Plurilingual Education Research Articles

Language-Related Expressions of Personality

The present research aims to bridge the gap between prospective multi/ plurilingual education and overarching personality psychology by examining how language constructs and basic personality traits are interrelated in pre-service teachers who are fundamental to language education. The first part of the study identifies items within the International Personality Item Pool that are indicative of language constructs, revealing intricate language-related expressions of personality involving listening, learning, speaking, reading and writing. The second part investigates the links between these language constructs and the Big Five personality traits based on a sample of 124 female pre-service primary school teachers aged 19 to 27. The results show significant multivariate relationships, indicating that individuals high in conscientiousness, openness and extraversion, and low in neuroticism, tend to exhibit preferences for listening, learning, speaking and reading. The findings suggest that there are personality-embedded nuanced language-related expressions of trait structures reflecting psychological needs for language competence, relatedness and autonomy in (co-)creation. The research underscores the importance of considering both language constructs and internationally validated personality traits in teachers and their students. It suggests that some teachers and students may naturally align with language-trait structures conducive to quality language teaching and, prospectively, to multi/plurilingual proficiency. Additionally, educational interventions can potentially influence the development of these identified conducive structures over time, offering insights into the stable psychological foundations for language development and consequent pluricultural competence.

Family Language Policies for Maintaining Arabic as a Home Language in Italy: The AHLI Project

The AHLI Project, focusing on Arabic as a Home Language in Italy, explores family language policies among Arabic-speaking communities. Employing an interdisciplinary approach and a mixed-method design, the research reveals a complex linguistic spectrum. It uncovers the dynamic interplay between language maintenance and shift, the desire to transmit Arabic, attitudes, and family choices. While highlighting the significant presence of Arabic in linguistic repertoires, disparities between practices and beliefs emerge. The findings bear theoretical and practical implications for promoting democratic plurilingual education and guiding language policy actions at both micro and macro levels.

Exploring pre-service English teachers’ beliefs about plurilingualism: using visual and spoken methodologies with learners in a CLIL setting

ABSTRACT This study investigates how pre-service Teachers of English in Bilingual Streams’ (TEBs) perceptions of plurilingualism are elicited through carrying out small-scale research with learners. It builds on previous studies showing positive relations between teacher education and shifts in pre-service teachers’ predispositions towards plurilingual education, particularly when opportunities for critical reflection on the interplay between course- and field work is emphasised. TEBs (N = 6) were introduced to visual and spoken data collection methods consisting of language mapping and focus group interviews during coursework and administered these during fieldwork. Spoken and written research reports were analysed deductively using language ideologies adapted from Ricklefs (2023). Results show all participants have a positive disposition to plurilingualism on completion of the course and fieldwork, particularly in relation to valuing plurilingualism as a potential resource in CLIL. Implementing multimodal research methods makes linguistic variation visible and draws out learner experiences. This helps TEBs make connections between their own beliefs and experiences, and those articulated by their learners and in their placement schools. This approach builds on the dynamic nature of the interaction between teacher beliefs and practices and confirms that critical reflection can play a key role in shaping TEBs’ dispositions towards plurilingualism and plurilingual pedagogies.

Basics of English-Ukrainian translation in an intercultural educational environment

The article covers the study of the basics of English-Ukrainian translation in the intercultural educational environment of Transcarpathia. The concepts of bilingual and trilingual education in institutions of higher education are defined as well as the process surrounding the formation of theoretical and practical translation skills. In the second half of the 20th century, the long-term analysis of translation activity reached such a level that it led to the creation of independent disciplines known as translation theory, translation studies, foundations of translation studies, etc. Translation studies not only developed rapidly and in a short period of time but it became an independent subject of study. The discipline also developed its own terminology which has been used for more than 50 years. The purpose of the scientific article is three-fold: 1) to study the specifics of English-Ukrainian translation; 2) to clarify the concepts of «bilingual» and «plurilingual» education; 3) to form theoretical and practical skills of English-Ukrainian translation in students while taking into account the specifics of the intercultural educational environment. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that we investigated the concept of «bilingual» and «plurilingual» education. The content and specificity of the intercultural educational environment gained further development during the English-Ukrainian translation. In the future, it is planned to study the specifics of the language components of English-Ukrainian and Ukrainian-English translations. Keywords: language, bilingual, plurilingual education, translation, intercultural educational environment.

Peculiarities of teaching a second/third foreign language based on English

Problem. The article deals with general issues relating to the main features of teaching a second or third foreign language (German and French, based on English) to students specializing in applied linguistics. A short list of similarities and differences between English, German and French in the context of their learning is given. This study presents an overview of the concept of multilingual education and analyses the main methods of teaching a third language. The problems associated with teaching a second foreign language are not sufficiently revealed, as this discipline is not very widespread in non-language educational institutions. It generally holds that the methodology of teaching a second foreign language does not differ from that of teaching a first foreign language, except that the second language is taught to a lesser extent. This approach does not take into account a number of characteristics that affect the effectiveness of learning the subject. Goal. The aim is to present the main features of teaching the second/third foreign language (German and French based on previously learnt English) to students majoring in Applied Linguistics. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to find more effective methods of teaching a second foreign language. Methodology. To achieve this goal, a number of research methods were used: theoretical analysis and generalization of pedagogical and methodological sources on the issues of third language teaching didactics and the concept of multilingual education. The term «multilingualism» is used in official European terminology to refer to both the linguistic diversity of a society and the ability of a person to speak several languages. The concept of "multilingual education" applies to both the development of an individual language repertoire and to «plurilingual education» i.e., education in a context of linguistic and cultural diversity. English, German and French have many things in common: Latin spelling and lexical similarities. All three languages contain many cognates - words that are similar in spelling and pronunciation and mean the same thing. All of these languages have a subject-verb-object syntactic structure. Consequently, the main problems in learning a second/third language after learning English, in the context of three foreign languages in contact with the mother tongue, are interference not only from the mother tongue but also from the second/third language, as well as positive language transfer, given that they both belong to the same Roman language group. Originality. The modern didactic approaches to multilingualism cause a major change not only in the way we teach, but also in the way we learn, develop curricula, and train future professionals. Practical value. The integration of work on language representation and multilingual learning, as well as explaining the plurilingual didactic approach to students, will make the language learning process more focused on students' real skills, more flexible and more creative.

Appreciation of multilingual teaching activities by secondary school students in Germany: findings from a quasi-experimental intervention study on teaching French

ABSTRACT Recognising and appreciating linguistic diversity and different cultural identities is an important educational goal for the development of our societies [Council of Europe 2007. From Linguistic Diversity to Plurilingual Education: Guide for the Development of Language Education Policies in Europe. Council of Europe Publishing; 2020. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment – Companion Volume. Council of Europe Publishing]. This paper presents the results of a quasi-experimental pre–post control-group study on the implementation of multilingual teaching activities in teaching French as a second foreign language at secondary grammar schools in Germany (in total n = 221 students, a convenience sample of 207th grade classes). Results of analysis of questionnaires and interviews with students show a positive appreciation of multilingual teaching activities, especially among students with migration background who have been raised plurilingually, and an increase in the appreciation of multilingual teaching activities among students who have been raised monolingually in the lingua franca German. Furthermore, the results indicate that the intervention was relevant to students’ intercultural learning in terms of fostering their appreciation of multilingual teaching activities, even though the teaching materials prepared for the study were not implemented consistently in all participating classes.

‘I like exploring other languages’: primary and lower secondary students’ attitudes towards plurilingual education

ABSTRACT While teachers’ beliefs about plurilingual education are widely studied, there is a gap in research exploring learners’ orientations. Drawing on a conceptualisation of plurilingual education distinguishing between three pluralistic approaches to languages and a transversal dimension focusing on learners’ language resources, the article investigates primary and lower secondary students’ attitudes towards plurilingual education in response to plurilingual education being implemented in the students’ language teaching. Based on interview data collected in a multiple-case study from majority and minority language students in Grades 1, 5 and 7, the analysis displays consistent learner positivity towards plurilingual education, especially emphasising the éveil aux langues approach whereas the integrated didactic approach as well as intercomprehension between related languages receive less attention. The findings indicate that the attitudes towards plurilingual education are linked to the learners’ language resources creating a framework for the students’ encounters and comparisons with other languages. Combining the findings and research literature on plurilingualism as a universal criterion for all learners in a modern, globalised world, the article suggests a continuum of the learner's plurilingualism. However, the findings reveal that experienced plurilingual education contexts do not only foster positive attitudes towards linguistic diversity, but that discriminating language-hierarchising attitudes co-exist.

The fall of bilingualism: Teacher candidates’ voices on the implementation of critical plurilingualism in English language teaching

ABSTRACT Plurilingualism is an inclusive language teaching approach to sustain multilingual societies, but there is little investigation on teacher candidates’ (TCs) beliefs and challenges before and after its implementation. This interpretive qualitative study introduced plurilingualism in teacher education at a Canadian university. Sixteen TCs participated in the study, which 1) investigated TCs’ conceptualizations of plurilingualism, and 2) examined TCs’ perceptions of overall affordances of critical plurilingual pedagogies before and after their practicum. For four months, participants experimented with plurilingual pedagogies such as translanguaging and cross-linguistic analysis, designed tasks, and taught lessons. Five types of data were generated: 1) weekly annotations of readings on Perusall, 2) designed language tasks, 3) task delivery demonstrations, 4) lesson plans, and 5) final reflection after the teaching practicum. Inductive content analysis was conducted on NVivo with data triangulation. Findings suggest that TCs shifted their views of language, and aligned plurilingual pedagogies with equity, diversity, inclusion and decoloniality principles. Findings also show that TCs transgressed the monolingual discourses often present in schools, and felt empowered after the training. We call for the inclusion of critical plurilingual practices in teacher education programs for the sustainability of multi/plurilingualism.

Supporting language rights: plurilingual pedagogies as an impetus for linguistic and cultural inclusion

This paper explores how the concept of plurilingualism is positioned to act as an impetus for linguistic and cultural inclusion in human-rights-based language education. Drawing on frameworks foregrounding descriptors for plurilingualism and democratic citizenship, the paper employs discourse analysis and sorting techniques to identify and align strategies of linguistic and cultural inclusion found in multimodal plurilingual task artefacts collected from a multi-year, multi-site research partnership between a Canadian university and the Italian Ministry of Education. The findings reveal that the implementation of plurilingual tasks aligns with key elements of democratic, rights-based language education, including critical understanding of communication, openness to cultural otherness, cooperation skills, and the valuing of cultural diversity. The findings of this paper contribute to further understanding of the concept of plurilingualism and to empirically informed perspectives on pedagogies that support language rights as human rights in education.

ConBaT+: Possibilities and challenges in preparing student teachers in English for plurilingual education

In this short article, I highlight some of the possibilities and challenges I have experienced as a teacher educator for English in employing ConBaT+, which is an approach that combines content-based teaching and plurilingual pedagogy. The approach aspires to promote interdisciplinary teaching, deep learning, and multilingualism as a resource by exploring a subject matter/content from different linguistic and cultural perspectives learners bring into the classroom. ConBaT+ is an innovative approach in the sense that it moves away from the monolingual ideology that content-based teaching strives for and has predominated English classrooms in Norway. One of the challenges I highlight in engaging student teachers in plurilingual pedagogy further calls for rethinking on how future English teachers should be prepared to successfully support a multilingual classroom for the benefit of language learning.

Conceptualizing Students’ Language Awareness across Educational Levels in the Context of Plurilingual Education: Within- and Cross-Case Findings from Grades 1, 7 and 11

Within linguistics and educational research, language awareness (LA) has been studied for decades. Despite the extensive use of the concept and several conceptualizations, systematic empirical research examining students’ LA across educational levels in the context of plurilingual education is still lacking. The article seeks to fill this gap by introducing a theoretically and empirically based conceptualization of LA across educational levels in the context of plurilingual education and, based on the conceptualization, presents findings from a within- and cross-case analysis exploring students’ expressions of LA in primary, lower, and upper secondary education. As part of an exploratory embedded multiple-case study, interview data are coded and analysed through a qualitative content analysis. The case study found that students across educational levels expressed metalinguistic awareness (MLA) and critical language awareness (CLA) revealing similarities and differences in respect to the learners’ age and language resources as well as signs of complexification, e.g. through more nuanced MLA expressions and concretisations reflecting that the students drew on a broader range of experiences. The students’ MLA and CLA are framed by the students’ plurilingualism representing a diversity of language resources, while also showing a preoccupation with languages that are not represented in the educational system. SAMMENDRAG (IN DANISH) Inden for lingvistisk og sprogdidaktisk forskning har sproglig opmærksomhed (SO, language awareness) være undersøgt i årtier. Til trods for den store brug af begrebet og flere konceptualiseringer, findes der ingen systematisk empirisk forskning der undersøger elevers SO på tværs af uddannelsesniveauer i rammen af en flersprogethedsdidaktik. Artiklen søger at bidrage med ny viden til feltet ved at introducere en teori- og empiribaseret konceptualisering af SO på tværs af uddannelsesniveauer i rammen af en flersprogethedsdidaktik og med afsæt heri præsentere empiriske fund fra interviews, der afdækker, hvordan grundskole- og gymnasieelever giver udtryk for SO. Interviewdataene, som er en del af et eksplorativt og fokuseret multicasestudie, er kodet og analyseret via en kvalitativ indholdsanalyse baseret på en fælles kodningsmanual med kategorier udsprunget af konceptualiseringen. Casestudiet viser at elever på tværs af uddannelsesniveauer giver udtryk for metasproglig opmærksomhed (MSO) og kritisk sproglig opmærksomhed (KSO), som viser ligheder og forskelle i forhold til elevernes aldre og sproglige ressourcer samt tegn på en kompleksificering, fx via mere nuancerede udtryksmåder og konkretiseringer, der afspejler, at eleverne trækker på en bredere vifte af erfaringer. Elevernes flersprogethed, der repræsenterer en mangfoldighed af sproglige ressourcer, udgør en referenceramme for deres MSO og KSO, men samtidig viser eleverne også en optagethed af sprog i verden, som ikke er repræsenteret i uddannelsessystemet.

Developing language awareness activities in the context of plurilingual education: two didactic models for language teaching practice

ABSTRACT Within educational research, there has been an increased interest in recent years to develop learners’ language awareness (LA) in the context of plurilingual education. Recommendations and intentions are given pointing to the benefits, but there are few concrete tools for how it can be carried out in practice. The article seeks to contribute to this field by presenting two theoretically and empirically embedded models, developed in the PE-LAL project, used as didactic tools for developing LA activities in the context of plurilingual education across educational levels. The article describes how the models were used in a collaborative work between a researcher and in-service language teachers in a primary and lower secondary school in Denmark and gives three examples of teaching activities for grades 1, 5, and 7, respectively. Based on qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews with selected teachers exploring the teachers’ experiences with and perceptions of using the models, the article problematises that despite willingness the teachers find it difficult to use the models themselves because of, e.g. the monolingual norm reflected in language curricula in Denmark and the teachers’ limited linguistic knowledge. The article concludes with linking plurilingual education to teachers’ continuing professional development and teacher cognition.

Towards Understanding Tajikistan’s Sociolinguistically Complex Language Ecology: Historical Development, Current Status, Issues, Research, Policy and Practice

Tajikistan, at the heart of Central Eurasia, had a population of 7,563,687 in 2010, estimated recently to be almost 10,084,935. Named for its majority nationality, Tajikistan has many other nationalities, most with their own language. This article explores what is known about the historical, development and current status of multiple languages in Tajikistan’s linguistic tapestry. We provide a tentative overview of Tajikistan’s evolving language ecology from earliest times when a range of Eastern Iranian languages were dominant, to the reduced use of Eastern Iranian languages following the entry of Arabic and New Persian (a western Iranian language) into the ecology with the Arab conquest, and the subsequent entry of Turkic languages, and more recently the entry of Russian under the late Russian empire and its spread under the Soviet Union. Following independence in 1991, a shift in balance among domains of use of Tajik and Russian has been ongoing at the same time as international languages, especially English, have entered Tajikistan’s language ecology. We review the current state of knowledge about contemporary sociolinguistic dynamics, monolingualism and plurilingualism in society, where the titular language, Tajik/Persian, is in interaction with local, regional and global languages. Against the background of changing post-independence language and language-in-education policies, we discuss the prospects for monolingual, multilingual and plurilingual education in Tajikistan among efforts to promote the official language, Tajik, and to provide minority language education, while also developing proficiency in foreign languages in Tajikistan, through initiatives such as English-medium instruction.

Virtual exchanges as authentic scenarios for integrating a plurilingual perspective into EFL teaching and learning

ABSTRACT The article presents research findings on the professional growth of three in-service EFL teachers from Germany who took part in a teacher education programme centred on technology-mediated plurilingual education. The study investigated how the programme influenced the development of the teachers’ pedagogical and digital skills in creating and executing plurilingual-inspired virtual exchanges. The programme took place over the course of an academic year (2021–2022) and was divided into three phases, including a four-week virtual exchange with other participants, self-study through an online course, and pedagogical assistance for executing virtual exchanges in teachers’ schools. The research employed a case study approach, and data were collected through classroom observations and field notes, recordings of teacher reflective activities, as well as focus group and individual interviews with teachers. The findings indicate that the professional development programme prompted teachers to reconsider their language ideologies and question policies and approaches that emphasised monolingualism in their particular settings. These included practices like separating languages in bilingual programmes, prioritising the native-speaker model as the ultimate goal of second language acquisition, and school policies that ignored the educational requirements of students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Guest Editorial

This Volume 14, Issue 4 includes six selected best papers from the VIII International Conference on Bilingual Teaching in Educational Centers (CIEB), held at the University of Jaén in October 2022. Bilingual education initiatives have been firmly taking root across the European continent (and increasingly, in Asia and Latin America) for the past two decades. In particular, CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), considered to be the European approach to plurilingual education, has been steadfastly advancing within the language teaching arena and evolving in exciting new directions which have posed novel challenges to researchers, practitioners, gate-keepers, and educational authorities alike. These new avenues for CLIL development include extending its implementation from infant education through to tertiary degrees (as research -e.g. Pérez Cañado, 2018 - has voiced that the effects of CLIL grow stronger with time), setting in place diversity-sensitive bilingual education systems which can increasingly cater for all types of students (Pérez Cañado, 2021), ensuring quality assurance within CLIL programs in order to determine those traits which characterize successful pedagogical practices (Pérez Cañado, 2016), or polling stakeholders’ self-reported perceptions, which are particularly relevant in our field, as “their interpretations and beliefs are crucial to understand how the CLIL programme is socially viewed, understood and constructed, and the expectations it raises” (Barrios Espinosa, 2019, p. 1). These are precisely the key issues which the present volume seeks to address.

Multilingual Learners in Canadian French Immersion Programs: Looking Back and Moving Forward

French immersion (FI) programs in Canada have historically served predominantly Canadian-born, English-speaking students and families in their endeavour to learn both of the country’s official languages, French and English. However, FI programs are becoming increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse as a result of increased global migration to Canada, and many newcomer, multilingual families are interested in providing official-language bilingual education opportunities for their children. The present article is a hybrid literature review and reflection article pertaining to multilingual learners in FI programs. The first section presents a synthesis of post-millennial research (2000-present) according to the following four areas of inquiry: (a) language education policy, (b) educator perspectives, (c) motivation, and (d) achievement. Subsequently, the second section introduces two emerging areas for future research: (a) intersections of race, migration, and language; and (b) plurilingual education. The article seeks not only to summarize recent research with respect to multilingual learners in FI programs but also to set the stage for important and timely areas of future research and to promote more inclusive and equitable FI programs in Canada.

Bringing plurilingual strategies into linguistically diverse classrooms: affordances of digital multimodal composing

It has been widely recognised that plurilingual pedagogy offers many benefits both for language learning and learning in general. However, in contexts where the linguistic profile of students is diverse, it can still be challenging for teachers to view working with the language resources of their students as feasible. In this article, we discuss how engaging students in digital multimodal composing (DMC) can support teachers’ uptake of plurilingual pedagogy. We draw on data collected from a design-based qualitative study that investigated the implementation of plurilingual pedagogy in primary classrooms in Australia. In this study, teachers engaged in professional learning on plurilingual strategies alongside digital multimodal composing. The study identified a number of affordances of digital multimodal composing that were particularly beneficial for inclusion of students’ varying knowledge of language. They included (1) an aural mode of meaning-making, (2) a playful composing process and (3) a flexible interplay of languages and modes in digital texts. The article concludes by discussing approaches to the use of digital multimodal composing for plurilingual strategies in linguistically diverse settings.

Digital plurilingual pedagogies in foreign language classes: empowering language learners to speak in the target language

ABSTRACT While studies have shown benefits of plurilingual pedagogies on students’ experiences learning languages, more research is needed to examine how these pedagogies can be enacted in foreign language programmes in digital environments. Moreover, prioritising oral engagement has been an urgent need among teachers who use synchronous platforms such as Zoom to teach languages. This article reports on a multiple case study with three teachers – English, Spanish, and French – and 17 students in Brazil. Five plurilingual strategies were implemented in their language courses: cross-linguistic comparisons, cross-cultural comparisons, translanguaging, translation for mediation, and pluriliteracies. Inductive analysis of weekly classroom observations (N = 15) and deductive analysis of individual teacher interviews were conducted to find similarities across the three language courses. Results show that digital plurilingual pedagogy mobilised students’ entire repertoire (not L1 only), encouraged them to speak in the target language, awakened nonlinguistic semiotic resources, and enhanced plurilingual and pluricultural awareness beyond geographical boundaries. Given its multimodal nature, digital plurilingual pedagogy can facilitate oral engagement differently compared to face-to-face instruction.

Identifying pluralistic approaches in language subjects in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden – A comparative curriculum analysis

ABSTRACT In Scandinavia, plurilingualism has been embraced as an important goal in language curricula. However, research shows that teachers struggle to understand what plurilingualism is and how it can be implemented. To address this lack of clarity, we analysed the curricula for the three main language subjects of schooling in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden with the purpose of identifying which pluralistic approaches can be found in them. We based our analysis on the three main approaches described in The Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures: integrated didactic approach (IDA), intercomprehension between related languages (ICRL) and eveil aux langues (EAL). We found several similarities across the Scandinavian countries, but also some major differences, suggesting that plurilingual education in these countries will likely have different learning outcomes for the students. For example, IDA is lacking in the Swedish curriculum, and the goals for ICRL are more ambitious in Denmark than in the other countries. Furthermore, Norway and Sweden include national minority languages in their pluralistic approaches, whereas no attention is given to language diversity in regions with close political bonds to Denmark, such as the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland.

Plurilingual education

Abstract The emergence of bilingual education in the Spanish educational landscape has spawned the implementation of a great deal of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programs. The need to raise the citizens’ proficiency of foreign languages is imperative so as to embrace the new European mandates in linguistic matter. Each region has implemented its own programs based on the linguistic reality and convictions surrounding it. In fact, the great number of research studies carried out thus far bears witness to the ever-increasing attention that this new form of education awakens in the scientific community. However, as far as the region of Valencia is concerned, despite it being a bilingual region with a long-standing tradition in the implementation of bilingual programs, we know little about the effects of such programs. The only thing that can be ascertained to date is that the road to plurilingual education has been a bumpy one due to the continuous changes in law that plurilingual education has undergone. With this in mind, this article carries out an analysis of the Valencian plurilingual system from the viewpoint of in-service teachers with a special focus on English. The results of this study are thus expected to shed some light on how the plurilingual project is playing out and to push forward the plurilingual agenda of the region.