding, adopting the procedures in grounded
student (who wishes to be called Buthainah) theory (see Clarke, 2005) to come up with teach-
mixed Arabic and French in her primarily English able strategies. The detailed data analytical proce-
essay, in addition to incorporating diverse visualdures are as follows:
symbols and auditory effects. I refer readers to
1. Open coding of data into emerging cate-
my article in the Journal of Advanced Composition
gories that reflect as far as possible the partici-
(Canagarajah, 2009) for detailed examples of
pants' perspectives;
Buthainah 's codemeshing.
2. Axial coding that refines categories by re-
This report is part of a larger ethnographic
flecting the constant comparison of incoming
project on the development of teacher identi-
data with previously gathered data;
ties and literacy awareness in a graduate course
3. Continuing data collection up to saturati-
on the teaching of second-language writing.
on - a point at which incoming data no longer
The class was made up of roughly half Anglo/
suggest necessary additional categories and at
North American students and half foreign stu-
which a theory accounting for the data emerges.
dents (from China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, United
Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia) . An important My reference to an ernie perspective should not
assignment in the course was the writing of a be construed to mean that my own perspectives
literacy narrative. The objective was to learn from as a multilingual speaker and my understanding
our own literacy development so that we can de- of published literature on multilingual commu-
vise useful pedagogies for classrooms. Peers and nicative strategies have not influenced my the-
the instructor read multiple drafts of the literacy orization. However, through triangulation I am
narrative for critique and revision. The course able to approximate the subjects' perspectives on
thus adopted a practice-based, collaborative, and their writing strategies. The stimulated recall and
dialogical pedagogy. Students learned about writ- member check procedures were especially use-
ing by engaging in writing themselves, teachingful for this purpose. I interpret the ramifications
404 The Modern Language Journal 95 (2011)
of Buthainah's writing strategies ina "green

is when I get relation toa professor,
light" from the that I
would write use
strategies multilinguals generally in the way
in I oral
presented my autobiography.
com-
(MC)
munication in English-as-a-lingua-franca (ELF)
situations (for a review of emerging findings, see
She elaborated on the
Canagarajah, 2006a, 2007; Seidlhofer, clues that
2004). Al-encouraged
her
though writing is different to codemesh.
from Among them
speaking, are the facts
I iden-
that the instructor was friendly
tify connections between translanguaging to the activity of
in both
modalities. translanguaging; he had himself codemeshed
(Canagarajah, 2001 , 2006b) ; he held a philosophy
Buthainah's statements are edited minimally
for clarity. The typographical mistakes are
of writing that encouraged voice; he provided writ-
explained by the fact that many of these state- ing models with codemeshing for analysis (such
ments were written or emailed. I am also leaving as Smitherman, 2003); and her peers were hos-
pitable to interpreting her codemeshing. It is
intact the linguistic peculiarities in Buthainah's
important for students to realize that translan-
essay excerpts, as the point of this article is that
such features will be negotiated for meaning guaging
by is a rhetorical choice. It is not a me-
multilinguals. chanical activity independent of the specific
communicative situation. One has to carefully as-
sess the extent to which one can codemesh in a
STRATEGIES OF CODEMESHING
given context. This ability to assess the situation
and frame
I discuss the strategies Buthainah adopted ac- one's language accordingly is part of
a multilingual 's rhetorical awareness and commu-
cording to four broad types:1 (a) recontextualiza-
nicative
tion strategies: gauging the congeniality proficiency.
of the
Despite sensing the congenial context,
context for codemeshing and shaping ecology
to favor one's multilingual practices; Buthainah
(b) voiceis still cautious in practicing the full
strategies: basing communication on one's extent own
of codemeshing she desires. She next
negotiates
positionality and making textual spaces for one's the type and extent of codemeshing
linguistic strengths and resources; (c)her audience is ready for. She progressively
interac-
tional strategies: negotiating meaning on increases
an equalthe range of codes included in her
footing with readers and helping themsuccessive
negotiatedrafts. In this way, she is able to assess
the uptake
effectively; and (d) textualization strategies: orien- of the readers. In the first draft,
tating to the text as a multimodal social Buthainah
practicedoes not codemesh at all. Her essay is
and adopting process-oriented composing a straightforward
strate- narrative in English. The only
indications of codemeshing are two smiley faces.
gies for effective text development. Coinciden-
It is in the second draft that we see the first signs
tally, these four types cover the basic components
of linguistic- experimentation. She begins her
of writing (and, in fact, any communication)
essaytextual.
that is, contextual, personal, social, and thus:
These types do not occupy airtight compartments.
"Oh and
As we will see, there are interrelationships God! Give
in-me more knowledge" - My education
terconnections. dictum through the years is a verse in the Quran
stating "bó s^¿j &Ь" ^2).
Recontextualization Strategies
Note that she begins with the English translation
The first type also constitutes strategies thatfirst
are and gives the Arabic original next. In her later
some of the earliest temporally. Buthainah gaugesdrafts, not only will she begin with the Arabic, but
the communicative context to figure out if sheshe canwill also delay the translation. In the third
codemesh in this writing project. When I gave draft, we see the dynamic translanguaging char-
the impression in DFT that multilinguals always acteristics of her final draft. Yet, some codes are
codemesh in their spoken and written activity, deployed gradually. Even in her fourth draft, she
Buthainah corrected me. She observed: says "Thank Allah" and not "ma sha allah" Such
careful experimentation shows that Buthainah is
It is important for me to point out that what you
sensitive to the capabilities of the audience in ne-
see in my literacy autobiography is not how I com-
gotiating her text. She also gradually builds the
monly write. I may have written something similar to
capacity
it before - but it is by no means how I write my aca- of the audience to interpret her codes.
Not only is Buthainah checking the extent of up-
demic papers because if I did that, than my writing
would not be welcomed as it would be seen by sometake in her successive drafts, but she also directly
queries
as informal, uneducated, and simply "bad" writing. It her peers to understand their comfort
level. After posting her

"Throughout my literacy development,first
the desire d
her journal: to know overpowered my other desires and
gave me strength as new challenges and new
Alright, I submitted my first draft and I have a loooot
perspectives arose as I design, learn, produce,
of questions . . . Should I talk about my English liter-
and critically think" (D6) . This idea is also neatly
acy only? Or should I talk about my English, Arabic,
and French literacy?!? Should I address my readers?
encapsulated in her epigraph, an Arabic proverb,
Or should I ignore the fact that this is a personal essay?
jbJ) ¿£ ja jJl JjI <jfcj~~~ JUJI ¿jp*û <J¿& i>j5
Q 09/15) which she translates later as "Who fears climbing
the mountains~~~Lives forever between the
At the end of her third draft, she adds a note to
holes" (D6). She writes that her parents quoted
her peers: "p.s
this proverb to her when she was afraid to go
(D3). Although all students posted theirschool,
to elementary drafts and she returns to its
for peer criticism, Buthainah was the
theme only student
throughout her essay. With this theme
to additionally query her peers on her
Buthainah seemschoices.
to challenge the reader to also
Even though Buthainah received conflicting re-
move beyond passive reading and negotiate her
sponses from her peers (i.e.,codemeshing.
some asked her to
translate the poems and othersButhainah
told her alsonot to) ,
uses multisensory resources to
she used her own discretion in the end to boldly
aid interpretation. She deploys emoticons, pro-
delay or refuse translation, demanding more
vides visual cues, from
stylizes print, and captures audi-
her readers.
tory effects in writing. These are some emoticons
Research on lingua franca communication in-that reinforce her points:
dicates that multilinguals who do considerable
At that time, my dear reader, I have not learned
preparatory work to negotiate the footing and
English in school yet since English was required
terms of engagement with their interlocutors
to seventh graders and beyond; and I was in sixth
are more successful. Planken (2005) observed
grade ©
that whereas novice nonnative sales personnel A ket-koot is a small chick in Arabic. At that
in Scandinavian communities tend to move di-
time I had about seven chicks [P.S. couple of them
rectly to business and end up being unsuccessful,
died='Q- (D6)
experienced professionals do considerably more
She uses words as visual media sometimes:
footwork to create a safe space where their linguis-
"'I doo n't want to!' was my response to my parents
tic peculiarities can be negotiated in English. They
spend a few minutes conversing on personal request
top- of enrolling me in a nearby preschool"
ics before they move on to sales talk. Those who (D6) . The elongation of don 4 is a visual represen-
tation of an auditory effect. She also uses italics
do such preparatory work to establish rapport are
more successful in their business transactions. more than usual for effect, as in "Our first expo-
Beyond assessing the context, Buthainah subtly sure to real English was at that airport. The man
reshapes the context to prepare her readerssaid beaucoup de choes that I could not understand"
for her unusual linguistic choices. She uses (D6). Through all of these strategies, Buthainah
the ecological resources of the context to aidis calling for a more than cerebral response to her
narrative and text. These multimodal resources
in intelligibility and interpretation. Scholars
like Khubchandani (1997) have argued that also constitute codemeshing for Buthainah. She
multilingual interactions are aided by gestures,justifies her choice of these nonlinguistic symbols
as follows:
tone, setting, objects, and interpersonal strategies
for interpretive clues, not words alone. In writing, Symbols work as another way of expressing myself. I
one has to tap into alternate resources. The cues used Arabic, poems, French, and now symbols. Limit-
that Buthainah uses may be considered the microe- ing myself to one language is - ironically - limiting . . .
cology of the text (to borrow a phrase that Creese & But, experiencing more than one language, we are
Blackledge, 2010, adopt for classroom resources). able to express ourselves in different ways or the best
I consider the content part of Buthainah 's way. So, symbols serve as another "language" that
words may not be the best tool to express. (SR)
textual microecology. The theme of Buthainah 's
essay - that she was motivated to become mul-These visual resources, like content, are part of
tilingual and multiliterate because she realized the microecology of the text to aid interpretation.
early on that knowledge is freedom - functions Buthainah also changes her footing with the
as a subtle way of preparing the reader for herreader in preparation for negotiating her
bold linguistic and textual moves. She presentscodemeshing. Throughout her essay, Buthainah
her thesis in the pivotal second paragraph:represents herself as a "functional bilingual." She
deprecatingjokes
uses this term to distance herself from aboutthe
their English-
accents and styles in
as-a-second-language (ESL) and
order remedial
to make writing
each party relaxed and free for ne-
courses into which she was placed
gotiating afterinshe
their differences English.mi-
Such strate-
gies She
grated to the United States. help indefines
realigning relationships
functional between in-
terlocutors
bilinguals as "language users whosomay that they are prepared
have [a] fewto negotiate
problems with English, but language
were on equal
beyond terms, setting
the aside their status
realm
differences,
of ESL" (D6). Her use of the term biases, and inhibitions.
corresponds to
her orientation toward codemeshing. Buthainah
acknowledges that she may not have the gram-
Voice Strategies
matical competence of the native speaker, but
she has the communicative competence
Although to func-
Buthainah is cautious in assessing the
tion bilingually and achieve her
appropriateness interests
of the in
context and preparing it
the repertoire of codestoshe suit herbrings
multilingualwith her.she is
communication,
Additionally, although she alsomay
motivatednot by ahave
strong sense of self, invest-
compre-
hensive or formal mastery ment,of anda voice. This second she
language, set of strategies,
has
functional competence to which I call voice strategies,in
communicate enables
the her to ap-
registers and contexts she propriate dominant
desires. codes and experiment
Buthainah is boldly
not denying that there may with language. Scholars have noted thatin
be idiosyncrasies multilin-
her grammar or idioms. Whatgual speakers
she do is not rush to a nebulous
claiming forcommon
herself is creative and critical communication in code (which they may not easily find in many con-
tact situations), but start from their own linguistic
a rhetorically effective text. This self-ascription
helps the reader to comprehend the essay appro- positionality and negotiate intelligibility through
priately and not adopt unfair criteria. pragmatic strategies (see Gramkow Anderson,
1993; House, 2003; Khubchandani, 1997). This
In other places, she deals directly with the prej-
udices of the reader. Referring to her trip to theorientation additionally helps them to approach
United States for her education, she writes: the interaction from a position of strength and af-
firmation. Their relationship to the codes of oth-
Couple of years later, my father began a new journey
ers is based on appropriation according to one's
by enrolling in a master program in United States
own values (Canagarajah, 2007). An attitude of
of America. He applied and, later, the IECP at Penn
deference to dominant codes or self-abnegation
State University accepted him. When the paperworks
were complete, my family and I traveled from Saudiwill lead to a shaky foundation for interlingual
contact.
Arabia to United States by air plane [P.S. I wanted to
travel on a camel, but they were all rented!]. (D6) Significant choices in Buthainah's codemes
ing are motivated by her desire for identity. T
I was struck by the postscript. In my stimulated attitude also provides her with a strong inve
recall, I asked Buthainah, "This might be consid- ment in writing. She writes, not for a grade
ered a digression by some readers. How would you for voice. When asked about her reasons for u
respond to that criticism?" Buthainah replied: Arabic and Koranic verses in her poem, Buthai
responded:
Yes, it could be to some readers. However, when some-
one writes about themselves, they have to consider the My objectives for using thses poems are many. Fir
stereotypes and what's going on around them that they are part of me. And this essay is about me. Th
may influence the comprehension or the interpreta- it seemed appropriate to include them in an essay
tion of the text. I wrote that sentence because there
my literacey development. In addition, poetry is p
are, still to this day, people who think that I, as a Saudi, of my Arabian culture because it is highly valued.
ride camels to school. It is a joke that tries to remove Why shouldn't I includ it? (SR)
that stereotype. In addition, a joke was needed here
because I may have readers who hold negative associ- Justifying the frequent use of the phrase
ations toward my ethnicity. And I tried to elevate that sha allah, she explained: "These two phrases
tension that the reader may have, and hopefully, it will
very very important in my daily life - they
never occur. (SR)
more important than the poems. Thus, incl
ing them here was the right decision since t
By bringing up the stereotype herself, Buthain-
were with me during (and still) my literacy
ahxt might be disarming readers of their preju-
velopment" (SR). About the motif that divi
dices and encouraging them to negotiate on equal
her sections ~O~0~0~, Buthainah stated:
and fair terms. Such a strategy has also been ob-
is a familiar shape that one may find in Isla
served in Planken 's (2005) study. She finds that
speakers from Norway and Sweden make self- art. Since I am a Muslim, and Islam influenced
me, it also tilinguals. In addition,my
influenced they always renegotiate
literacy
Thus, using this meanings contextually.
particular motif was
reader to my heritage" (MC)
A particularly important implication . Review
of this shift
had learned in ofthe course,
stance is that sheover
Buthainah claims ownership exp
interview: English, appropriates English for her purposes,
and uses it with a critical and creative orientation.
I learned about the diversity of writing for one
In many cases, she challenged my reading of her
genre. All of my classmates and I were required to
word choices from a native-speaker orientation
write about our lives. The way each person recalled
and pointed out the creative possibilities in her
these memories portrays not only the diversity of
ethnicities, but the diversity of writing. Priority for usage. I had raised a question about the following
voice and identity rather than encoding of meaning. cases of nonidiomacy in her draft, indicated with
(I; 12/09) an underline:
As I type each word in this literacy autobiography,

It is clear that articulating her voice is more im-
storms of thoughts stampede to be considered and
portant than merely conveying meaning. This
mentioned. Which experiences should I value, which
priority enables her to negotiate her voice with
shall I consider, and which should I ignore. My literacy
confidence.
situation is unique as only a few number of students
Buthainah 's identity also has implications for
in the department share the same status. As I click
her stance and positioning in her writing. the keys on the keyboard, an illustration of my liter-
Buthainah positions herself as a multilingual talk-
acy development shunt me to continue my ongoing
learning adventure from my academic communities,
ing to multilinguals. She does not think of herself
as a nonnative speaker addressing native speakers my home, and my life experiences. (D6; emphasis
added)
according to the latter's terms. In the second week
of the class, in response to an assignment asking
To my criticism of nonidiomaticity, Buthainah
students to define their orientation to effective
replied:
English writing, Buthainah wrote the following:
Actually, I am surprised to hear that because ... it
Although some people assume that "excellence" is provides
as- the readers of a visual for what I felt at that
sociated with writing like a "native," I strongly disagree
time. I do not see why only bulls stampede - this verb
with such belief. Who is a native speaker anyway? And can be used figuratively as well. I do not think that
why should a second language English writer have this is an issue of native speakers of English, I think
to mimic "native" in order to be given the awardthat of it is a stylistic choice. (SR).
excellence. (A, 09/10)
Again, when I referred to these phrases as pecu-
This attitude enabled her to experiment with liar in DFT, she responded, "Honestly, I do not see
words more confidently. When she overusedhow thethey are peculiar. I find them creative" (MC).
word "adore," I asked if she considered the It pos-
is clear that Buthainah is experimenting with
sibility that native speakers will find this a cliché.
new uses for these words, enabled by her own-
She replied: ership of the language. The example reminds us
that idiomaticity, like cliché, needs to be redefined.
I would respond by saying that I have a different
insight into this word [than] a monolingual native One might ask: From whose perspective is some-
speaker of English because I am a multilingual. What thing unidiomatic? What if the tradition of use by
the word "adore" evolved to be is different from what native speakers is irrelevant? Should not we give
it is to the native speaker. In addition, the context value to the new meanings multilinguals may ne-
in which it is used may characterize the word asgotiate a from these phrases in their contexts?
cliché - but, in this context, I do not see it. Also, I
Through her revised stance, Buthainah also re-
honestly do not like to see the native speakers as the sists any imposition of deficiency on her back-
other. It feels odd to consider them that way in the
ground. She considers her background as a re-
question of "how THEY think." I do not understand
source for writing and draws actively from her
why I feel that way especially since it is very clear that I
am "different" from the native speaker. (SR; emphasis
funds of knowledge. Her literacy biography makes
in original) clear that her home background has given her
multimodal resources for expression. It created
We must note that the status of a word as a cliché an appreciation of visual and oral resources for
depends on the speech community concerned. learning. The frequent quotation of Arabic verses
"Adore" might be a cliché for native speakers, and Koranic lines suggests that she considers
based on their history of usage, but the word her cultural background an inspiration for her
may not have the same connotations for mul- learning English. Her first language and culture
are not matters to be suppressed.

This is an example of the
Theymanner in are
which re-
her
sources from which she knowledge
draws in English
forwasher carried over
literacy
to learn
development in English and
French.for education
Such interlingual in
and intercultural the
aware-
ness accounts for effective codemeshing in her
American schooling system.
essay. Furthermore,rooted
Although Buthainah is strongly it helps her look
inat the
herin-
identity and background, in terpretive
the activity
way from the
she eyes of readers from
addresses
the reader, her stance is not fixed and essential- diverse backgrounds. She can anticipate the inter-
ized. As a multilingual, her positionality is hybrid pretive processes and linguistic capabilities of her
and plural. This stance enables her to translan- readers and provide appropriate cues for interpre-
guage by bringing Arabic, English, and French tation.
into her writing. When she used too many asides,

I asked her if such digressions were influenced by Interactional Strategies
her Arabic background, stereotypically assuming
that English had no place for such expression. The confidence in one's identity and back-
However, Buthainah corrected me by attributing ground and the ability to draw from them as
this feature to her hybrid background: resources for one's communication are certainly
empowering strategies for multilingual students.
Definitely not the Arabic writing! American English However, these strategies can lead to miscom-
influence, yes. From reading my essay, it would be ap- munication and stigmatization if the reader fails
parent that I am classify myself as a generation 1.5 -
to negotiate one's creative codemeshing. We
someone who experienced both worlds - the Ameri-
find from research on lingua franca communi-
can and the Saudi. Thus, you see that this specific es-
cation that intelligibility is achieved despite in-
say is an example of this combination. To answer the
question, the parenthetical comments are influenced
dividual differences because interlocutors nego-
[by] my American identity because in the American tiate on equal footing to co-construct meaning
culture we use P.S., we use parentheses for insider in- (House, 2003; Roberts & Canagarajah, 2009).
formation, and we [use] them to deliver humor as Multilingual are mutually supportive, collabora-
well. Here, my purpose was to humor the reader and tive, and consensus oriented (see Canagarajah,
give life to the essay. (SR) 2007; Khubchandani, 1997; Seidlhofer, 2004). It is
this orientation that helps them to negotiate their
Thus, Buthainah is able to move beyond essential- peculiarities effectively to achieve intelligibility.
ized notions of language and culture and adopt As I mentioned earlier, clichés like "adore" and
"third spaces" in her writing (see Gutiérrez, 2008). nonidiomatic phrases like "shunt" will be given
Buthainah 's background provides her with a fresh meaning by those who are prepared to ne-
rich intercultural and interlingual awareness from gotiate for meaning in context. Even what might
which she can draw to codemesh in her writing. seem like errors from a native speaker's perspec-
Although I interpreted her inclusion of Arabic tive will be renegotiated by multilinguals to co-
verses as a carryover from her home culture, she construct new meaning. Meaningful communica-
added that poetry is also appreciated in English tion is an interactional achievement. It is for this
writing and that she had learned poetry as an reason that, surprisingly, "misunderstandings are
English major (SR). Her choice of Arabic verses is not frequent in ELF interactions," according to
probably motivated by their appeal to an English Seidlhofer (2004, p. 218). This interactional strat-
literary audience, as well. She probably left out egy is difficult to achieve in writing, as the ori-
verses that would require more background in- entations and backgrounds of the readers cannot
formation and pose challenges for interpretation always be anticipated or managed as in face-to-
by non-Arabic readers. In her literacy narrative, face communication. In addition, multilingual au-
Buthainah gives an example of how her multi- thors have to take into consideration the fact that
competence (Cook, 1999) gives her insights into native-speaker (and monolingual) readers could
languages: also be reading their essays, adopting their own
norms one-sidedly for interpretation. Therefore,
The night before the exam, I went to "about.com" Buthainah adopts some extraordinary strategies
searching for information about the different forms
to invite, cajole, and even pressure the reader into
of past tense. Since I use "was" when reciting stories
negotiating the text with her.
from the past in English, I found out from the website
that the French equivalent to "was" is "était." In the A striking feature in her writing is that
following day, I used était in many sentences to express Buthainah uses a lot of parenthetical comments to
that this particular event that I am recalling already the reader. This is a way of engaging the reader to
took place (D6). interact with her and actively negotiate her text.
When I commented in DFT that her asides to lines by an Arabic poet on one specific instance.
the readers sounded awkward and came close to
For other Arabic verses, she had at least provided
violating the formality of academic prose,
paraphrases or allusions elsewhere in her essay to
Buthainah responded: help interpret their meaning. When I queried her
on this enigmatic omission, Buthainah explained:
I knew that I was taking a risk by addressing the reader.
But, I wanted the reader to be included into my discus- Translating this poem would take so much of its value
sion. I did not see my essay as a one-way informativeand providing a two-sentence explanation will not do
essay. It is a negotiated essay that seeks a better under-
any justice for these few lines. The message of these
standing from educators and future teachers to the lines is that who desires the best, need to work for it.
multilingual experience. By addressing my readers, I He/she needs to stay up late working for it just like
am welcoming them to the discussion, which, in my how divers have to search for the natural pearls. And
perspective, [is] ongoing. (MC) those who try to get to the top and not work for it,
they will waste their life getting nothing. I feel that
The direct address to readers is a way of drawingthese few lines that I wrote above about this poem do
them into a conversation.
not give it any justice. Leaving it stand alone is more
There was more to this feature. On another powerful. (SR)
occasion, she mentioned that the parenthetical
asides were a way of showing that she respected In what sense is this more powerful? What is the
the readers' perspectives and valued their activity reader supposed to get from the Arabic script?
in interpreting the text. She explained: Because writing is multimodal for Buthainah,
an aesthetic appreciation of the lines is part of
I really do respect the readers of my paper. And I know
her expectation. The Arabic scripts provide an
that there will be different interpretations of my text.
ethos to the text and represent Buthainah's iden-
However, acknowledging this fact and informing the
tity. Even if one cannot understand the meaning,
reader that I - as the author - know that they exist
one can respond to the visual effect of the lines.
and that they are different thinkers and intellectuals
than I am is a gesture of respect. (SR)
For this, one has to do a holistic reading, not
just extricate the meaning of the lines. Mark, an
Through this strategy she is acknowledgingAnglo-Canadianthe student, recounted his response
otherness of her readers and accepting them with this way:
all their peculiarities and uniqueness. Thus, she is
To me, a non-Arabic speaker, this quote is a beau-
not only inviting the reader to negotiate but also
tiful collection of alien writing, fascinating but in-
indicating that she is herself open to negotiating
comprehensible. It is a statement to me that there
their differences.
is something Buthainah understands that I do not. It
If readers were resistant to negotiation, she had is a move that distances me from Buthainah but also
other ways of ensuring that they would negotiate. leaves me intrigued and interest [ed] in reading more.
She tantalizingly held back important clues for (PC, 10/28)
interpreting non-English codes and delayed their
introduction. For example, she transliterated the There are also implications for footing in
names of some poets in English and kept othersnegotiating the text. By refusing to translate,
in Arabic. When I inquired about this difference, Buthainah is realigning the relationship between
she said: herself and her readers. She is shifting the dom-
inant Western practice of putting the onus of in-
I kept it in Arabic because I translated his name totelligibility on the speaker/writer. She is pressur-
English when I explained the poem. I thought thating readers to work harder for meaning. Readers,
if I kept it in Arabic, the reader would be eager to
especially native English speakers, may feel com-
continue to reading to get to the meaning of this
pelled to lay their biases aside, relax their judg-
poem especially since this is the final poem. (SR)
mentalism, and adopt a more egalitarian multi-
I found that she had indeed mentioned the name lingual orientation to the reader/writer relation-
of the poet in English later in a paraphrase of the ship. Tim, an Anglo-American, confirms this re-
poem. It appears that Buthainah wanted to pres- alignment when he writes to Buthainah:
sure the reader to keep reading and look for more
By not translating you are excluding a wider audi-
clues for interpretation. In this way, she encour-
ence, your non-Arabic speaking audience from be-
ages the reader to be more alert and proactive in ing able to engage fully with the text. Perhaps you
creating meaning. She also sustains the curiosityare challenging them to bridge that gap as read-
of the reader.
ers. That if they want to gain access to your writing
A pointer to yet another strategy was that (to a piece of you, perhaps?) they have to meet you
Buthainah refused to translate a particular set of halfway somehow. Or, maybe these poems are a special
holistic
treat you mean only for those ableand multisensory reading. She
to read Arabic toexplained
experience. (PC, 10/22) her reason for not translating Arabic in the fol-
lowing way:
Meeting halfway is what multilinguals do in con-
tact situations to co-construct
If I translatedmeaning as would
everything, then the readers they
sim-
speak in different languages
ply go through(Khubchandani,
it. But, if I did not translate it or pro-
1997). vide an immediate translation, then, I am encourag-
For readers to adopt this footing, they have to ing the reader to question the relationship between
change their attitudes and orientations to mul- the poem and the stories being told and promote
tilingual communication. Buthainah's strategies critical thinking. (MC)
involve changing the perspectives of the readers,

especially those ornative English speakers (NESs) . In addition to clues from the microecology
In further explaining her reason for not translat- of the text (as demonstrated earlier), readers
ing Arabic, she said her intention was "giving a should also look for larger contextual and so-
sample or a taste of the experience that language cial cues for interpretation. Such is the strategy
learners go through to those who never experi- multilinguals use in contact situations. Because
enced it, which may help them understand these multilinguals cannot expect to be equipped with
stories and experiences better" (MC). She wanted all of the codes or full proficiency required for a
the reader to go through the experience of being contact situation, they look for alignment to create
disadvantaged by an alien language, humbled into meaning (Firth & Wagner, 2007; Kramsch, 2002).
learning it, and encouraged to create meaning. Atkinson, Churchill, Nishino, and Okada (2007)
Through this process, she will also force NESs defined alignment as "the means by which human
to experience what multilinguals go through in actors dynamically adapt to - that is, flexibly de-
contact situations. There is evidence that she suc- pend on, integrate with, and construct - the ever-
ceeded in her objectives. In a peer response, Mark changing mind-body-world environments posited
described his experience of reading the untrans- by sociocognitive theory" (p. 171, emphasis in
lated Arabic this way: "Something can onlyoriginal) be . Multilinguals align words with other fea-
scene [sic] perhaps in the Arabic text. Perhaps tures of the ecology to produce meaning.
Buthainah is willing to help the reader but atIn addition to textual microecology, Buthainah
some point some things can only be knownaccommodates
to face-to-face interactions as part
of textual meaning-making. It was clear that
those who are willing to learn and become Arabic-
English bilinguals" (PC, 10/28). Buthainah thus
Buthainah treated interpretive interactions as tak-
simulates the experience of multilinguals where
ing place outside the text, as well. She factored in
NESs make them disadvantaged by excluding these opportunities for oral negotiation as part
them from conversations when they make noofac- the interpretive process. Other students, too,
commodations. Through this strategy, Buthainah began to count on such negotiations for more
hopes to make readers change their footing meaning.and Tim, in his peer review, asked Buthainah
orientation and to collaborate in constructing to explain the quotes to him in the next class
meaning. (PC; 10/27). He was counting on a face-to-face
From yet another perspective, Buthainah ex- conversation to unpack the meaning of the Arabic
pects readers to adopt the "let it pass" principle verses. Although Buthainah was prepared to en-
(Firth, 1996) when they confront languages or gage in these conversations, she refused to trans-
utterances that are not intelligible. Firth (1996) late her Arabic verses in the text. It appears as
demonstrated that multilinguals adopt such a if she was satisfied with oral communication for
strategy in contact situations. As they wait pa- unpacking the meaning of these verses. Rita, an-
tiently for further occurrences of the unintel- other Anglo-American student, said she "decided
ligible item, look for diverse clues, or renego- not to worry about what I couldn't understand - I
tiate it, they are able to achieve meaning. It trusted my classmates to explain what was impor-
is not that Buthainah completely ignored the tant" (I; 05/09). In her case, she is counting on
need for readers to find meaning. It is simply others in the class, too, to help her. In this sense,
that meaning would not be served on a platter. meaning is socially constructed and collaborative.
Furthermore, meaning has to be obtained Such examples show that literacy for Buthainah is
through a different route - that is, through mul-part of social practice. The negotiation of written
timodal resources rather than focusing only on meaning occurs in an expanded communicative
words in a narrow textual context. Through thiscontext - one that includes conversations about
strategy, she compels the reader to do a more the text in face-to-face interactions.
Textualization to read and understand the Quran difficult at a

Strategies
young age, she focuses on the aural effect of the
From the preceding discussion,
lines. When teachers focus on calligraphy lessons,
ident that writing is performat
she avidly reads the teacher comments at the end
Not only does of her she
assignments, want
turning a mechanicalto activ-ach
teractively, but she
ity into meaningful alsoMany
communication. tries
of her t
effects on herlanguagereaders. Writin
choices are motivated by performative
tied to representation
reasons. When I observed that herof few French her v
In a broader sense,
words did not addthen, much to the meaning her of the ob
to convey some ideas. She trea
essay, she responded:
cial action whereby the text lead
readers to reconstruct identities
The reason I used "moi" is because it was part of my
and to achieve certain
literacy sensory
history. I took three courses of French, and it
seemed silly to ignore
emotional effects. Such one part of my aliteracy devel-
perfo
opment, and
tion has important implication accept some. It seems hypocritical in a
traditional concerns of text construction. way. If, as you said, some readers would say that "don't
serve any significant rhetorical functions in the essay"
To begin with, Buthainah orientates differently
(unlike the Arabic quotations) I would say that the
to form in writing. When asked about possible
French langauge served a role in my literacey devel-
mechanical errors in some cases, Buthainah re-
opment. It may not be and will not be as influential
sponded that she was not focusing on issues of as the Arabic language, but it's there. (SR)
form at that stage. She reserved attention to lo-
cal errors for later stages in the writing process It emerged that the choice was based on concerns
and focused more immediately on the interaction of identity representation and contribution to the
with the reader. On one occasion, she said, "I had ethos of the text, not meaning alone.
multiple drafts of this essay, but did not notice Because writing is performative, Buthainah
this error. Of course, if I noticed it, I would have lets her writing shape her experience. She does
corrected it ... I was so engaged in developing not come with a preconstructed experience or
the content that I did not notice it" (SR). When- thought that is to be conveyed to the audience.
ever I drew attention to issues of form, Buthainah
From this perspective, codemeshing is not sep-
redirected my attention to the interactional goals arate from her experience; codemeshing shapes
of her writing. A focus on form would have lim- the experiences represented in the narrative. In
ited Buthainah 's writing. She would have focused one of her final journal entries, she confesses:
on possible errors (from a native-speaker perspec-
tive) and not allowed herself to freely draw from As I am working on another draft for my literacy
diverse grammars or symbol systems and meshed autobiography, I began to seriously engage the themes
them into her writing. Her relaxed attitude toward of 1.5 generation and "freedom for knowing." Inter-
grammatical errors enabled her to draw from her estingly, I found myself retelling the experience with
its fact differently to suit my themes - this may not be
multilingual grammatical resources. It is not that
Buthainah did not care about form; rather, she shocking to anyone reading my final journal - but for
me, it was. This is true because I felt I am manipulat-
made it subservient to her rhetorical purposes. As
ing my experiences to fit the norms of my themes -
we saw earlier, she was open to appropriating form
even though my experience does fit the norms of my
to suit her values and interests and not using them themes anyway. (J; 12/10)
from the native-speaker point of view.
Moreover, for Buthainah, writing is rhetorical,Although she fears she is "manipulating" her ex-
not simply a matter of meaning construction. She periences to suit her themes, she later says that
is more focused on the effect on her readers,
they are still true to her life. It is indeed a moot
the aesthetic effectiveness of her essays, and thepoint whether experience can be divorced from
persuasive appeal of her writing. The rhetorical rhetorical and linguistic construction. A striking
strategies she employs not only help her to adopt example of the way her language shapes her ex-
creative choices of translanguaging but also to perience is the fact that the influence of Arabic
communicate them effectively to her audience. language and culture on her English literacy de-
This strategy also enables her to give free rein velopment is not only the theme of her narra-
to translanguaging as she explores the most cre- tive. It is enacted in her text by the way in which
ative way to convey her ideas. This is consistent Arabic verses co-exist with English. They demon-
with Buthainah 's literacy development, as repre- strate how Arabic has actually inspired and
sented in her narrative. When she finds learning spurred on Buthainah 's development of English.
412 The Modern Language Journal 95 (20 1 1)
There is more evidence that

somewhatcodemeshing
answered after the discussion on my paper.
MyShe
shapes Buthainah's thinking. style was
letseither supported
the (keep the poems) or
process
criticized
of writing help her discover her (not talking
literacy about the college experience)
trajectory.
As codemeshing is practicedAnd all of that helped my writing as a reader may see
unhindered, her ex-
in the final produce. (I; 12/07)
ploration of her literacy development takes its
own trajectory. In ajournai entry early
Although in finally
Buthainah the writ-
makes her own
ing process, she recounts how
choices the writing
about how helps
to shape the final product,
her gain more insights into the her literacy
interaction with life:
the readers helps her make
her decisions
Writing this draft brings so many memorieswisely and
thatconfidently.
seems When asked
whether
to fade away. Learning languages ispeer reviewpart
a big had any
ofimplications
my for her
style,
life, and the idea that I began to she said,
forget 'Yes, of
some it was
thehelpful
as- because I was
debating
pects of this important memory on whether
shocks I should include
me. Therefore, Arabian
writing this Lit. Auobio. is a good poems idea
or not.for
And keeping
if so, shall I my
translate them? I
"legacy" of literacy!!! (J; 09/15) got many responses, and settled with keeping the
She finds that she is discovering poemsun-translated"(I;
more 12/07).
about
her life as she writes. Codemeshing The textualization strategies
thus of Buthainah are
helps
Buthainah delve more into her thoughts and protracted and gradual. Buthainah changes her
experiences. strategies and choices in relation to her evolving
Buthainah also lets her reading comment on views and interactions during the writing process.
her writing. Codes in one text shape other texts. As we discussed earlier (in relation to her first
She says, strategy) , she adopts more creative codemeshing
in later drafts, having figured out the comfort
The articles that I am reading for this paper has level of her readers. Similarly, although she was
some reactions that I felt as a learner. Although my
a bit diffident and apologetic about her tone in
situation for learning English had no similarities to
the early versions of her essay, she gained more
the examples given by the authors (permanent im-
migrants/residents etc.), their findings had similari- agency in later versions to adopt a more assertive
ties to mine. I never knew why I hated ESL when I tone. In her third draft, she includes the following
statement:
was in high school - and throughout my career at [X
university], no one ever told me of the 1.5. Thus, it is
Although all of the examples I mentioned were
such a relief to know that my reaction had an expla-
happy ones, they were the ones that came to my m
nation. (J; 12/10)
Please pardon the cheerlessness regarding langu
Her reading of the construct "1.5 generation" learning presented in this paper. Although the e
helps her to frame her experiences in English riences that I mentioned were not positive, learn
learning as different from those of stereotypical languages became a part of my life that I adore.
ESL students. This is a testament to intertextu-
This statement was omitted in the later drafts. The
ality. Texts thus empower her. They enable her
process-oriented approach to writing helps her to
to gain new insights into her own linguistic and
calculate the responses and counterstrategies of
literacy life.
her readers. In a course-end interview, she gives
What makes all of these strategies possible is an example: "A person criticized my direct address
that, for Buthainah, writing is a process. She is not of readers as a sign of weakness. Although I would
focused only on getting a good, finished product. argue the opposite, that particular response made
She is focused on discovering meaning and re- me even more earful of the skeptical reader"
shaping the essay in relation to her own evolving (I; 12/07).
thinking, responses from peers and audience, and Buthainah's orientation to language and text
interactions with other texts and codes. An ori-
confirms the strategies multilinguals adopt in
entation to writing as process enables Buthainah contact situations. By focusing on the activity
to not only improve the rhetorical effectiveness at hand, multilinguals make grammar and
of her essay but also reframe her negotiation vocabulary subservient to the objectives of
strategies in relation to her observations about
communication (see Canagarajah, 2007). Rather
the uptake of the audience. Based on the than up-
letting form hinder communication, they
take, she also calibrates the extent and types of the pragmatic strategies that will enable
focus on
codemeshing. In a course-end interview she them to reshape form, making even "deviations
stated:
as the norm" (Khubchandani, 1997, p. 94). Thus,
The collaborative aspect helped in shaping the multilinguals are more open to the possibility
of emergent grammar (Hopper, 1987), letting
final product. Questions that I was not sure about were
form be shaped have perfect by the

competence negoti
in codemeshing? Are
objectives of all the interaction.
of their texts, spoken or written, perfectly con-F
importance ofstructed? form Can therein be room for improvement?
intelligib
communication How do we is multimodal.
distinguish between codemeshing and
ecological resources mistakes or errors? as cues for
and communication. More
These are difficult questions to answer. Toimpo
be-
meaning is co-constructed, gin with, objectively assessing the practices formof
qualified power translanguagers
in has been problematic for many
multilingual
Such an orientation reasons. Although our tofield has
formespoused mono- has
plications for lingualist perspectives on translanguaging for a
codemeshing. Th
meshed emerge long time, we to now see a be based
need to adopt insider
rhetorical needs. They
perspectives on multilingualism. However,are
we still n
stereotypical have for a long way allto go incontexts.
understanding multi-
ing a monolith, lingual communicative
undifferentiatstrategies. As we strive to
Buthainah carefully develop an ernie perspective for these reasons, it th
chooses
diverse languages has been difficultshould be
to adopt an objective stance to m
course. I wrote in DFT that Buthainah's French critique the language practices of multilinguals.
mixings were trivial compared to her Arabic mix- Therefore, a critical view on translanguaging has
ings. French was less syntactically complex and beenit slow in coming. Furthermore, the "devia-
accomplished less compared to her Arabic verses. tions" from a language that we see in the usage
The latter had powerful aesthetic and rhetori- of multilinguals might be cases of positive transfer
cal implications for her text. However, Buthainah rather than negative interference. Therefore, schol-
pointed out that the distinction between thears lan-have accepted as natural the deviations from
guages was intended and had meaning. She wrote norms or even appreciated their creativity. Such
in her response: an orientation, too, has slowed down advances
on a critical and developmental perspective on
The reason that I did not include French poems or
multilingual communication. In the context of
more French phrases is because French cannot be
the prior monolingualist orientations, multilin-
compared to my Arabic language. The value of the
Arabic language is much greater than that of French scholars have sometimes swung to the other
gual
simply because it is the language of the Quran andextreme
the of glorifying multilingual student com-
munication, ignoring the possibility of further de-
language of my heritage. To treat French the same
velopment of translanguaging proficiency.
way, it would be simply strange. In addition, when
a reader is paying a close attention to my selection
However, it is possible to develop a critical per-
of French words and my selection of Arabic words, it
spective on Buthainah's choices and performance
would be apparent that what it was stated in the Arabic
while maintaining the insider perspective we have
language contain significant meaning while what was
adopted on her writing so far. There are signs
stated in French can be easily replaced by Englishthat
or Buthainah herself sees her choices as devel-
Arabic. Does this make sense? (MC)
opmental and open to correction. Consider the
It is clear from her statement that codemesh- following points:
ing is not a mechanical activity, where diverse
languages are meshed indiscriminately. Multilin- 1. Buthainah's choices become more effective,
guals choose the extent to which the different daring,
lan- and creative in successive drafts. There
is no reason to believe that the choices that
guages in their repertoire are to be emphasized.
she adopted in the final draft in my possession
In this case, Buthainah's choice is based on rhetor-
ical, social, and identity considerations. We need (D6) comprise the most effective piece. What
more knowledge on the ways multilinguals mesh is the guarantee that Buthainah will not adopt
different codes in their communicative activities. other choices if she had further opportunities for
We can make students translanguage more effec- revision? She herself claims that her writing pro-
tively by cultivating this knowledge. cess and negotiation are ongoing.
2. There is evidence that she is rethinking her
ASSESSING TRANSLANGUAGING own choices, displaying some uncertainty. She
PROFICIENCY gives different opinions and justifications for her
choices during my successive interviews, stimu-
Before we address the pedagogical implica- lated recall, and member check procedure. For
tions, we have to consider the translanguaging example, when asked why she did not translate
proficiency of Buthainah. Do all translanguagers the Arabic poem in one specific place, Buthainah
414 The Modern Language Journal 95 (201 1 )
You misspell verses

writes in SR that she thinks translation as versus. fell
always Since you have been
very would
short and letting it stand alone careful with your choice
have a more of Arabic and other
powerful effect. When I later stylistic
referreddevices in
to this essay,case
this I was wondering how
you would
in DFT, she offered other reasons forexplain
her these spelling mistakes. Did you
choice.
think these issues were less important? Did you think
She commented that she wanted to foster a criti-
the readers will easily understand your meaning and
cal reading attitude in the audience. She offered
therefore you don't have to worry too much about
yet another reason when she said in MC that editing problems?
she wanted to simulate the experience of being
handicapped by a language one does not know
Buthainah answered:
and attempting to learn it firsthand. Similarly, she
I am quite embarrassed about this error (and
offers different reasons for her parenthetical com-
another
ments to readers. In SR, she says she wanted to hu- mistake below) . I had multiple drafts of this
essay, but did not notice this error. Of course, if I
mor the reader. In MC, she says she wanted to give
noticed it, I would have corrected it. I could have mis-
the readers insider information and also disarm
spelled it, and the Word document auto-corrected it.
them of their stereotypes. Her views, then, are not
I was so engaged in developing the content that I did
settled and final. As her positions are unresolved,
not notice it. (SR)
she would benefit from expert guidance.
3. She is questioning herself about her choices Here, Buthainah does distinguish between
as she writes her successive drafts. There is evi- codemeshing and errors or mistakes.
dence of an internal debate and critical evalua- How do we distinguish codemeshing from
tion. At times, it appears as if she is not confident
errors and mistakes? I could not proceed far in
about the rhetorical effectiveness and/or appro- unraveling Buthainah 's understandings of these
priateness of some of her choices. There are even terms. In fact, Buthainah seems to use error and
signs of confusion. When Buthainah sends her mistake as synonyms. In general, it appears as if
third draft for peer review, she tells her friends: intentionality would help us distinguish between
"p.s. There is something in this essay that I docodemeshing
not and mistakes. Mistakes are uninten-
like. I am not sure what it is - but I feel that this tional, whereas those that are consciously chosen
essay is different from everything I have done in are codemeshing. However, intentionality is not
the past (in an unpleasant way)" (D3). In otheralways the best arbiter of communicative success.
places, she doubts whether translanguaging will Multilinguals can use certain words appropriately
be appreciated. In a course-end review interview, and effectively through intuition and social prac-
she says, "Just like our identities and backgrounds tice (without explicit awareness). As for error,
are diverse, so should our writing. They shouldwe have to develop a practice-based and socially
reflect who we are - but would that work all of oriented definition, departing from a form-based
the time?" (I; 12/07). Her self-questioning on definition.
the We have to ask whether deviations
efficacy of voice is striking. However, such atti- from norms have rhetorical and communicative
tudes are not difficult to understand. Multilingual functionality. Thus, when Buthainah uses choes for
students may doubt the translanguaging skills they choses, I do not see any rhetorical value in this de-
bring with them because the school imposes viation. its This usage could be classified as an error.
monolingualist ideologies on them. Furthermore, Additionally, failure of uptake can lead to error.
dilemmas in rhetorical options are but natural. If the language form was not mutually negotiated
Such choices are not always clear-cut. There isfor al- meaning, both writer and reader have to ask
ways an element of risk-taking in rhetoric. how the failure could have been avoided. The
4. There are inconsistencies in her text that writer could have prepared the text for the usage
suggest that in some cases she is not fully in con- and the reader could have processed the
better,
trol of her choices. For example, she italicizes usage mawith greater contextual awareness. In this
sha allah sometimes and not in others. She sense, there is a social dimension to error.
cap-
italizes each word on some occasions and not in Are there other cases in which Buthainah may
others. Buthainah did not have good reasons for
adopt more complex choices for greater rhetori-
these inconsistencies when I questioned her in
cal effectiveness? Could she adopt more complex
SR. Could some other textual realizations that I multimodal resources for communication rather
consider codemeshing be mistakes instead?than using smileys and emoticons that might be
5. More importantly, Buthainah herself distin-
too informal for academic essays? Can she ex-
guishes between codemeshing and mistakes. In the potential of alignment, fonts, and the
plore
SR, I brought attention to the spelling of "verses"
materiality and spatiality of the page as visual re-
as "versus" in her final draft. I pointedly askedsources?
her: Can she address the readers in more
subtle ways rather

orizing these practices. than
Therefore, it is alway
important
enthetical asides? Buthainah has to also recon- that we develop our pedagogies ground up, from
sider the rhetorical effectiveness of her metaphors the practices we see multilingual students adopt-
and idioms. When she says "storms of thoughts ing. As my dialogical pedagogy demonstrates, it is
stampede," she is mixing metaphors. If she in- to work toward the development of stu-
possible
tended any special effects through the mix, it is
dents' translanguaging proficiency while studying
not evident in the context. Because speaking from and
them.
writing are not acts of transferring ideas or Although

in- the dialogical approach I adopted
formation mechanically, but of achieving commu- will help students question their choices, think
nicative objectives with art, affect, voice, andcritically
style, about diverse options, assess the ef-
there are always limitless possibilities for develop-fectiveness of their choices, and develop more
ment. We will do a disservice to our students if we metacognitive awareness, there are more specific
do not help enhance the resources and strengths skills we can teach, deriving from the strategies we
with which they come. However, these options observe from students who practice translanguag-
cannot be imposed by teachers. Buthainah should ing. I have identified four broad sets of strategies
herself come to a realization of their functional- that can be useful to students: recontextualization
strategies, voice strategies, interactional strate-

ity and internalize it into her evolving repertoire
according to her own readiness. gies, and textualization strategies. The specific
strategies I list under each category are not
PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS complete. As we study multilingual writers and
interview them about their practices, we will come
It is possible, however, to raise an awareness
to know other strategies that are characteristic of
of these diverse options and resourcesallavailable
multilinguals and/or unique to some groups.
Inunfair
for multilingual students without imposing addition, teachers can also give commu-
nicative
expectations from outside. The dialogical peda-tasks in a range of contexts and gen-
res. Students
gogical approach I adopted in this course can have to increase their repertoire
in codemeshing.
spur Buthainah on in her chosen trajectory of They have to learn that the
extent and
communicative and intellectual development. My type of codemeshing differs accord-
queries on Buthainah 's drafts and the ing to context and genre. Different from the
feedback
typesstrat-
of her peers help question her choices. The of codemeshing in the earlier literacy nar-
rative,
egy helps her to assess the effectiveness which calls for a certain extent of personal
of her
codemeshing and decide which instances tone,
are narrative
mis- flow, and dramatic flair, a more
takes and which are choices she will retain. She formal research article will call for more mod-
can develop greater intentionality for items ulated

she codemeshing practices. As students shut-
had used intuitively or spontaneously. She tle may between different genres and contexts, they
be able to assess different levels of rhetorical and will develop a keen sensitivity to the rhetorical
communicative effectiveness. More importantly, constraints and possibilities available to them in
she may develop a metacognitive awareness of her different communicative situations.
codemeshing practices. It is also important for teachers to provide

There are good reasons why we should develop safe spaces in classrooms and schools for students
teaching practices from the strategies learners to practice translanguaging. Buthainah acknowl-
themselves use. Multilingual students bring from edged that the freedom provided in my class en-
their homes and communities funds of knowl- abled her to "play" with writing and adopt creative
edge that are valuable for themselves and others and bold strategies of experimentation (I; 12/07).
(Gonzalez, Moll, & Amanti, 2005). It is impor- If students are thrust into high-stakes writing at ev-
tant for teachers to learn from them rather than ery turn, they will not have the freedom to develop
impose their own views of how codemeshing
their translanguaging skills. Another resource
works. Additionally, we cannot generalize forthat
all helped in my case was models of codemeshed
writing by expert multilingual writers. My close
students and impose a one-size-fits-all pedagogy.
Even translanguagers come from different back-analysis of Smitherman's (2003) academic essay
grounds, and teachers (even if they are multi-(Canagarajah, 2006b) inspired Buthainah to try
lingual) should not presume to know the ratio-out this kind of writing (SR). There are other
bilingual and postcolonial writers who can be
nale for the choices or trajectories of develop-
adopted as readings. Authors like Chinua Achebe,
ment for all multilingual students. Furthermore,
we still have a long way to go in developingKena Sara-Wewo, and Derek Wolcott codemesh to
taxonomy of translanguaging strategies and the-
varying extents. An anthology like Rotten English
tions many
(Ahmad, 2007) brings together for voice (seeex-
textual Canagarajah
It writers.
amples from these and other is possible for students also
Additionally, teachers can
unfavorable
model codemeshing
conventions and po
for their students and scaffold students'
for voice, withattempts
suitable negotiatio
is not
in classrooms. In this regard, my a haphazard
own literacy process.
au- Stude
tobiography (which I gave the dominant
students as an conventions
example serio
at the beginning of the course) discusses
ate critically the
and way
creatively to fin
I shuttle between languages (see Canagarajah,
of translanguaging. Teachers
2001). As for scaffolding, venture
the dialogic questions in studen
by developing
I ask and suggestions I provide, inhelp
that will addition
them to
in this negot
the peer comments of the students, can scaffold
students' practices. Teachers' engagement in
NOTE
codemeshing, in their speaking and writing, can
both encourage students in this activity and also
further develop their proficiency.
^though thereModeling and
is a body of literature on learner
scaffolding are among the pedagogical
strategies (see Cohen & practices
Macaro, 2007, for a recent re-
view), the teacher
effectively used by a bilingual constructs there
toare not useful for my pur-
facili-
poses.
tate codemeshing among his They largely treat the individual student as the
Spanish/English
students in a Midwestern locus
U.S. of elementary
these strategies and treat the mastery of a lan-
school
guage in isolation from other languages as the focus of
we observed (see Michael-Luna & Canagarajah,
the learning. Because I view strategies as social, collab-
2007).
orative, and collective and treat translanguaging as the
As a concluding note, it is important to ask if
focus of communication, I start from the ground up in
the fact that I was friendly to codemeshing in
identifying these strategies.
my class limits the generalizability of this study
to other pedagogical situations. However, I hold
that there are no neutral pedagogical contexts.
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Codemeshing in Academic Writing

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Codemeshing in Academic Writing: Identifying Teachable Strategies of Translanguaging

Author(s): SURESH CANAGARAJAH

National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations, Wiley are collaborating

Studies on translanguaging of multilingual students have turned their attention to teachable

THE ABILITY OF MULTILINGUAL SPEAKERS ies of translanguaging outside school contexts,

rhetorical effectiveness (e.g., Gorter, 2006). The

situations, teachers have provided cerns to consider discourse

activity. However, translanguaging in literacy is

also accommodates the possibility of surveys

of Buthainah's writing strategies ina "green

level. After posting her

As I type each word in this literacy autobiography,

are not matters to be suppressed.

into her writing. When she used too many asides,

involve changing the perspectives of the readers,

Textualization to read and understand the Quran difficult at a

There is more evidence that

form be shaped have perfect by the

You misspell verses

subtle ways rather

writing are not acts of transferring ideas or Although

strategies, voice strategies, interactional strate-

can develop greater intentionality for items ulated

codemeshing practices. It is also important for teachers to provide

Eastman, С (Ed.). (1992). Codeswitching. Clevedon,

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