Abstract
This contribution draws on the preliminary results of a project that uses translanguaging and plurilingual texts during an intervention (of six months) in one primary and one lower secondary school class in Vienna. Although Viennese pupils’ linguistic repertoires are highly diverse, pupils usually barely get a chance to use their respective repertoires at school, because of a focus on highly prestigious languages, such as German or English. We assumed that pupils would positively experience the use of their plurilingual competences to gain self-efficacy. Moreover, we expected that group dynamics would improve due to the use of translanguaging. Results of the ethnographic observations and interviews we conducted with one teacher at each school at the end of the intervention are discussed in this article. They support the conclusion that school classes that are linguistically diverse benefit from intervention at the socioemotional level. However, it is crucial that teachers pay particular attention to the integration of less dominant languages.
 Keywords: translanguaging pedagogy, plurilingual texts, linguistic superdiversity, self-efficacy, dominant languages
Highlights
The present contribution draws on a larger project (Schwarzl, forthcoming) that originated from a cooperation between the University of Vienna, a primary (4th grade), and a lower secondary (5th grade) school class in Vienna
The high linguistic diversity of children in Viennese primary and lower secondary schools presents a challenge for implementing translanguaging pedagogies that have benefited pupils in less diverse contexts
A small number of studies concentrate on the implementation of translanguaging pedagogies with linguistically more heterogeneous student populations
Summary
The present contribution draws on a larger project (Schwarzl, forthcoming) that originated from a cooperation between the University of Vienna, a primary (4th grade), and a lower secondary (5th grade) school class in Vienna. The two school classes studied in the project were selected randomly, knowing that many pupils in Viennese primary and lower secondary schools use languages other than German (the language of schooling) in their family surroundings. Pedagogical translanguaging was used in the following subjects: German, Mathematics, Music, and Science (Sachunterricht). A meeting with the collaborating teachers (one teacher in the primary and five teachers in the lower secondary school) was organized. In this meeting, the concept of translanguaging was explained with respect to concrete examples from classroom instruction, focusing on the use of plurilingual texts and on texts in different languages (see section for more details).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call