Plurilingual or not plurilingual? Plurilingual competence and identity of Canadian EAL peers in a francophone post-secondary context (original) (raw)
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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.
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.
Canadian Journal of Applied Lingustics: 24, 2021
In this article, we analyze the plurilingualism of instructors and their students in a program taught through the medium of French at a multilingual, Anglophone university in Western Canada. We employ the lenses of plurilingualism and plurilingual competence in the analysis of data from a one-year qualitative study of plurilingualism across the disciplines at the university. We analyze interview data and students' writing samples, focusing on how French and other languages are used by instructors and students in classes, and on the professional dilemma that instructors face in such courses: are they disciplinary experts and/or French immersion teachers? In our discussion, we suggest that instructors' and students' classroom practices are the result of several factors, including institutional discourses around plurilingualism and the French language, personal beliefs and ideologies, experiences of mobility from France and Quebec to British Columbia (instructors), and normative practices previously experienced in French immersion schools (students).
Encounters on Education, 2008
The appropriate education of immigrant students is the most significant issue of this global era. It is timely to expand new horizons for research on educational implications by creating a comprehensive corpus of research on theories and practices dealing with linguistic rights; policy options; types of programmes; structural change; implementation and engagement. Drawing from the extensive research on bilingualism and bilingual education, this paper proposes an expansion beyond official bilingualism to embrace plurilingual education. A possible research agenda is generated. Sets of research topics are formulated in each area of relevance to plurilingual education as the future of education in Canada.
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.
English Language Learners in Canadian Schools: Emerging Directions for School-Based Policies
TESL Canada Journal, 2012
This article attempts to provide ESL teachers, school administrators, and policymakers with a concise overview of what matters in promoting academic success among learners of English in Canadian schools. We review research focused on bilingual and biliteracy development, the nature of academic language, and the roles of societal power relations and identity negotiation in determining the academic achievement of English language learners (ELL). On the basis of this research, we propose the Literacy Engagement framework that identifies literacy engagement as a major determinant of literacy achievement for ELL and non-ELL students. In order to enable ELL students to engage with literacy, the framework highlights the importance of teachers scaffolding meaning, connecting with students’ lives, affirming student identities, and extending their awareness and knowledge of language across the curriculum. The application of the framework is illustrated with reference to the literacy and acade...
Thesis (Master's of Education), 2021
This study examines Continuing Education (ContEd) administrators’ understanding of the notion of plurilingualism (PL) and its application in the context of Grade 9 to 12 International Languages (IL) classrooms in Ontario. Through cross-case analysis and a phenomenological lens, the perspectives of 17 administrators from across Ontario were analyzed in reference to PL as it is elaborated in the CEFR and the 2016 IL curriculum. Participants expressed a need for administrators to learn about PL-inspired classroom practices in order to guide and train IL teachers, to foster innovation in the immersion context of IL classrooms, and to advocate for IL and PL in the broader school system. The implications are far-reaching and touch on professional development for IL administrators and teachers, student motivation, and discursive practices in IL and the broader school system. The study contributes to theory on PL, SLE research about PL in the IL context, and administrators in the ContEd context.
Concordia Working Paper in Applied Linguistics, 2023
Plurilingualism puts forth a theoretical-pedagogical framework for additional language (AL) instruction that is linguistically inclusive and culturally responsive. Despite increasing multilingualism and multiculturalism in Canada, however, official and de facto monolingual policies persist⎯both in societal and educational settings⎯and continue to promote outdated target language-only instructional methods. It is therefore unsurprising that AL educators often express feeling unprepared to teach multilingual and multicultural learners. To help teachers address this gap among theory, practice, and policy in the AL classroom, I propose a linguistically inclusive, action-oriented, plurilingual approach to AL task design and assessment. Drawing from the Common European Framework of References (CEFR) for languages, I outline how (1) to use specific CEFR "Can-do" descriptors (2) to design or adapt specific language tasks, and (3) to then assess student task performance accordingly afterwards. I conclude with implications with regards to critically employing plurilingual instruction to foster linguistically inclusive Canadian AL education.