Teaching and Assessing Plurilingually Using the CEFR: Towards Linguistically Inclusive Additional Language Instruction (original) (raw)
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TESL Canada Journal, 2019
Previous literature on higher education suggests the inclusion of pedagogy that is linguistically and culturally inclusive in settings with increasing multilingualism , which is the case in Canada. Yet, little is known as to how the implementation of such pedagogy can take place, particularly in language programs. This article reports a researcher-instructor collaboration that aimed at implementing plurilingual practices, such as translanguaging, plurilingual identity, comparons nos langues, and intercomprehension over 4 months in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program at a university in Toronto, Canada. Seven EAP instructors collaborated with a researcher to implement weekly plurilingual tasks: They conducted an environment analysis, examined the logistics of implementation, and collaboratively examined the tasks. The article presents the process of implementation of the plurilingual tasks and proposes a framework for collaboration with four key elements: administrative support, openness to the use of languages other than English in class, weekly collaborative checks with the researcher, and the learner-centered nature of the tasks. Implications for the implementation of plurilingualism in English language programs in higher education are discussed.
Toward a plurilingual approach to language in education
Drawing on current theoretical perspectives on language and bilingualism, this paper explores implications for language teaching and learning in the educational context. Traditionally, understandings of language and bilingualism have been rooted in cognitive perspectives on second language acquisition that emphasize language systems rather than language users. This emphasis has contributed to prioritizing acquisition of native-like proficiency in the target language (such as English) rather than the functional integration and dynamic use of languages by bilingual speakers. Recently, sociolinguistic perspectives have highlighted the variability among bilingual speakers and patterns of bilingual language use, foregrounding the fluid, dynamic use of one or more languages as bilingual speakers communicate across different social domains and contexts. Engaging with the differences between these understandings of language, several scholars in bilingual education and applied linguistics have pointed out the monolingual bias in education, which tends to exclude not only bilingual language practices but also minority or non-dominant languages from the classroom and from curriculum learning. Bridging the frequent separation of home and school language practices this paper articulates key processes in a plurilingual approach to pedagogy that explicitly draws upon students’ home languages as resources for learning in English-medium classrooms. In particular, the paper highlights several examples drawn from a school-university research partnership that supported English as a Second Language (ESL) and classroom teachers at the elementary level to integrate students’ home languages into teaching and learning activities. The school involved in the research partnership was multilingual and multicultural, with 97% of the students speaking a language other than English at home, and 30% of the students having been born outside of Canada. Within this context, teachers drew on students’ home languages to: 1) scaffold English vocabulary and literacy development; 2) support students’ bilingual development; and 3) assist students to develop their plurilingual identities. Taken together, these findings illustrate the kinds of plurilingual language practices that are possible in multilingual classrooms. Moreover, a plurilingual approach to pedagogy reflects contemporary understandings of bilingualism in society, and offers a means to engage with the rich linguistic resources present in Ontario classrooms and communities. Further, this approach aligns with a culturally responsive and inclusive approach to education that recognizes the value of cultural and linguistic diversity in Canadian society.
TESL Canada Journal, 2022
Canadian multilingualism and multiculturalism are on the rise. Yet, monolingual language instruction remains the standard: students are often discouraged from using their additional languages and teaching materials still lack a plurilingual lens. To further inform the practice of plurilingual pedagogies, this paper reports on results of a convergent mixed methods study that investigated the plurilingual learning strategies of 20 adult English as an additional language (EAL) student tutors and tutees in a Francophone college in Montréal. The study asked (1) What plurilingual strategies do EAL tutors and tutees use to teach and learn English from each other? (2) What are their perceptions of the affordances and challenges of these plurilingual strategies? Data from an observation grid, fieldnotes, and semistructured interviews were analyzed deductively and inductively, and merged for convergence analysis. Results show that (1) participants regularly engaged in plurilingual practices including translation, translanguaging, and crosslinguistic comparisons during the tutoring sessions. Further, (2) participants perceived plurilingual strategies as useful for supporting English language development, fostering positive learning experience and conceptual links; however, they noted challenges pertaining to the monolingual posture of EAL instruction, to English oral production, and to the feasibility of plurilingual pedagogies. Implications for EAL education in multilingual contexts like Canada are discussed.
Pluricultural Language Education and the CEFR
Pluricultural Language Education and the CEFR, 2021
To meet the needs of adult language learners in modern communicative contexts, pluralistic approaches to language education such as Pluricultural Language Education (PLE) are emerging. These approaches aim to recognise and build on individuals' full linguistic and cultural repertoires and trajectories throughout the language learning process. Based on the CEFR's perspectives on pluriculturalism, autonomous learning and the action-oriented approach to language use, this volume's interpretation of PLE involves enhancing language learners' knowledge and awareness of diversity and individual perspective in communicative situations, and developing mediation and autonomous learning skills.This volume mobilises teachers, managers, curriculum and materials developers, and other stakeholders to incorporate CEFR-informed pluriculturalism into language education practice in a flexible, stepwise and contextualised manner. http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/research-and-validation/published-research/ http://www.englishprofile.org/images/English\_Profile/Pluricultural-Language-Education-and-the-CEPR.pdf
Open Journal Systems, 2022
Despite emergent research on Canadian additional language (AL) learners' plurilingualism in post-secondary and officially monolingual school contexts, challenges persist in implementing plurilingual instruction: learners' plurilingual identities (PI) and plurilingual and pluricultural competence (PPC) are often ignored in favour of the monolingual native speaker model. To help validate learners' PPC and PI in AL classrooms, this article discusses parts of the results of a mixed-methods study pertaining to the self-perceived PPC and self-reported linguistic identities of adult English as AL student tutors and tutees (N = 20) in a francophone Montréal college. Data from a PI questionnaire, a PPC scale, and interviews reveal that: tutors tend to have higher PPC and identify as bi-or plurilingual; tutees tend to have lower PPC and identify as mono-or bilingual; a lower PPC level is directly related to identifying as monolingual; factors including AL competence level influence participants' PI. Implications for AL education are discussed.
The assessments designed for and analyzed in this study used a task-based language design template rooted in theories of language reflecting heteroglossic language practices and funds of knowledge learning theories, which were understood as transforming classroom teaching, learning, and assessment through continua of biliteracy lenses. Using a participatory action research model, we created assessment instruments for pre-service English teachers in Oaxaca, Mexico, integrating language practices from communities and classrooms into assessments. Participants completed two reading and writing tasks. Task 1 was intentionally designed to engage learners' English and Spanish languages resources. Task 2 was restricted to English-only. Our analyses indicated (1) that pre-service English teachers performed better on the multilingual task than the monolingual English task at a level of statistical significance and (2) that integrating multilingual resources within assessment design can allow test-takers to demonstrate more complex or high-order thinking skills in the language they are learning. We are offering some empirical evidence of an assessment approach that is consistent with the broadly supported principle of making use of all students' linguistic resources for the purpose of teaching and learning.
TESL Canada Journal, 2022
With the multi/plural turn in language teaching and education (Kubota, 2016; May, 2014), there is an urgent call for the development and implementation of pedagogical approaches that are linguistically and culturally inclusive. The turn challenges hegemonic and monolingual ideologies that not only marginalize linguistically diverse speakers of minority languages but continue to inform theories of second language acquisition and permeate language pedagogies. In the Canadian context, there are still few opportunities for developing students' plurilingual competence in the classroom, especially in non-official minoritized languages (Kubota & Bale, 2020). Instead, monolingual ideologies continue to be enacted thus ignoring the languages of Indigenous peoples and minority groups and separating English and French, Canada's two official languages, in educational policies and society, which Cummins refers to as the "two solitudes" (Cummins, 2007). In teacher education programs (e.g., TESL, Teaching FSL), the uncritical practice of endorsing monolingual language policies and implementing standard curricula in language classrooms can have detrimental effects on bi/plurilinguals' language development, use, and identities. With the multi/ plural turn, one-language-only policies and deficit views that validate hegemonic practices and forms of knowledge are being questioned (Galante et al., 2020) and language practitioners are in search of alternatives that empower and validate individuals' repertoires. Two of the most prominent language theories/pedagogies which align with the multi/plural turn and have direct application to language pedagogy are plurilingualism and translanguaging. In this special issue (SI), Plurilingualism and Translanguaging: Pedagogical Approaches for Empowerment and Validation, the authors engage in dialogues that contribute to the exploration of the possibilities for plurilingual and translanguaging theories/pedagogies. We maintain that these theories/approaches are vehicles for empowerment where spaces are created for individuals to negotiate and validate their plurilingual and cultural identities and for educators to experiment with plurilingual and multimodal tasks that resist monolingual discourses. As we read these contributions, we invite you to focus on the overarching themes of empowerment and validation that are central to the studies in this SI and in the field at large, rather than on epistemological differences between plurilingual and translanguaging theories/pedagogies. Before introducing the SI, we highlight points of convergence between plurilingualism and translanguaging that we believe are important for theory building.
Journal of e-Learning and Knowledge Society, 2019
The CEFR’s action-oriented approach, including its concept of the user/learner as a social agent mobilising a plurilingual repertoire, represents a significant development from the communicative approach. The CEFR moves beyond the traditional four skills (spoken and written reception and production) to also include interaction and mediation, opening to a complex vision of the situated and integrated nature of language learning and language use. Advances in research highlight the need to overcome a vision of languages as stable, pure objects existing outside their speakers/users and a reductive view of learning as an internal cognitive process, meant to prepare for later real-life use. These theoretical advances have been flanked by bottom up developments bringing a more dynamic vision of language education that engages more meaningfully with the principles of the CEFR.The time was therefore ripe to complete the CEFR descriptive apparatus with new descriptors for mediation and plurilingual/pluricultural competence. This article outlines the conceptualisation, development and validation of these descriptors and their publication in the CEFR Companion Volume (2018), alongside a text clarifying the paradigm shift in language education implied by the notion of the user/learner as a plurilingual/pluricultural social agent.The goal is to promote quality, inclusive education for all, and in particular to further the recognition and valorisation of linguistic and cultural diversity and the promotion of plurilingual interculturality.
Fostering multilingual competence in the EFL classroom
As classrooms around Europe are becoming increasingly more linguistically and culturally diverse, teachers need to adapt their teaching to accommodate minority languages students. While developing their proficiency in the language of the target community, these students almost invariably receive instruction in English as a foreign language (EFL). Recognizing the important role EFL teachers play in the overall cognitive and linguistic development of minority students, this paper discusses the following pedagogical practices for the 21st century, diverse EFL classrooms: welcoming diversity, multimodality of input, funds of knowledge, clear goals, opportunities for interaction, integrating language with compelling content, facilitating multi-literacy, and differentiating instruction and assessment. By providing both theoretical support and practical tips, the paper aims to empower EFL teachers to foster linguistically and culturally rich environments and support their students’ multilingual development.