Linguistically sensitive teaching in all classrooms: preparing student teachers to promote plurilingual competence in young learners

by Tjaša Dražnik (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia & Abo Akademi University, Finnland)

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In the wake of today’s increasingly diverse societies, the traditional approach to foreign language (FL) teaching that encourages the isolation if the FL from the other languages in the learner’s repertoire has been challenged (Beacco et al., 2007). The promotion of plurilingual competence has gained a foothold in European educational policies, and is at the heart of many teaching approaches, such as CLIL, translanguaging, and other language-sensitive pedagogies (Le Pichon-Vortsman et al., 2020). Plurilingual competence refers to an individual’s language competences, as well as the dynamic interconnectedness of languages within an individual’s repertoire (Piccardo, 2013). Literature notes distinctive advantages of using plurilingual competence as a tool to progress faster when learning FLs (Cenoz & Gorter, 2013). This gives particular weight to this study, which aims to understand how to better prepare future primary education teachers to promote plurilingual competence in young learners. The study was conducted within the European action-research project Linguistically sensitive teaching in all classrooms (Listac.org, 2019-2022). The concept of LST was used as a lens to examine teachers’ ability to utilise and encourage the use of pupils’ plurilingual competence. LST encompasses raising language awareness and mainstreaming the teaching of plurilingual competence as a natural part of classroom work (Bergroth et al., 2022). The following research questions were examined: 1) What has already been internalised regarding LST through ITE? 2) What needs to be improved to better promote LST and ITE? We collected student group reflections using reflection instruments based on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis during 2020. Data from 42 primary education student teachers at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education were analyzed by carrying out an inductive content analysis in multiple cycles. The results indicate that student teachers have adopted a positive discourse on LST. They emphasized the role of LST in a highly globalized world, recognized its necessity in class as stipulated by policy documents, and showed a good understanding of what LST entails in theory. In response to the second research question, three main areas of need were detected: a lack of teaching practice, a lack of training regarding resources and teaching strategies, and insufficient cultural and linguistic knowledge for handling multilingualism. By examining the current state of ITE in preparing future teachers for LST, this study helps to understand how promoting plurilingual competence, and therefore softening language boundaries, can strengthen the teaching of FLs.

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References:

Beacco, J.-C., & Byram, M. (2007). From linguistic diversity to plurilingual education: Guide for the development of language education policies in Europe. www.coe.int/lang-platform

Bergroth, M., Dražnik, T., Llompart-Esbert, J., Pepiot, N., van der Worp, K., Sierens, S. (2022). Linguistically sensitive teacher education: Toolkit for reflection tasks and
 action research. urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2022021018583. 

Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2013). Towards a Plurilingual Approach in English Language Teaching: Softening the Boundaries Between Languages. TESOL Quarterly, 47(3), 591–599. doi.org/10.1002/tesq.121

Le Pichon-Vorstman, E., Siavora, H., & Szönyi, E. (2020). The future of language education in Europe: case studies of innovative practices, NESET report. doi.org/10.2766/478776  

Piccardo, E. (2013). Plurilingualism and curriculum design: Toward a synergic vision. TESOL Quarterly, 47(3), 600–614. doi.org/10.1002/tesq.110