About
Pin-Hsi Patrick Chen is a lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, where he teaches Academic English to undergraduate students. Pin-Hsi completed his PhD in linguistics at Purdue University. His theoretical research interests include syntactic theory and event structure, with a focus on how concepts of motion and space are mentally represented and encoded in human language. He is also interested in TESOL and Applied Linguistics, particularly in the topics of teachers’ professional development, language identity, agency, translingualism, and language policy. His most recent work discusses how non-native English speakers can develop a sense of ownership over their non-standard varieties of English.
Empowering L2 Writers with ChatGPT:
Navigating Translingual Practices in Academic Writing
Pin-Hsi Patrick Chen
Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen)
Translingualism views language as fluid, dynamic, and situated, often transcending fixed language boundaries. Thus, translingual writing practice values linguistic diversity leveraged from a full use of one’s linguistic repertoire and encourages L2 writers to agentively reflect their complex linguistic identities in writing, rather than being bound by conventions and rules.
Although translingual writing enhances L2 writers’ agency and identity, it is often deemed suitable only for informal contexts. Using ChatGPT, however, may introduce the possibility of retaining translingual practices while adhering to formal writing conventions. During the writing process, ChatGPT liberalizes L2 writers to freely express themselves without immediately conforming to academic norms, and enables L2 writers to draw on diverse linguistic resources before refining their drafts into formal academic discourse with AI assistance.
This study investigates ChatGPT’s effectiveness in facilitating translingual academic writing through a qualitative, descriptive case study. It chronicles an advanced EFL writer’s interactive writing experience with ChatGPT, analyzing how the tool helps surpass the confines of traditional academic conventions. Multiple forms of data are collected including 5 interviews, videos of writing processes, writing drafts, and the chat history with ChatGPT. Writing activities will be videotaped to document how the writer initially drafts ideas with her full linguistic repertoire and polishes them into conventional academic English with ChatGPT’s assistance. The focus is on whether AI-assisted translingual writing not only empowers authorial identity but also adeptly converts emergent drafts into scholarly texts while maintaining the authentic voice.
The significance of this study lies in its potential to reshape and broaden L2 writing pedagogies by proposing an AI-integrated model that validates linguistic diversity and strengthens writer identity and agency.