Expressing Emotions Through Creative Writing

Expressing emotions in English has been gaining attention in applied linguistics and second language (L2) writing research. Creative writing is an appropriate genre in investigating how emotions are expressed in written texts from participants. This chapter argues that creativity can be found in every writing genre, including academic and research writing. Then, this chapter takes a critical look at creative writing from the lens of translanguaging. The author argues that using creative writing with the translanguaging approach allows students to use every linguistics and other multimodal resources that the students bring into the classrooms in helping them express those emotions which would be unexpressed if they were only limited to use only the English language. With the combination of creative writing and translanguaging, the students are equipped to address and challenge the monolith and ideologies of the English language. The chapter concludes with pedagogical implications for L2 writing teachers.