Exploring the role of teacher training faculties in the Basque country as LTAs promoting minority language-centered multilingualism

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ABSTRACT Language Teaching Associations are understood as professional networks supporting members with exchanges and development (Pentón Herrera 2022, “Advocacy for Language Teacher Associations.” English Teaching Forum 60 (4): 21–29). In the specific multilingual education setting of the Basque Country, Teacher Training Faculties are understood as the core LTAs for the transmission and development of Basque-centered multilingual education (Cenoz and Gorter 2023. The Minority Language as a Second Language: Challenges and Achievements, 1st ed. Routledge; Gartziarena, Villabona, and Olave 2024. “In-Service Teachers’ Multilingual Language Teaching and Learning Approaches: Insights from the Basque Country.” Language and Education 38 (2): 203–2017). These LTAs not only have a pivotal role in conducting research about multilingualism or introducing vanguard perspectives to multilingual teaching approaches, these are also key agents in supporting, transmitting, and updating pre-service teachers’ understanding of multilingualism and innovative multilingual teaching approaches adapted to the specific and varied sociolinguistic contexts of the Basque Country (Bier and Lasagabaster 2022. “What has Changed Over 18 years? Future Teachers’ Language Use and Attitudes Towards Multilingualism in the Basque Autonomous Community.” Language and Education 37 (6): 675–697; Orcasitas-Vicandi and Perales-Fernández-de-Gamboa 2022. “Promoting Pedagogical Translanguaging in Pre-Service Teachers’ Training: Material Design for a Multilingual Context with a Regional Minority Language.” International Journal of Multilingualism, 1–21). This study investigates how an LTA in the Basque Country supports pre-service teachers’ perspectives on key elements embodying multilingualism and how these interact in the construction of their multilingual mindset, being crucial components for successful Multilingual Education Advocacy in the future. The study employs a mixed methods approach, combining a specifically designed online questionnaire (N = 331) with five focus group discussions (N = 30). The paper explores pre-service teachers’ view of multilingualism, perspectives on language revitalization efforts, the utility of languages representing multilingualism, language usage, self-proficiency levels, and self-identification with languages. It presents significant insights from future generations of teachers and provides a comprehensive description of multilingualism in societal and educational contexts in the region, with Teacher Training Faculties represented as the LTAs in the Basque Country, serving as decisive and vital agents in advocating for multilingualism.