This study leverages concept-based language instruction (C-BLI) as an innovative pedagogical approach to teaching academic citation practices and broader concepts of intertextuality in academic research writing. Participants were 34 undergraduate students, predominantly multilingual English writers, enrolled in an advanced writing course at a Hispanic-serving US institution. The 4-week C-BLI workshop incorporated visualized conceptual aids to teach author prominence (i.e., integral vs. nonintegral citations) and authorial stance (i.e., reporting verbs). Moving beyond conventional rule-based instruction, the workshop emphasized applications of concepts in instructor-led and collaborative settings, verbalization of evolving understandings, and one-on-one interactions with the instructor. Data include students’ research papers before and after the intervention (with student revision rationales), instructor-led text protocol conferences, in-class activity data (e.g., concept identification, text analysis, and concept visualization), and written reflections. Students reported increased confidence and intentionality with target concepts, and changes in writing include a sharp increase in reporting-verb types, more dynamic use of integral and nonintegral citation structures, and lower reliance on direct quotations. Case studies highlight evolving conceptual understandings of target concepts, growing awareness of intertextuality as a social practice, and increased ability to articulate writing decisions. This study highlights the potential of C-BLI in fostering students’ engagement with citation as a rhetorical and agentive practice, addressing persistent challenges faced by student writers.

Despite increased advocacy for translingual pedagogy, little research has explored how college students in mainstream academic writing classrooms—many of whom are multilingual, first-generation students—perceive this approach. Drawing on artifacts collected throughout one semester including surveys, metacognitive reflections, article annotations, and research papers, this study examines the perception of 38 students at a Hispanic-serving institution on the role of translingual pedagogy in their academic writing experiences. We found that while students reported a strengthened sense of identity and cultural expression, they often expressed significant discomfort and engaged in self-censorship when incorporating their home language(s) into academic writing. These challenges were particularly evident among first-generation, multilingual students who had internalized monolingual norms from an early age, as they had long been discouraged from using their home language(s) in academic settings. For these students, leveraging their full linguistic repertoire was both liberating and fraught with anxiety, as they feared deviating from standard English might compromise their academic legitimacy and disqualify them from participating in the professional world. We underscore the need for a nuanced translingual pedagogical framework that not only embraces linguistic diversity but also addresses the complex barriers students face when bringing their home language(s) and other language varieties into academic spaces.