This study investigated the convergence of content and language integrated learning, translanguaging, and global citizenship education in an EFL tertiary English class. Conceptualized within translanguaging as an assemblage for meaning-making, machine translation was incorporated into the course in a way that EFL bilinguals could fully avail themselves of their linguistic repertoire for the learning of global citizenship and language. The analyses of thirty-three students’ response essays and survey results demonstrate the success of MT as both a scaffold for bridging language-content gaps and a tool for language acquisition. Design features, perceived as important, were a careful introduction and training on MT use and teacher feedback on MT-assisted writing. Survey results emphasize the crucial role of the students’ L1 in meaning-making. The study offers a practical guide for educators interested in using MT in L2 writing instruction and encourages further research on the theoretical and pedagogical applications of translanguaging in diverse EFL contexts.

In our extremely technologized world, enabling students to use a variety of media and modes in learning is an important component of the 21st century education. It is necessary to foster communication with diverse audiences and to encourage students to become critical designers of technologically mediated communications. Translanguaging and multiliteracies as approaches in applied linguistics hold promise to achieve these goals in the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classroom. This article discusses translanguaging as a concept, its use in the classroom, and its development as pedagogy. The article also examines the teaching of reading and writing, literacy, multiliteracies, and how the latter relates to the 21st century education. Further, the article discusses the intersections between translanguaging and multiliteracies while drawing out some implications for the ESOL classroom.