Abstract
Over the past decades, the concept of multi-(lingual) competence1 has been the focus of significant academic interest. Ever since Cook introduced the notion of multi-competence in the 1990s, the concept has attracted a lot of attention and has been discussed extensively at the theoretical level. At the practical level, however, multi-competence has not been investigated much, if at all. In fact, there is a very distinct lack of empirical research, especially into what constitutes multi-(lingual) competence in young learners and into assessment of multi-(lingual) competencies in these learners. With this paper we hope to contribute to reducing the gap between the wealth of scholarly debates and theorizations on the one hand and the concomitant dearth of practical applications on the other. The paper discusses multi-(lingual) competences in young learners at the primary level and proposes a special assessment tool, which allows for components of young learners’ multi-(lingual) competence to be measured in a systematic way. Potential advantages of instantiating multilingual pedagogies and multilingual benchmarks for assessment are examined and suggestions for holistic testing paradigms are provided. In developing our arguments in favour of a multi-competence approach to learning and performance evaluation, we adopt a holistic DMM (Dynamic Model of Multilingualism)-informed perspective.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.