Using Cellphilms to Promote Translanguaging and Critical Digital Literacies in Teacher Education

ABSTRACT Teacher education in increasingly digital, multimodal, and AI‐mediated contexts must prepare pre‐service teachers (PSTs) to critically engage with technology, language, and identity. This article explores the use of cellphilms—short, participant‐created mobile videos—as a pedagogical approach for developing translanguaging‐oriented critical digital literacies in ESL teacher education. Drawing on a critical action research study conducted at a Canadian university, we examine how PSTs engaged in a scaffolded five‐stage assignment consisting of metaphor creation, storyboarding, peer feedback, production, and reflection to explore their evolving understandings of language, identity, and teaching. Findings show that PSTs mobilized translanguaging and multimodal resources to interrogate dominant language ideologies and reimagine their professional identities as language educators. The cellphilm process positioned PSTs as active meaning‐makers and knowledge producers, supporting deeper connections between theoretical concepts and lived experience. This discussion also highlights key challenges, including uneven technical proficiency and the importance of sustained scaffolding throughout the process. Pedagogical implications point to the need for intentional support when integrating cellphilms in teacher education.