The aims of the section are (see Marille, s. 33–36):
Research has clearly demonstrated that bilingualism has a significant positive effect in terms of cognitive flexibility, intercultural skills and identity development. The programmes in which students’ native languages are valued and promoted as resources for learning offer the most effective approach for supporting second language learners’ social, cognitive and academic growth in the language of schooling. As Jim Cummins (2000: 39) puts it: “Conceptual knowledge developed in one language helps to make input into the other language comprehensible.”
Therefore, effective language of schooling teaching does not close off options for the use of other languages in the classroom. Quite the contrary, it is important to remind learners that their native language is valuable and can be an advantage to learning new languages. The use of students’ mother tongues, if integrated into the curriculum, supports the academic and intellectual development of learners and enables them to better participate in curriculum activities and benefit from their full range of linguistic resources. It also strengthens students’ cultural and linguistic identities.
Watch a video about Moises, a ten-year-old latino student in the US, who struggles to communicate in his new school with limited access to his native language. Then discuss the questions below.
It is natural that learners compare and contrast first (L1) and second language (L2) as they work to understand patterns and expressions. They make mistakes and mix up languages. They use one language to better understand another. This is needed to become more competent in using and for controlling multiple language resources.
For what purposes do students typically use their L1s in the classroom?
Watch some classroom videos with a plurilingual approach.
Read more about these issues: Walqui & van Lier 2010. Scaffolding the academic success of adolescent English language learners: A pedagogy of Promise. WestEd. (especially pp. 58–62)
Have a look at the tasks below that are often used in the teaching of the language of schooling. Consider ways to fine-tune them in order to make use of students’ plurilingual resources. What added value would a plurilingual approach bring? How would it foster and advance the learning of core skills and content in the language of schooling classroom?
Think of examples of
Created and piloted by Kaisa Tukia, Finland
Read an example of practice from Finland. This project is about using plurilingual resources in learning grammar, and it was piloted in a Finnish language classroom (Finnish as the “mother tongue”) for 7th graders, 13-year-old students. The project was comprised of around 8 lessons.
The phases of the project are described on a general level so that you can organise a similar kind of project. You can read about the case study from Finland in the orange boxes. After getting to know the project, discuss:
Also take a look at the Developing collaboration part.
Read the following text about using literature and a range of texts and genres in language of schooling teaching:
"Majority language [language of schooling] classrooms tend to include the study of literature as a major part of their curriculum. This includes a focus on the thematic content as well as linguistic devices which impact on the reader. In order to nurture an appreciation of diversity, various literatures, texts, discourses and genres should be included. These will reflect a range of cultural and linguistic contexts, and will also include texts which describe and develop empathy with plurilingual and intercultural experiences." (Marille, p. 26)
Part 1
Part 2
How would you use texts from the following genres in the language of schooling classroom to help achieve the aims mentioned above?
Choose one of the genres and develop (in small groups) one classroom activity. Bear in mind the aims.
Part 3
Share and discuss:
(Partly adapted from an activity by Astrid Guillaume 2007, LEA project)
Websites that are culturally interesting are those that have been adapted or localised to meet the needs of a specific country. Examples include McDonalds, Lancôme, Renault, Mercedes, Dior, Chanel, etc.
The aim of these websites is to sell a product. That is why the nonverbal messages and cultural adaptations are essential in reaching the target audience. The approach and content differ in each country website. With a contrastive analysis of the websites, it is possible to define the communicative strategies implemented in and for each country. The analysis can reveal certain cultural, social or religious characteristics and stereotypes of different cultures. Moreover, this is a good activity to explore a language that you do not speak using the cues from similar websites in languages you know. Explore some country specific websites of a big global company, such as McDonalds. You can find a list of the web country codes here.
For example:
www.mcdonalds.pl, www.mcdonals.cl, www.mcdonalds.com.cn, www.mcdonalds.com.us, www.mcdonaldsindia.com, www.mcdonalds.ie, www.mcdonalds.co.il, www.mcdonalds.it, www.mcdonalds.be, www.mcdonalds.ee, www.mcdonalds.ru, www.mcdonalds.ua, www.mcdonalds.pt
Part 1: Cultural characteristics
Answer the questions below. What other questions come to your mind?
Part 2: Language work
Part 3: Reflection
In language of schooling textbooks there are usually a lot of cultural expressions, idioms, metaphors and proverbs. Understanding them can be challenging not only for the students learning the language as their second language, but also for the native speakers of the language of schooling.
Look at some textbooks and collect these kinds of cultural expressions. Where do they come from? Can you identify their source? How would you explain them to a student who has no idea what they mean? In what ways could you illustrate their meaning? Practice with fellow teachers.
Part 2: Working with idioms
(from Mirrors and windows, p. 77)
For example, in English people say “excuse my French” when they swear and they “take a French leave” when they leave quickly without a word. It’s interesting to note that the French will say “filer à l’anglaise” (“Take an English leave”), as well as Hungarians and Poles, in the same situation. Note, however, that there are expressions carrying positive judgements about the same culture(s) in the same or other languages.
Look at a collection of idioms from a variety of languages. It is interesting to observe how languages are full of pre-conceptions about people from other cultures. These stereotypes in our mother tongue are sometimes funny, sometimes ironic, but obviously some of them carry a negative judgement that helps spread prejudices very early in childhood. We internalise these idioms as we grow up often without ever questioning their meaning.
See if you can find similar idioms in the languages you speak, but try to avoid the offensive ones. If you can, try to look up the historical roots of these expressions. The origin of these idioms sometimes reveals interesting information about the relationship between two cultures.
Also, take a look at the multilingual grammar project.
The following role-play is an excellent way to raise one's awareness of the importance of differences in non-verbal communication. The activity should be conducted by the teacher educator.
Before or after:
Follow-up questions for student teachers after the activity: