Abstract
This article details the critical need for a policy of heterogeneity in Canada. Canada is changing, with a growing number of youth with multiple, overlapping and complex identities and linguistic repertoires. From this end, I argue that we can no longer look at language, identity,or community as separate, static or fixed categories and in this vein, we need official and public policies that support linguistic diversity and value heterogeneity. Drawing upon my ethnographic and sociolinguistic research which investigates multilingual youth training to become teachers of French as a Second Language (FSL) in Ontario, I demonstrate the importance of sociocultural research as regards multilingualism for language planning and policy, particularly when it comes to creating policies that reflect people’s use of language(s) rather than simply seeing people as language users. In my fieldwork, I have found that the impact of multilingual practices tend to blur traditional boundaries related to languages, identities, cultures and education. This article contributes to language policy and planning as it aims to put forth new ways of conceptualizing multilingualism in relation to the development of theory, policies and professional practice in the fields of language education, teaching and public policy.
Highlights
What happens when you have youth with multiple, complex, heterogeneous identities who problematize linguistic and cultural boundaries in the classroom, and language teachers with no familiarity on how to value or include heterogeneity in their pedagogy, especially when many teachers have been trained to uphold standards, including a standard language, and to teach language as a set of separate, segmented skills?In this article, I have two main objectives
I will discuss my interdisciplinary, ethnographic research,1 which focuses on multilingual teacher candidates of French as a Second Language (FSL) and demonstrate its important links to language planning and policy and public policy
I will explore the implications of this particular kind of research as regards future directions for language policy and planning and public policy
Summary
What happens when you have youth with multiple, complex, heterogeneous identities who problematize linguistic and cultural boundaries in the classroom, and language teachers with no familiarity on how to value or include heterogeneity in their pedagogy, especially when many teachers have been trained to uphold standards, including a standard language, and to teach language as a set of separate, segmented skills?. I will discuss my interdisciplinary, ethnographic research, which focuses on multilingual teacher candidates of French as a Second Language (FSL) and demonstrate its important links to language planning and policy and public policy. I will explore the implications of this particular kind of research as regards future directions for language policy and planning and public policy. Canada is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse countries in the world with immigration accounting for two thirds of the population growth. Despite immigration, increased mobility and the emergence of trans-global identities, official educational policies and curriculum have not expanded to include the explicit development of multilingual repertoires or societal multilingualism in classrooms
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