Pedagogical values of translingual practices in improving student feedback literacy in academic writing

This study examines an undergraduate student’s language practices and ideologies in her feedback process of academic writing and discusses the pedagogical values of translingual practices in improving student feedback literacy. A case study was conducted to explore how a student in a transnational English as a medium of instruction (EMI) context used translingual practices to seek and provide feedback and how she perceived her translingual practices for and in the feedback process. The findings show that translingual practices helped improve Jane’s feedback literacy by (1) increasing her awareness of the values of feedback as improvement and an active and reciprocal process, (2) empowering her in making critical judgments about various feedback, (3) developing her positive identities as multilingual writers to manage emotions for challenging feedback, and (4) helping her take action based on feedback received. This study enriches student feedback literacy research by arguing for the pedagogical values of translingual practices in enhancing student feedback literacy. Future research is needed to investigate how translingual practices in different contexts, with varying student writers, can be implemented for other written genres and purposes to improve multilingual students’ feedback literacy. •Translingual practices have pedagogical values in improving student feedback literacy in academic writing in that they can help.•Increase students’ awareness of the values of feedback as improvement and an active and reciprocal process.•Empower them to make critical judgments about various feedback.•Develop their positive identities as multilingual writers to manage emotions for challenging feedback.•Facilitate them to take action based on feedback received.