Towards new ideologies and pedagogies of multilingualism: innovations in interdisciplinary language education in Luxembourg

Abstract

Language is both a means and an end in educational systems. As a means to learning, it manifests itself in countless, shifting modalities; while as an end or objective of learning, it is often perceived as an autonomous, formal entity. Through a case study of an interdisciplinary secondary school project in Luxembourg, this paper explores the tension between formal, standardizing ideologies of language and the diversifying realities found in many classrooms and beyond. Beginning with discussion of different ideological stances towards multilingualism, language education and classroom participation, this paper analyses ways in which these ideologies impact educational systems in general, and language education in Luxembourg in particular, and advocates for heteroglossic, inclusive approaches to language education. The case study presented illustrates successful heteroglossic pedagogy, marked by inclusion of numerous languages, numerous content areas, numerous modalities of expression, and shifts in school participation hierarchies. At the same time, analysis of this case also illustrates continued influences of standard, monoglossic language ideology and areas of difficulty that need to be addressed in order to further develop and normalize effective multilingual pedagogy.