Translanguaging genre pedagogy: implications for teaching business communication in the Greater Bay Area

Abstract

Abstract The present paper discusses how insights from translanguaging theory and pedagogy can help inform and promote genre pedagogy for teaching business communication courses such as writing and translation. To this end, the first part traces and reviews the developments of genre theory and pedagogy in tandem with translanguaging theory and pedagogy, thus teasing out their similarities and differences in historical roots, core premises, theoretical frameworks, and research methodologies. In light of these integrated accounts, the second part of the paper proposes a genre-based pedagogical framework augmented with key tenets and general principles of translanguaging pedagogy to design and implement task activities and classroom practice in teaching business communication courses in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). The paper then outlines perceivable advantages and potential challenges to the application of this translanguaging-informed genre-based pedagogical approach in curriculum design and professional training practice in superdiverse megapolis regions such as the GBA.

Keywords

• Genre pedagogy
• Translanguaging pedagogy
• Discourse community
• Greater Bay Area (GBA)
• Business communication
• Multicompetence