Title: DIGITAL TRANSLANGUAGING IN FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE WRITING: A CASE STUDY OF BILINGUAL STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTORS

Abbreviated Abstract: The number of individuals who speak a language other than English as their first or dominant language continues to grow in the United States; however, the first-year college writing (FYW) courses often remain unprepared to support emergent bilingual students. A mismatch exists between the predominantly monolingual orientation of FYW courses and the digitally mediated writing practices of emergent bilingual students. This study explores emergent bilingual students’ digital translanguaging practices and perceptions, as well as instructors’ perceptions of digital translanguaging in FYW courses. Using a qualitative case study design, data were collected through online writing tasks, stimulated recall interviews and semi-structured interviews. Participants included three undergraduate emergent bilingual students enrolled in a first-year writing course, specifically designed for bilingual students, and three instructors teaching that specific course. Findings revealed that students used digital and linguistic resources as mediational tools to support their writing while simultaneously navigating English-only expectations. In contrast, instructors, approached digital translanguaging more cautiously because of ethical considerations and perceived challenges of implementing digital translanguaging in FYW classes. These findings have implications for policy, practice and professional development. They highlight the need to create space for digital translanguaging practices in FYW courses so that emergent bilingual students could draw on their full linguistic repertoires.