No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Multicompetence Approaches to Language Proficiency Development in Multilingual Education
Abstract
Due to a significant increase in interest in the phenomenon of multilingualism, research on multilingualism and multilingual education has grown over the last two decades. Some influential developments in research on second language acquisition and bilingualism have begun to exert an impact on second language teaching and bi‐ and multilingual education. These concerns include the symbiosis of the hitherto isolated fields of second language learning and bilingualism; the introduction of the concept of multicompetence, reflecting a bilingual view of bilingualism; and the application of dynamic systems theory to second language acquisition and multilingualism.
These new developments will be described in more detail, and the most important areas of research which have provided contributions to the development of multicompetence approaches to language proficiency will be examined. A central theme of the paper is that multilingual education can only be successful if the cognitive potential of multilingualism is explicitly acknowledged on the societal level.
... In studies where multilingual teachers' characteristics have been explored beyond the classroom context, the research shows that they demonstrated the capacity to respond more positively to students and could relate more closely to language learners (e.g. Garcia, 2008;Jessner, 2008). ...
... The dynamic model of multilingualism, used to guide an understanding of multilingualism in this study, presents multilingual proficiency as a complex interaction among various psycholinguistic systems, cross-linguistic interaction and multilingualism (herdina & Jessner, 2002;Jessner, 2008). MLA is consequently taken to mean the ability to reflect on language and its use, which involves monitoring linguistic processing in comprehension and production of language; monitoring (watching and correcting) use of language; fulfilling monitoring functions such as reducing performance errors; correcting misunderstandings; developing and applying conversational strategies based on feedback; attending to clues that help one to determine whether to use formal or informal language in a given situation; and recognizing when and how to follow socio-culturally determined discourse patterns. ...
... Several components of multicultural awareness seemed to be reflected my practice. As a multilingual educator, the literature presumed that my metalinguistic proficiency functioned as a facilitating agent in my ability to respond more positively to students (Garcia, 2008;Jessner, 2008). In keeping with this assertion, patterns indicative of this positive element were identified in my respect for individual students, tendency to ensure that they were satisfied, and in students' comments concerning my concentration on their individual needs. ...
This autoethnographic self-study describes my interpretations of multicultural awareness, with special attention to multilingual awareness (MLA), based on my interactions with 52 students in the context of two literacy courses over a period of one year. An autoethnographic self-study provided an avenue to harness my reflections on practice and to study the ways in which my practice reflected awareness of my role as an educator. Findings from my teaching videos, written responses to students, and student evaluations suggested that my communication patterns with students reflected certain elements of multicultural awareness, as displayed by my attention to individual predispositions, cultural practices and personal stereotypes. The findings also appeared to indicate that multicultural and MLA interacted to reflect facilitation and symbiosis. Facilitation seemed apparent in my awareness of differences among students’ cultures and my own as I monitored my linguistic processing. Symbiosis appeared to emanate from the recognition of how my response to individual predispositions facilitated my application of conversational strategies based on feedback. This, in turn, heightened my attention to stereotypical attitudes and behaviors. Implications for multicultural teacher education include the benefits of using autoethnographic self-study to scrutinize educators’ awareness in practice as they determine the impact of this awareness on their instructional roles in multicultural teacher education. By extension, the study suggests that autoethnographic self-study research can provide additional lenses through which to interrogate monolithic perceptions of diversity in multicultural teacher education.
... The theoretical construct proposed by Cummins (1986Cummins ( , 2000 and referred to as the Interdependence Hypothesis posits that cognitive and academic skills transfer across languages. Moreover, current theories suggest that a common conceptual capacity underlies the linguistic and mental operations irrespective of the language used by the individual (Cenoz & Genesee, 1998;Cook, 2013;Herdina & Jessner, 2002;Jessner, 2008a). Although there is no consensus among researchers about what gets transferred (i.e., which aspects of AP are universal and which are language specific), research indicates that literacy and linguistic knowledge and skills do transfer across languages (Cenoz, 2009;Hornberger, 2003). ...
... These results are also in accord with studies demonstrating positive effects of studying a minority or heritage language in the school context (either as school subject or as the language of instruction) on second and third languages. Thus, the results support the claim that prior linguistic knowledge and prior experience enhance cognitive development and the acquisition of AP in subsequent languages (Jessner, 2008a) or, in other words, that language learning is a cumulative process (Flynn, 2009). ...
... Fourth, the findings imply that language teaching methodologies and assessment should accept the 'holistic' notion of multilingualism (Cook, 2013;Jessner, 2008a). The findings concerning the significant positive predictive relationships of AP across the three languages can be interpreted as a counterargument against reliance on monolingual instructional approaches that advocate that languages should be kept separate in the classroom. ...
The study addresses the degree of transfer of literacy dimensions of academic proficiency (AP), that is, reading comprehension and writing, across three languages—Russian (L1), Hebrew (L2), and English (L3)—and investigates whether a common conceptual source underlies the linguistic and cognitive operations of the trilingual learner (Grosjean, 1985). The sample included 274 Russian-speaking 11th graders studying Hebrew (L2) and English (L3). The instruments for assessing AP were (a) an L1 writing task and ‘can do’ questionnaire and (b) AP tests in L2 and L3. Questionnaires were administered to gather information about the participants’ background variables. The results indicate interdependence of AP across the 3 languages. AP in L1 contributed significantly to the prediction of AP performance in L2 and L3 independent of interaction with arrival age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Reading comprehension and writing in Hebrew (L2) significantly predicted performance on the parallel measures in English (L3). L3 writing proved to be a better predictor of AP in L2 compared to L3 reading comprehension and predicted not only L2 writing but also L2 reading. The results indicate that the Interdependence Hypothesis transpires in the context of 3 languages and can be interpreted to comply with holistic views of bi/trilingualism (Cummins, 2008; Jessner, 2008c).
... As Grosjean (1989) stated, it is thus assumed that a bilingual is a double monolingual (and consequently, a multilingual is assumed to be a multiple monolingual). In this sense, performance in second and third languages is measured against monolingual standards (see Jessner et al., 2022;Jessner, 2008;Hofer, 2023). However, this perspective ignores the non-linguistic and cognitive dimensions. ...
... Pinto et al. (1999Pinto et al. ( , 2003 differentiated between epi-and meta-processes. While the epi-level reflects an enhanced intuition in relation to language use, the meta-level reflects a conscious and deliberate reflection on language, or deliberate attention directed towards language (see Bialystok, 1991Bialystok, , 2001Bialystok et al., 2014;Jessner, 2006Jessner, , 2008De Angelis, 2007;Vetter and Jessner, 2019 for a similar conception of metalinguistic processes). This difference between the two processes is reflected in the design of the Pinto test (and thus, in the three MeLA Tests administered in the current study), in which respondents were asked to answer two different types of questions. ...
... Halaber, euskal eskola eleanitz askoren ikuspuntua elebakarra da, irakasten den hizkuntza bakoitzean berezko hiztun izatera bultzatzen baitira ikasleak. Eleaniztun izatea abantaila gisa ulertzen da Europan, eta, oparotasunak oparotasun, eleaniztasuna hizkuntzak ikasteko kondizio katalizatzaile gisa ulertzen (Cenoz, 2013;Jessner, 2008Jessner, , 2016Maluch eta Kempert, 2017); alde batetik, ikaslearen funtzio kognitiboak zorrozten eta trebatzen dituelako (Barac et al., 2014;Kalashnikova eta Mattock, 2014;Moodie, 2016;Thomas-Sunesson et al., 2016) eta, bestetik, ikaslearen abilezia metalinguistikoa handitu eta hizkuntzak ikasteko bide lasterrak irekitzen dituelako (Bialystok, 2007;Reder et al., 2013). Hau da, eleaniztasuna, bigarren mailako ezaugarri kontsideratu beharrean, erdigunera ekarri beharko litzateke, haren berezkotasunak erdigune izanik, ikuspegi eleanitzean oinarritutako egitasmoak aurrera eramateko. ...
... Atal teorikoan jaso bezala, eleaniztun izatea abantaila da hizkuntza gehiago ikasteko orduan, eta ikerketa honen bitartez baiezta daiteke etorkizuneko irakasleen usteek bat egiten dutela eta lerrokaturik daudela elebitasuna eta eleaniztasuna hizkuntzak ikasteko kondizio hobe gisa ulertzearekin. Izan ere, literatura akademikoak baieztatu du, besteak beste, eleaniztunak hizkuntzak ikasteko baliabide gehiago duela, hizkuntzak ikasteko esperientzia aberatsagoa, funtzio kognitibo zailduagoak, hiz kuntza-eza gu tza sakonagoa, baliabide eta estrategia multzo zabalagoa (Barac et al., 2014;Bialystok, 2007;Cenoz, 2013;Jessner, 2008Jessner, , 2016Kalashnikova eta Mattock, 2014;Maluch eta Kempert, 2017;Moodie, 2016;Reder et al., 2013;Thomas-Sunesson et al., 2016). ...
Multilingualism has been common in Europe and the Basque Country is no exception. In the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) the objective is trilingualism: Basque, Spanish and Eng-lish; and in the Foral Community of Navarre too, even though the sociolinguistic situation and linguis-tic zoning. Basque education is the source of knowledge, transmission and use of Basque through the model d. And in the era of globalization and multilingualism a fundamental challenge is presented to Basque education so as to create, develop and implement the approach of a multilingual school cen-tered in the Basque language. This study investigates Early Childhood and Primary School Educa-tion degree-students’ (future teachers’) beliefs about multilingualism in the BAC and the Foral Com-munity of Navarre. Based on quantitative data, an online questionnaire of 11 items was used to gather 564 future teachers’ beliefs on multilingualism. The aim of the research is to describe the main char-acteristics and to analyze whether the root of these beliefs are closer to a multilingual or monolin-gual perspective. doing research about teachers’ beliefs means better understanding of their attitudes, teaching practices and mindset.
Eleaniztasuna kontu arrunta izan da Europan zehar, eta Euskal Herrian ere ez da sal-buespen. Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoan hirueletasuna da jomuga: euskara, espainola eta ingelesa; eta Nafarroako Foru Komunitatean, egoera soziolinguistikoa eta zonifikazioaren mugak tarteko, ere bai. Euskal hezkuntzak euskararen ezagutza, transmisioa eta erabilera hedatzen ditu D ereduaren bitartez, eta globalizazio eta eleaniztasunaren aroan berebiziko erronka aurkezten zaio, euskara ardatz duen es-kola eleanitza sortu, bere egin eta proposatzerakoan. Honako azterlan honetan, EAE eta Nafarroako Foru Komunitateko Haur eta Lehen Hezkuntza graduetako ikasleen (etorkizuneko irakasleen) eleaniz-tasun-usteak ikertzen dira. Ikuspegi kuantitatiboa oinarri, 11 itemeko online-galdetegia diseinatu da, eta 564 gradu-ikasleren usteak jaso dira eleaniztasunaren bueltan. Hala, eskuarteko ikerketak helburu du etorkizunean irakasle izango direnen usteak deskribatzea, euskara erdigune izaki, eta uste horien erroa ikuspegi eleanitzetik ala elebakarretik gertuago ote diren aztertzeko. Etorkizuneko irakasleen us-teetan sakontzeak haien jarrerak, irakas-jarduerak eta balioak hobeto ulertzea dakar.
... 2 Multilingual: Based on Jessner's (2008) definition of multilingual proficiency as the complex interaction among various psycholinguistic systems, cross-linguistic interaction, and multilingualism, the term multilingual educator in this study will trajectories after they transitioned from being teachers in their home countries in the Englishspeaking Caribbean 3 to becoming educators in the United States. Secondarily, we focused on their multicultural awareness given its symbiotic relationship with multilingual awareness in this work. ...
... Beyond this, we are aware that there is some research (for example, Garcia, 2008;Jessner, 2008) pointing to the phenomenon that teachers and educators who are multilingual are likely to be more responsive to the linguistic and cultural needs of their students. Such studies cannot be ignored, but in our search of the literature, we did not conclude this to be the pervading view, nor did we think the evidence was conclusive that multilingual teachers or educators are better able to respond to linguistic diversity. ...
Increasingly, teacher educators are required to prepare teachers for students in mainstream classrooms who are more culturally and linguistically diverse than ever before. Yet, calls for teacher educators to model enactments of curriculum and instruction concerning diversity expected of prospective teachers in U.S. K-12 classrooms have resulted in few efforts that attempt to understand and to document the personal predispositions, attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse teacher educators. This study examines the learning of five vernacular-speaking Afro-Caribbean “teachers turned educators” (TTEs) about their multilingual and multicultural awareness after they migrated across cultures from their home countries to the United States. Findings indicated that the TTEs demonstrated learning about their awareness by modifying their intonation, message content, facial expressions, deciding to speak or to be silent, and identifying previously overlooked concerns about language in their home countries. Reflexivity was critical to learning about their multilingual awareness and specific sources for navigating cultural incongruence were useful for learning about their multicultural awareness. The TTEs developed “transnational linguistic fluidity” in their demonstration of awareness through learning, raising questions about the inadvertent assumption that immigrant, multilingual, and Black educators naturally reflect an awareness of language and culture.
... 2 Multilingual: Based on Jessner's (2008) definition of multilingual proficiency as the complex interaction among various psycholinguistic systems, cross-linguistic interaction, and multilingualism, the term multilingual educator in this study will trajectories after they transitioned from being teachers in their home countries in the Englishspeaking Caribbean 3 to becoming educators in the United States. Secondarily, we focused on their multicultural awareness given its symbiotic relationship with multilingual awareness in this work. ...
... Beyond this, we are aware that there is some research (for example, Garcia, 2008;Jessner, 2008) pointing to the phenomenon that teachers and educators who are multilingual are likely to be more responsive to the linguistic and cultural needs of their students. Such studies cannot be ignored, but in our search of the literature, we did not conclude this to be the pervading view, nor did we think the evidence was conclusive that multilingual teachers or educators are better able to respond to linguistic diversity. ...
Increasingly, teacher educators are required to prepare teachers for students in mainstream classrooms who are more culturally and linguistically diverse than ever before. Yet, calls for teacher educators to model enactments of curriculum and instruction concerning diversity expected of prospective teachers in U.S. K-12 classrooms have resulted in few efforts that attempt to understand and to document the personal predispositions, attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse teacher educators. This study examines the learning of five vernacular-speaking Afro-Caribbean 'teachers turned educators' (TTEs) about their multilingual and multicultural awareness after they migrated across cultures from their home countries to the United States. Findings indicated that the TTEs demonstrated learning about their awareness by modifying their intonation, message content, facial expressions, deciding to speak or to be silent, and identifying previously overlooked concerns about language in their home countries. Reflexivity was critical to learning about their multilingual awareness and specific sources for navigating cultural incongruence were useful for learning about their multicultural awareness. The TTEs developed "transnational linguistic fluidity" in their demonstration of awareness through learning, raising questions about the inadvertent assumption that immigrant, multilingual, and Black educators naturally reflect an awareness of language and culture.
... Furthermore, the term 'bilingualism' denotes language competence acquired in two languages whereas 'multilingualism' is used to refer to the mastery of competence in more than two languages. The term 'trilingualism' is subsumed under the concept of multilingualism, referring to language competence in three languages (Jessner 2008). ...
... The present study is aimed at investigating the voice of multilingual immigrant youth regarding their educational experiences in high school. Drawing on holistic views of multilingualism (Jessner 2008), this study is thus based on the assumption that a fuller understanding of students' experiences can be obtained by examining their written expression about school experiences in all three languages at their disposal: Russian (L1), Hebrew (L2) and English (L3). The following question guided the study: How do immigrant students interpret and make sense of the educational experience in the context of school by expressing themselves in three languages: Russian (L1), Hebrew (L2) and English (L3)? ...
This study explored how 60 trilingual immigrant youth interpret and make sense of their educational experiences in Israeli schools. Conceptualizing the language knowledge of multilingual individuals as one unitary system, the study is based on the assumption that a fuller understanding of students’ educational experiences can be obtained by examining their written expression about school experiences in the three languages at their disposal: Russian (L1), Hebrew (L2) and English (L3), which were elicited via letter writing tasks. A total of 180 letters (60 letters in each language) were analysed through qualitative content analyses revealing five interrelated themes depicting immigrant youths’ scholastic studies as a complex multifaceted experience intertwined with issues of language, culture, identity, and social struggles. The findings provide insights into how the language repertoire of immigrant youth is powerfully linked to their sense of self, educational circumstances, and acculturation.
... According to Jessner (2008), the separation of languages within the foreign language classroom is rooted in traditional Contrastive Analysis, which proposed the separation of languages in order to prevent the negative influence of the first language. However, based on the multilingualism literature, which argues for interaction among the languages in the students' minds and proposes an integrated language teaching, it is safe to say that such target-language only behaviour stands in contrast with the new developments. ...
... According to this new perspective, students' multilingualism does not directly or necessarily lead to faster or easier language learning, therefore multilingualism should be complemented by students' language awareness and language learning awareness. At this point, the role of foreign language teachers, as suggested by several researchers in the field (Jessner 2008, Boócz-Barna 2010 is to help students and raise their awareness. Nine English teachers were interviewed from eight schools in different parts of the country (teaching children of different minority background) and during the interview they shared and discussed their opinions and beliefs concerning language use in the foreign language classrooms. ...
... The school's language subjects have many similar objectives, suggesting that a closer collaboration among them could be beneficial for both students and teachers. For example, encouraging students to utilise their entire linguistic repertoire and knowledge across different language subjects in school can result in increased language proficiency and multilingual awareness (Hirosh and Degani 2018;Jessner 2017). Additionally, teachers of different language subjects can enhance their professional development by adopting a collaborative approach, shifting from teaching their specific language subject in isolation to viewing it as an integral part of a linguistic whole (Forbes 2020;Haukås 2016;Lysberg 2023). ...
In schools worldwide, there are increasing expectations for teacher collaboration across subjects. However, despite the potential benefits for students and teachers of viewing language subjects as interrelated, limited research has explored how meaningful collaboration across different language subjects can be undertaken. Addressing this gap, this study investigates language teachers’ experiences with and perspectives on collaboration across language subjects. Data were generated from focus group discussions with teachers of Norwegian, English, French, German, and Spanish in four Norwegian secondary schools and analysed through reflexive thematic analysis. The analysis revealed that teachers had limited prior experience in this area but recognised several potential benefits, such as increased language awareness and a more holistic understanding of languages. However, teachers’ suggestions for collaboration mainly focused on sharing ideas and coordinating tasks, whereas deeper forms of joint work are likely necessary to achieve lasting learning effects. Moreover, teachers lacked knowledge of each other’s subject curricula, whereas a crucial starting point for effective collaboration would be for teachers to become familiar with the contents of all language subject curricula in school. Finally, the analysis suggests that effective collaboration requires active leadership support to address practical challenges and develop a shared understanding of what collaboration may entail.
... Moreover, the scarcity of research concerning the teachers' perception of multilingualism was a further stimulus for conducting the research. While an increasing amount of research has been available on multilingualism (Griva and Chostelidou, 2011;Jessner, 2008;Kemp, 2009;McKay, 2008;Pérez-Vidal, Juan-Garau, and Bel, 2008) as well as the learning, use and status of English in a wide range of contexts in continental Europe (Cenoz and Jessner, 2000;Fonzari, 1999;O'Reilly, 1998;Petzold and Berns, 2000), the teachers' perspective seems to have been largely ignored. ...
The aim of this study was to find whether ELT students of English at METU
comprehend English idioms in written language thoroughly. The main data source
for this study is the Turkish ELT students at METU, whose ages vary between 18
and 25. The research is planned as quantitative research. Participants filled
out two multiple-choice tests first including idioms without context, and second in
context. This study showed us that Turkish students who are studying in FLE
department at METU comprehend idioms that have Turkish equivalents better
than the others which have not Turkish equivalents and Turkish students use
their Turkish background knowledge in comprehension of English idioms. It was
also found that idioms in context were comprehended better than idioms without
context. However, we could not find a correlation between idiom comprehension
and the students’ class grades so future researchers can focus on this issue.
... The study was based on an integrative conception of the plurilingual repertoire which includes the resources of all the languages acquired by a single individual, which are dynamically connected and available in their entirety (see e.g. Cenoz & Gorter, 2011;Cook, 2016;Coste, Moore et al., 2009;Jessner, 2017;Lüdi & Py, 2009). This paper focuses on overt cross-linguistic lexical influence, in specific on the insertion of words borrowed without modification from another language and the idiosyncratic use or creation of words bearing traces of the target language and of one or more other languages. ...
This article explores cross-linguistic lexical influence (CLI), i.e. idiosyncratic borrowings and creations based on other languages, in texts written by pupils learning French and English as foreign languages, and whose language of instruction is German. The study, carried out in German-speaking Switzerland, was based on a plurilingual conception of language learning and drew on research on tertiary languages. Two groups of learners at the end of Grade 7 (age 13/14) were compared before and after a reform in the teaching of English. While both groups had been learning French since Grade 5, one group had been learning English before French since Grade 3 (Group 3/5, n = 220) and the other after French since Grade 7 (Group 5/7, n = 94). The L3 French texts of group 3/5 revealed a higher number of idiosyncratic borrowings and creations based on English L2, while the English L3 texts of group 5/7 borrowed more from L2 French and presented more lexical creations that drew on German. The correlations showed that learners who use lexemes with a detectable cross-linguistic influence in one language also tend to do so in the other. The results are interpreted in relation to the educational context, and to the concept of translanguaging.
... Multilinguals differ from bilinguals and monolinguals in several respects. Research has shown, for example, that multilingual demonstrate superior metalinguistic and metacognitive abilities, such as the ability to draw comparisons between different languages and to reflect on and employ appropriate learning strategies (for reviews, see Cenoz, 2003;De Angelis, 2007;Jessner, 2008). However, a number of researchers (e.g. ...
Folk song is a true gift of culture. It is one of the traditional, intangible and indigenous pieces of the art of performing the melodious expression with the help of soft pipes that are forever invaluable cultural assets and musical property as well. In view of making a brief survey of the use of multiple languages in folk songs, different folk melodies have been selected randomly from seven provinces of Nepal where the folk melodies are more fertile. This paper aims at exploring the use of multiple languages in folk songs I, myself as a researcher in the field, encountered with in written and audio- or video-recorded form. Therefore, the main source of relevant data includes me and other written and audio or video documents of folk songs I found. As a multicultural country, Nepal is rich in terms of its folk songs. In this paper, I analyze how folk song can be a creative space where linguistic boundaries are challenged and new language practices are invented. Taking of folk songs as a social and cultural identity, I examine how folk song embraces local diversity and redefines the use of language a creative tool for public.
... They provide an example of Austrian kindergartens and elementary schools with multilingual children and pupils, providing an overview of linguistic and cultural diversity in Austria. This perspective focuses on societal and individual multilingualism (Aronin and Singleton, 2019) and multicompetence (Jessner, 2016), linguistic and cognitive development, metalinguistic and cross-linguistic awareness, in a holistic way in relation to new educational approaches to elementary and primary education and multiliteracy. In this chapter, the authors discuss the different approaches to multilingualism and multiliteracy research taking social context and the interaction of internal and external factors into consideration. ...
Sviatlana Karpava (2021). Book Review: Breuer, E. O., Lindgren, E., Stavans, A. and van Steendam, E. (2021). Multilingual Literacy. New Perspectives on Language and Education 85. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. LINGUIST List. http://linguistlist.org/issues/32/32-2039.html
... Overall, the Austrian case has been classified as "progressive" in that legal provisions and facilities are available for the involvement of HLs in education (Sierens and Van Avermaet, 2017), although issues have been identified at the implementation level, e.g. regarding the mismatch between the expected level of linguistic competence of migrant SS in their HLs and their actual competence (Jessner, 2017). ...
Notwithstanding the linguistic hyperdiversity that characterizes most European countries and the evidence that points to the value of migrant languages as resources for host societies, home language (HL) education is taken seriously and developed only in a few countries in Europe. The article aims to identify the policy design and implementation elements that can lead to effective HL teaching as well as the contextual and institutional premises that can facilitate or hamper processes of policy learning flowing from advanced HL education experiences (in this study, Austria and Sweden) to prospective policy learners (i.e., in this article, Italy). It does so in light of the lesson-drawing theorization of policy learning. The research design involves a comparison of three country cases, selected on the basis of their respective approaches to HL teaching. This comparison develops in terms of both contextual features and HL teaching policy characteristics, based on data collected from official reports. The research results are then discussed in light of the literature and indicate several lessons to be learned while at the same time pointing to the existence of many facilitators and a few obstacles to the activation of policy learning dynamics, and puts forwards a few ideas for both education policymakers and policy deliverers.
... Multilingualism has to date received particular attention within the fields of applied linguistics and psycholinguistics (e.g., May, 2013), where it is generally approached from a cognitive perspective. Here, multilingualism is usually understood as a specific language proficiency or competence that the learner brings to the learning process (Jessner, 2017). The notion of multicompetence (Cook, 1995) recognises multilinguals as having a "common underlying proficiency" (Cummins, 1991) rather than separate proficiencies in their languages, and as not just the sum of two or more monolinguals (Grosjean, 1989). ...
Multilingualism is highly prevalent in schools around the world. Yet, the relationship between multilingualism and academic attainment is not well understood. Where research on this topic exists, it has predominantly focused on how home language background impacts on academic success, lacking in a broader view of multilingualism which extends beyond home languages and also considers the identity component of being multilingual. This paper explores the relationship between multilingualism, multilingual identity and academic attainment. Using school-reported and student-reported data from five secondary schools in Southeast England, we disentangle the complexity of multilingualism in schools by contrasting self- and other-ascriptions of multilingualism, as well as investigating indicators of “multilingualism” and “multilingual identity.” Our findings reveal meaningful differences between how students are identified and identify themselves as “multilingual,” and foregrounds “multilingual identity” as a potentially more meaningful indicator for understanding academic attainment than multilingualism indicators traditionally used in United Kingdom schools.
... The idea of establishing plurilingual affordances for language awareness draws on previous research into the role of plurilingual resources in the development of language awareness (Bialystok, 2011;Daugaard, 2015;Jessner, 2016;Krogager Andersen, 2020;Laursen, 2019;Oliveira & Ancâ, 2018). ...
This study explores the role of teacher beliefs in two teachers’ implementation of a collaboratively planned teaching activity into classroom practice. It is a retrospective case study aiming to explain how the difference between two teachers’ realisations of a specific bilingual teaching activity may be seen as related to their beliefs about language learning and teaching. The role of teacher beliefs for language teaching practice has been the subject of much research, although the nature of the relationship remains contested. This study explores a new approach to the puzzle by combining new and existing perspectives on teacher beliefs in the form of enacted, professed and implicit beliefs. The study re-examines data from a larger action research study through 4 cycles of analysis and interpretation, moving from observed teaching practices to the three perspectives on teacher beliefs to provide a description of the complex interplay between beliefs and practice. The analysis shows that the combination of the different perspectives on teacher beliefs allows for a meaningful interpretation of the relationship between teacher beliefs and teaching practice, that the two teachers’ beliefs about language learning and teaching play an important role in their transformation of teaching plans to teaching practice and that their different practices lead to different language learning affordances in the two classrooms. The article concludes by suggesting that the interplay between teaching activities, students’ engagement and teacher beliefs may be a fruitful place of inquiry for future research.
... As the world's population is becoming more and more multicultural and multilingual due to growing globalisation and migration, research in language and literacy development which have been dominated so far by monolingual Eurocentric paradigms are gradually shifting from the monolingual to the multilingual as the norm (ibid.). Contrarily to early research which showed bilinguals to be deficient or early claims that learning two languages would cause pupils difficulties in learning to read and write, studies in the last 25 years have shown that bi/multilinguals have a plus, a "multi-competence" (Cook, 1991;Jessner, 2010;Franceschini, 2011). Likewise, key studies on literacy development have been mostly concerned with monolingual children and those learning to read in a second language, with basics already acquired in the first language. ...
As an expanding area of study, ecolinguistics examines language not only as part of society,
but also as part of the wider ecological systems that societies are embedded in. The ecolinguistic
paradigm is relevant to the Mauritian educational context because how we speak about the world can encourage people to behave in ways which either harm or protect the natural world. Discourses, taken as standardised ways that language, images and other forms of representation are used by people in different groups (Stibbe, 2015), have a direct impact on how learners construct their representations of the world. This is particularly relevant in the context of Mauritius, which has experienced severe ecological degradation (Florens, 2013). Research in the local context, focused on analysis of textbooks prior to the educational reform of 2014, demonstrated a high level of ideologically laden statements about non-human animals and the environment; this ranged from anthropocentrism and speciesism to exclusively functional definitions of ecologically-meaningful organisms (Oozeerally & Hookoomsing, 2017). This paper analyses ecological discourse in two Grade 3 literacy stories written by the lead author, Helina Hookoomsing that formed part of curriculum materials complementing the Grade 3 English textbooks. The aim is to provide a reflection on the significance of ecolinguistics in the Mauritian educational context. Through eco-critical discourse analysis of the two texts, using Stibbe’s (2015) ecolinguistics framework, this paper discusses how the relationships between humans and the ecosystem are represented via language and educational discourse.
... They provide an example of Austrian kindergartens and elementary schools with multilingual children and pupils, providing an overview of linguistic and cultural diversity in Austria. This perspective focuses on societal and individual multilingualism (Aronin and Singleton, 2019) and multicompetence (Jessner, 2016), linguistic and cognitive development, metalinguistic and cross-linguistic awareness, in a holistic way in relation to new educational approaches to elementary and primary education and multiliteracy. In this chapter, the authors discuss the different approaches to multilingualism and multiliteracy research taking social context and the interaction of internal and external factors into consideration. ...
Sviatlana Karpava (2021). Book Review: Breuer, E. O., Lindgren, E., Stavans, A. and van Steendam, E. (2021). Multilingual Literacy. New Perspectives on Language and Education 85. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. LINGUIST List. http://linguistlist.org/issues/32/32-2039.html
... Međutim, s obzirom na to da je u pitanju aditivna dvojezičnost i da su i komunikativna i kognitivna jezička kompetencija na maternjem jeziku na visokom nivou, proces razvijanja kognitivnih jezičkih sposobnosti na drugom jeziku bilo je moguće brzo i uspešno sprovesti. I ovaj primer iz razgovora možemo koristiti kao potvrdu prethodno opisanih kognitivnih jezičkih sposobnosti na srpskom jeziku: Jedna od preporuka kreatorima obrazovnih višejezičnih politika jeste i pažljiv izbor nastavnika jezika, ali ostaje nerešeno pitanje da li je bolji nastavnik jezika onaj koji je i sam učio jezik koji predaje ili izvorni govornik tog jezika (Jessner 2008b). Pod multikompetentnosti ili višestrukom kompetentnošću podrazumeva se specifična vrsta jezičke kompetentnosti koju poseduju višejezični govornici i koja se ne može upoređivati sa kompetentnošću koju poseduju jednojezični govornici (Cook), a koja se pod uticajima različitih jezika stalno menja (Herdina & Jessner 2002). ...
CROSS-LINGUISTIC INFLUENCE
IN THE THIRD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION PROCESS
The aim of this study is to investigate attitudes towards personal bilingualism and multilingualism and to determine if there is a cross-linguistic influence in the third language acquisition process, how and how often it occurs, according to a personal perception of the phenomenon of the individual multilingualism among students at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad. In Vojvodina, the officially used languages are: Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Croatian, Romanian and Ruthenian (AP of Vojvodina Statute („Službeni list APV” br.17/09)). At the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad bilingualism, multilingualism and the majority language has been traditionally studied since its foundation (Mikeš 1961, 1964, 1965, 1991; 1998; Mikeš i Vlahović 1966; 1967; Mikeš i Savić 1972, 1973, 1974; Genc 1973, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1991; Međeši 2009; Tir 2002; Horakova 2002; Puja-Badesku 2009). The empirical data include two groups of answers: answers that the first year (2011/12) bilingual female (74) and male (26) students (mean age 21;8) gave to questions about their mother tongue, second and third language and cross-linguistic influence in a questionnaire and answers that the trilingual alumni of the same faculty (44 years old) gave in their oral history. The questionnaire includes questions about mother tongue, second and third language, as well as about cross-linguistic influences. The questions in the semi-structured interview for the oral history are about the same topics. The obtained data are analyzed according to the combination of Hungarian as Finno-Ugric language and Slavic (Serbian/Croatian, Ruthenian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian), Germanic (German, English), and Romance languages (Romanian, French, Italian, Spanish) as Indo-European languages. The obtained results confirm the contemporary findings in bilingualism and multilingualism research and show the following: 1. bilingualism has a positive influence on third language acquisition regardless of their typological characteristics (Cenoz 2001; Jessner 2007) and in this research it is confirmed for combination of languages: Hungarian as Finno-Ugric language and Slavic (Serbian/Croatian, Ruthenian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian), Germanic (German, English) and Romance languages (Romanian, French, Italian, Spanish) as Indo-European languages; the second language has a greater influence on the third language acquisition process than the first one (Williams and Hammarberg 1998; Bardel and Falk 2007), if the competence is on the high level, the second language exposure frequent and long, and if the second and the third language are typologically similar; the linguistic knowledge is transferred subconsciously, more often in informal than in formal situations, as it is confirmed in other studies (Hoffmann 2007); description as a communicational strategy is more often used than creation of hybrid forms; qualitative analysis of the obtained answers in oral histories confirm results obtained by the questionnaire, but it also reveals various nuances that cannot be found using questionnaire, about the context, personal experiences and abilities to use metalinguistic awareness in the language learning process. In spite of the fact that trilingualism is the future in the civilization evolution and in the educational system, even starting at the preschool level, there is not enough literature about the phenomenon. According to the results obtained in this research, although they are not absolutely reliable, since they depend on a personal judgment of the phenomenon, it is possible to redefine existing theories and to describe metalinguistic abilities again when typologically similar and different languages spoken in Vojvodina are in question.
Keywords: individual bilingualism, institutional bilingualism, trilingualism, multilingualism, cross-linguistic influence
... Tá trácht le fada sa teangeolaiocht ar an rud a dtugtar 'cumas cumarsáide' air mar mhodh anailíse (Hymes, 1972). I léann sealbhú dara teanga agus i léann an dátheangachais, díríonn scoláirí go leor ar an rud a dtugtar 'ilchumas teanga' air (Cook, 2016;Jessner, 2017 Ina dhiaidh sin féin, b'fhéidir gurb í urlabhra thraidisiúnta na Gaeltachta a bheadh mar mhúnla ag duine, nó gramadach an chaighdeáin. Is é is tábhachtaí, áfach, ná go mbeadh infheistíocht ag úsáideoirí sna múnlaí teanga a chuireann siad os a gcomhair, go sásaíonn siad a riachtanais chumarsáide agus go gcuireann siad ar a gcumas a bhféiniúlachtaí a chur i iúl. ...
Cíorann an t-alt seo na múnlaí teanga atá i réim sa Ghaeilge .i. na spriocanna don teanga a nglactar leo sa lá inniu. Déantar anailís ar na múnlaí teanga atá intuigthe san anailís teangeolaíochta agus i gcáipéisí curaclaim na Gaeilge ón réamhscolaíocht go dtí an ollscolaíocht. Féachtar ina dhiaidh sin ar na hidé-eolaíochtaí teanga ar a bhfuil na múnlaí sin bunaithe agus ar na tuiscintí a chuireann siad in iúl maidir leis an rud is teanga ann. Ceistítear roinnt de na tuiscintí seanbhunaithe ar an rud is Gaeilge agus Gaeilge mhaith ann sa lá inniu. Ar deireadh, cuirtear moltaí i láthair maidir leis an tslí a bhfaighfí múnlaí teanga na Gaeilge a athshamhlú don aonú aois is fiche.
This article examines dominant language models in Irish, i.e. the target language varieties of Irish that are deemed most acceptable today. The language models implicit in linguistic analyses and in Irish language curriculum documents from preschool to university level are analysed. The ideologies on which those models are based and the implicit understandings of what constitutes ‘a language’ are examined. Some long-established ideas about what Irish is and what good Irish should look like are questioned. Finally, recommendations are made about how language models for Irish might be reimagined for the twenty-first century.
... Instead, people should use the concept of multicompetence (House, 2003). Bilingualism and multilingualism studies also advocates that bilinguals/multilinguals are not to be compared to monolinguals because, to start with, their minds (multilinguals'/bilinguals' comparing to monolinguals') function differently (Jessner, 2017). 12Jenkins (2015) mentions that this idea of ELF bubble appeared in a workshop at King"s College London when a staff participant mentioned that ELF research acknowledges the multilingual character of ELF, but at the same time ignores other languages, which meant that until ELF 2, multilingualism was quite put aside when observing/studying ELF communication"s features. ...
English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is an area of research that has expanded fast and in different ways. It started focusing mainly on form, when still following the principles of Word English research. However, now ELF is understood as a multilingual practice. This new reconceptualization of English as a Lingua Franca positioned ELF within the multilingual framework, but Which theoretical concept(s) connect ELF, Bilingualism and Multilingualism studies? To be able to answer this question, a review of literature on bilingualism, and/or multilingualism associated with ELF was carried out using Google Scholar. The search based on this criterion resulted in six articles and the findings show that ELF, in its third phase, considers English as an option of contact language among all other languages available in multilinguals’ repertoire, which means that, English in ELF is one option not the opinion in multilingual practices.
... While schools are beginning to respond to this perceived need for action and increasingly promote the teaching and learning of multiple languages, it must be said that the educational landscape in many parts of the Western world is still dominated by monolingual ideologies and teaching traditions (Hufeisen and Jessner, 2018, 89). The implication is that the focus in the language learning classroom is almost exclusively on bolstering proficiency in the single languages (Jessner, 2017). Not surprisingly, this monoglossic (Garcia, 2009) habitus is also reflected in the application of assessment procedures. ...
Over the past decades, the concept of multi-(lingual) competence¹ has been the focus of significant academic interest. Ever since Cook introduced the notion of multi-competence in the 1990s, the concept has attracted a lot of attention and has been discussed extensively at the theoretical level. At the practical level, however, multi-competence has not been investigated much, if at all. In fact, there is a very distinct lack of empirical research, especially into what constitutes multi-(lingual) competence in young learners and into assessment of multi-(lingual) competencies in these learners. With this paper we hope to contribute to reducing the gap between the wealth of scholarly debates and theorizations on the one hand and the concomitant dearth of practical applications on the other. The paper discusses multi-(lingual) competences in young learners at the primary level and proposes a special assessment tool, which allows for components of young learners’ multi-(lingual) competence to be measured in a systematic way. Potential advantages of instantiating multilingual pedagogies and multilingual benchmarks for assessment are examined and suggestions for holistic testing paradigms are provided. In developing our arguments in favour of a multi-competence approach to learning and performance evaluation, we adopt a holistic DMM (Dynamic Model of Multilingualism)-informed perspective.
... Even if Turkish-dominant language use at home is the most frequent pattern, followed by balanced use, the impact of the environment and of the school is very strong and leads to a dominant vocabulary in German. Furthermore, we want to propose how test results should be interpreted in light of multicompetent language use (Cook, 1992;Jessner, 2017). It has been proposed that multilingual children use their languages particularly efficiently, including high language reflection potential, transfer, and borrowing. ...
Balanced bilingualism has inspired debates on bilingualism for a long time, but several questions related to this discourse remain unanswered. How common are balanced bilinguals? Does balance have a positive impact on language proficiency? More specifically, when children begin to frequent schools and thus have a lot of oral and literal input in the school language, how do balance and dominance develop? The present paper discusses the following research questions with respect to vocabulary: Do balanced test results in two languages correlate with a better proficiency than unbalanced results? Moreover, is a balanced use of two languages accompanied by a balanced vocabulary? We used a picture naming task to test the expressive and receptive vocabulary of 98 German-Turkish speaking schoolchildren in a cross-sectional design. To determine balance resp. dominance, we used a combined score of the values in the German and the Turkish testing. The balance/dominance scores show a continuous shift to dominance in the majority language. Consistent use of Turkish has an effect on Turkish vocabulary, but not a negative impact on vocabulary in German. There was no overall positive influence of balanced bilingualism.
... In a perspective oriented on the concept of multi-competence, multi-competence is defined as the knowledge and mastery of several languages as part of a person's individual skills, acquired in interaction and/or educational situations. Representatives of a multi-competent perspective argue that multilingual speakers could apply strategies and approaches in their linguistic actions and output in which they use numerous linguistic means from a multilingual repertoire (Otheguy, García, & Reid, 2015) so that they successfully interact (Cook, 1992;Franceschini, 2011;Jessner, 2017;Li Wei, 2011). Therefore, methods using authentic language samples would be an important future procedure to obtain insights into language use in practice. ...
The central research question is how intensive exposure to the majority language at school affects the development of vocabulary. In a cross-sectional study with a longitudinal subsample follow-up, we investigated the development of vocabulary during the first four years at school, as vocabulary development is considered an important factor regarding bilingual children’s success at school. The sample consisted of 126 bilingual Russian/German-speaking children aged 6;0 to 10;11 years in Germany, who were tested for expressive and receptive vocabulary using a picture naming task.
Our results show that while the majority language is acquired at an expected rate, the heritage language’s extensive vocabulary does not develop further over the course of primary school attendance. The overlap of the vocabularies increases. Additionally, the number of items that are named exclusively in the majority language increases, whereas the number of items that are named exclusively in the heritage language decreases.
... After the development of the concept of multicompetence by Cook (e.g. 2012), numerous scholars have engaged in investigations into the nature of L2 users and their cognitive qualities as being different from those of monolinguals (see Cook & Wei, 2016;Jessner, 2017). Evidence from multilingualism research seems to indicate that multilinguals have a benefit over monolinguals as they have a set of metalinguistic and metacognitive strategies and languages at their disposal to which they can resort in multilingual situations and learning experiences (e.g. ...
Research on third language acquisition and multilingualism found consistent evidence that metacognitive and metalinguistic awareness are crucial for the enhancement of different kinds of language learning strategies in multilinguals. In this article attention is directed to the difference in strategy deployment between participants with and without Latin in their repertoire as well as to the role and contribution of Latin in multiple language learning. The data used for the study stem from the longitudinal, large-scale LAILA project (Linguistic Awareness in Language Attriters) conducted at the University of Innsbruck in which young adult learners were asked to answer questions in relation to a text in a hitherto unknown language. The combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis of the think-aloud protocols show a strong tendency for advantages of those multilingual learners with Latin in their repertoire. The paper also discusses challenges of multilingualism with Latin within a modern school context.
... Researchers have proposed arguments that encourage learners to exploit their own languages as a natural and inevitable part of the process involved in learning an additional language (see Cook 2010;Widdowson 2003). A considerable amount of multilingual learning occurs through language comparison and through the promotion of metalinguistic awareness (Jessner 2008), particularly in the case of learning an additional L2 or L3. Jessner and Cenoz claim that "learners of a third language have prior language learning knowledge and in this respect develop metalinguistic skills and metacognitive strategies that a monolingual learner lacks" (Jessner and Cenoz 2007: 158). ...
Despite the growing interest surrounding the use and role of the first language in the second language classroom, the vast majority of research in the field has been conducted in classrooms where English is taught as a second language in English-speaking countries. Very little research has investigated the role of English as a lingua franca (ELF) in other language learning environments, such as those in which Japanese is learnt as a second language (JSL) in Japan. This paper investigates the purposes for which ELF is employed, and the perspectives of learners from multilingual and multicultural backgrounds on the use of ELF, in the JSL classroom. The findings show that English is employed to varying degrees in relation to proficiency level, and that learners themselves are generally welcoming of this use. The author suggests that learners seek security and comfort in what they already know, with ELF easing the gap between their L1 and their developing Japanese skills.
... These circumstances might also be related to the finding indicating that the variance in AP performance explained by the school related variables is higher in L2 than L3. Furthermore, these data can be interpreted to be linked to contention that while L2 acquisition shares similarities with L3 acquisition, each process presents distinct characteristics (Jessner, 2008). Indeed, within the present context, the extensive academic support provided in Hebrew compared to English, along with the utility of Hebrew for scholastic success and social integration, may have played a pivotal role in students' AP performance in each language. ...
This study investigated the role of school-related variables in explaining academic proficiency (AP) performance in Hebrew (L2) and English (L3) among immigrant youth. The following sets of variables were examined: (1) school background (2) academic, linguistic and social-psychological support, and (3) professional staff and school resources allocated for immigrant students. The sample included 267 Russian (L1) speaking students drawn from 18 Israeli high schools. Students’ AP level was assessed via AP tests in L2 and L3. Data about the schools were collected through interviews with the school principals. Multivariate analysis of covariance, controlling for socioeconomic status (SES), arrival age and gender indicated that students’ performance significantly varied as a function of the school-related variables although the effect of these variables on students’ AP scores in L2 and L3 was not to the same extent. The variables educational track (comprehensive schools), upper SES, social-psychological support, teacher training, parental involvement, and provision of an immigrants’ class were associated with higher grades in the respective languages whereas provision of academic and linguistic support were related to lower scores. These results highlight the role of the particular learning environment and context as a source of variation in L2 and L3 performance.
... In the Dynamic Model of Multilingualism (DMM) (Herdina and Jessner 2002), on which we base our conception and discussion of multilingual learning, a key assumption is that multilingual acquisition processes are supported and enhanced by robust synergetic effects which emerge in experienced multilingual learners on account of the extensive multilingual knowledge and the heightened level of metalinguistic awareness which they accumulate as language learners and users (Jessner 2008b). In addition, in experienced language learners, acquisition processes are facilitated by the availability of an enhanced (multilingual) monitor, which supervises and surveys all language activity and processing, and by elevated levels of metalinguistic awareness. ...
The present study looks into the effects of early multilingual education by investigating linguistic knowledge and metalinguistic awareness in young learners at the primary level. The study aims to establish whether children in multilingual education programmes perform higher on a measure of metalinguistic awareness and with regards to their L1 Italian, L2 German and L3 English than children who receive traditional second and foreign language instruction. Two groups of elementary school pupils recruited from 2 Italian institutions in South Tyrol (Italy), each with multilingual and traditional instructional streams, participated in the study. All the participants completed a metalinguistic awareness test (in their L1 Italian), a German and an English test. The results of the study show the significant positive effects of early multilingual learning and a clear overall superiority for the subjects in the multilingual programmes as compared to those in the regular programmes. The results provide support not only for the effectiveness of multilingual education but also for cognitive advantages in multilingual children.
... 223) The results of this study provide a detailed characterisation of a multilingual landscape, where a variety of interaction and language-related activities are carried out in various languages. Far from considering these multilingual practices a hurdle for SA participants, we should underscore the potential of this new scenario for language learning and the development of multilingual competence (Jessner, 2008;MacKenzie, 2012;Ruiz de Zarobe & Ruiz de Zarobe, 2015). Notes 1. ...
While growing numbers of university students study abroad in different European countries, little is known about the communicative practices facilitated by this exchange situation in an increasing globalised world. The present study aims to describe the language-related practices of 37 Erasmus students in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. We used a questionnaire to tap into the students’ routines regarding their use of social media, mass media, resources for study or work, and face-to-face interactions. Specifically, we wanted to find out how often these students used these different forms of communication and which language they used: their native language, Spanish or English. Results show that social media platforms such as Facebook or Skype are used in students’ native language more often than in Spanish or English. WhatsApp, however, is equally used in the three languages, which may point to the creation of an international multilingual community. Traditional sources of input, such as newspapers, TV, and radio, have a reduced presence in any language. Finally, the predominance of English in academic tasks points to the Englishisation of higher education [Coleman, J. A. (2006). English-medium teaching in European higher education. Language Teaching, 39(1), 1–14]. These findings have significant implications for pedagogical interventions and the design of materials for language teaching abroad.
... This presupposes that veridicality regarding protocols be placed on a backburner since nuanced understandings of difference in a verbal protocol become an expected component of the research process and even central to investigation. However, it is important to note that this argument is directed towards literacy research in the monolingual context and therefore does not consider crosslinguistic features (Herdina & Jessner, 2002;Jessner, 2008) present in LLs" reading processes. Yet, Smagorinsky (2011) does provide an alternative perspective on the use of verbal protocols with LL participants, that one would not only expect the types of differences detailed in this critique, but also treat them as informative differences from monolingual participants. ...
In this paper, we concentrate on veridicality within verbal protocols when they are used to examine the reading processes of language learners (LLs). Eight methodological recommendations and considerations for verbal protocols proposed in Ericsson and Simon (1984; 1993) are used to review 20 LL reading research studies that utilized verbal protocols in research from the previous decade. Issues related to errors of commission and omission as well as errors associated with language as an inherent variable within LL verbal protocols are then examined. Among the implications for research is the need to reconceptualize the theoretical basis for elicitation of LLs' verbal protocols during the reading process.
The current case study investigates English pragmatic understanding and their beliefs when using English by analyzing the narratives of the two contrastive people. The data was originally collected in a larger study which has been investigating how advanced English users with other foreign language learning experiences shape their awareness of English pragmatics. In this case study, two comparative participants' data was extracted and compared from the analysis of narratives. Two participants are; a German native who has lived in Japan for two years, and a Japanese native who studied abroad in Germany for a year. Both of them are fluent in English, German, and Japanese and their second language is English. The interviews were carried out based on the answers to the questionnaire which included questions asking about their academic backgrounds and three situational response tests (DCT: Discourse completion tasks) that tested how they would respond to three specific situations. In the interview part, the reasoning behind the answers to DCT, their general perception of their language use, their educational backgrounds etc. were asked in depth.
The results show that the way they use English and English pragmatic understanding are likely to be affected by their interactional experiences in Japan/Germany and their identities that were built through their life experiences. Also, they seem to take a good balance among their preference that is affected by their personas and desired linguistic/cultural behaviour in their home country as well as in foreign countries. These findings ultimately could lead to an implication that multilinguals' pragmatic understanding might be built through the similar process and similar factors and they might share a parallel mindset when using English in cross-cultural settings.
This chapter explores the process of how pre-service English language teachers (n=55) engaged in EMI-oriented topics including translanguaging and multilingual pedagogies at a state university in Turkey, a country where teaching English is still regarded as a monolingual practice. As students read, co-discussed, and co-reflected on relevant articles during the 10-week course period, we helped them understand multilingual pedagogies which are rarely highlighted in the Turkish context, despite increasing multicultural and multilingual diversity in the country. In this qualitative case study, we collected students’ written reflections on their emerging thoughts and understandings to understand the process of such engagement. We also had 30-minute informal post-lesson conversations with the students who were willing to further reflect on the course issues. The results have implications as to how multilingual pedagogy-based discussions could be systematically included into initial English language teacher education programs.
Keywords: pre-service English language teachers, initial teacher education, multilingual learners, multilingual pedagogy, translanguaging
In our increasingly multilingual modern world, understanding how languages beyond the first are acquired and processed at a brain level is essential to design evidence-based teaching, clinical interventions and language policy. Written by a team of world-leading experts in a wide range of disciplines within cognitive science, this Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the study of third (and more) language acquisition and processing. It features 30 approachable chapters covering topics such as multilingual language acquisition, education, language maintenance and language loss, multilingual code-switching, ageing in the multilingual brain, and many more. Each chapter provides an accessible overview of the state of the art in its topic, while offering comprehensive access to the specialized literature, through carefully curated citations. It also serves as a methodological resource for researchers in the field, offering chapters on methods such as case studies, corpora, artificial language systems or statistical modelling of multilingual data.
Metacognition has been increasingly discussed as one of the main features of learning in the 21st century (see Haukås, Bjørke, & Dypedahl, 2018 ). In the Dynamic Model of Multilingualism Theory (DMM) ( Herdina & Jessner 2002 ), which applies Complexity and Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) to multilingualism, it is argued that multilinguals develop increased knowledge of languages and language learning through experience. In this article a CDST perspective on multilingual learning and teaching with a focus on metacognition will be presented. The central sub-component of metacognition in DMM, in the form of multilingual awareness, comprising metalinguistic and cross-linguistic awareness in multilingual learners, will be discussed as a core feature of multilingual proficiency in multilingual development. In a number of studies in the Austrian and South Tyrolean context multilingual awareness has turned out as a core factor in both learning and teaching. These studies show that multilingual awareness has to be trained in multilingual pedagogical approaches in order to foster multilingualism. A holistic approach is needed to deal with the ongoing tensions between complexity, dynamics, adaptation and stability. Although it becomes clear that the nature of multilingualism can only be understood in relation to its context, it is nevertheless possible to isolate and define constant factors in an efficient multilingual awareness training as provided by the Five Building Blocks of Holistic Multilingual Education .
The present study tests language production of 15 Hungarian students, 16 of age, enrolled in the EFOP-3.2.14-17-2017-00003 project, aimed at promoting English in the Trans-Danubian regions, during 12 weeks following the B1+ framework beforehand prepared by the pedgogical office at the University of Pannonia. 58 essays, from various themes, have been analyzed following a similar approach to Van Heuven et al. 2017, in their study on Gender effects and writing styles. Using AntConc concordance software (Anthony, 2012, 2013) and tagging with CLAWS5, a word list was generated with over 6229 lines equally distributed between males and females. Reading-factor and gender-based grouping were systematically used as predictor models to visualize production complexity on the morpho-syntactic and semantic levels. Parameters such as sentence length, mean word length, content and finite verbs, punctuations, complexity and TT were essential for this comparison. Better writers use longer words, use more different words (so show a higher type/token ratio and/or higher Lexical Diversity (D), and most important of all, use more complex sentences (more finite verbs relative to their total number of words). According to the ANOVA, the Gender effect (p= .750) is larger than the Reading effect (p= .485) based on the partial Eta squared pη2. Extracurricular reading yields better writing but only for the girls – it does not work for the boys.
Childhood multilingualism has become a norm rather than an exception. This is the first handbook to survey state-of-the-art research on the uniqueness of early multilingual development in children growing up with more than two languages in contact. It provides in-depth accounts of the complexity and dynamics of early multilingualism by internationally renowned scholars who have researched typologically different languages in different continents. Chapters are divided into six thematic areas, following the trajectory, environment and conditions underlying the incipient and early stages of multilingual children's language development. The many facets of childhood multilingualism are approached from a range of perspectives, showcasing not only the challenges of multilingual education and child-rearing but also the richness in linguistic and cognitive development of these children from infancy to early schooling. It is essential reading for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of the multiple aspects of multilingualism, seen through the unique prism of children.
The relationship between early multilingual learning and metalinguistic awareness is a particularly intriguing one. Not surprisingly, research into the effects of multilingualism on children’s linguistic development and awareness of language has attracted a lot of attention over the past years and decades as studies have found both positive effects of multilingualism on the development of metalinguistic awareness, and also facilitative effects of metalinguistic awareness on language learning. In the recent literature, metalinguistic awareness has been linked to important qualitative changes in the language and learning processes of multilinguals.
In this study, Boitel offers a political and semiotic perspective on “proficiency”. He argues that instead of understanding proficiency primarily as “language competence”, we should question the sociopolitical effects of statements about proficiency. After reconceptualizing proficiency as a “metapragmatic discourse” in the light of the works on indexicality and metapragmatics in Linguistic Anthropology, the study analyzes specific examples of proficiency statements about the Náhuat (“Pipil”) language in the context of Spanish colonialism in Central America, and within contemporary claims about its revitalization in El Salvador. It shows that “proficiency” is a politically loaded term used to draw borders of belonging, legitimacy and power that enable social activism in the conflictual field of language claims and Indigeneity.
The dynamics and complexity of the multilingual system have attracted many linguists to study and explore this phenomenon. Some researchers concentrate on the linguistic system itself. Others believe that social and educational bonds are the driving forces in this process. The overall aim of this study is to contribute to our understanding of the role of metalinguistic awareness and the previously learned foreign languages on learning German by adult learners. The main framework of this study is the Dynamic Model of Multilingualism (Herdina & Jessner 2002). Ninety-two true-beginner learners of German in Syria took part in this study. The data analysis showed that there is a significant correlation between English and French language proficiency and German language acquisition. Moreover, the linear regression test demonstrated that English and German metalinguistic test scores reinforce learning the German language. Both age and educational background were also found significant variables whereas gender was not.
This article explores the English language teachers' innovative practices on multilingual education and their experiences on using multilingual strategies in the classroom. In order to find out the teachers' innovative practices in multilingual education and their strategies for multilingual instruction, a semi structured interview and small group discussion was taken. The results of the study concluded that English language teachers involved their students in the use of multiple languages that they know for developing content knowledge. The teachers believed that multilingual approach supports the students to be linguistically and culturally resourceful. As a part of the experiences of the use of multilingual strategies, the study identified that the teachers linked up vocabulary meaning in different language; used translation as a technique to clarify the concept; provided exposure in multiple languages, facilitated the learners to be bilingual through language transfer; encouraged students to contribute something in their own language; allowed questions in students' own languages; and used as many languages as possible as the resource pool to impart information to the students.
The use of multilingual resources in classroom interaction has been a contentious issue. It is widely debated by teachers, policymakers, and language-in-education researchers. There have long been calls for a ban on students’ first languages in second and foreign language learning contexts, allegedly to avoid creating opportunities for these languages to “interfere” with the development of the “target” language. However, there is a growing body of research now calling into question the power of language pedagogies based on exclusive use of the target language. This new research is promoting the use of multi/plurilingual resources in classroom interaction as a legitimate communicative and pedagogical strategy. This chapter discusses these issues with reference to language-in-education policies and practices in the PALOP countries (“African Countries where Portuguese is an Official Language”). The focus is on the use of bi/multilingual resources in classroom interaction in both monolingual and bilingual education programs.
In much of his work on reversing language shift, Fishman cautioned those devoted to improving the sociolinguistic circumstances of regional, ethnic, and religious languages against a premature dependence on schools, especially schools controlled by speakers of the dominant societal language. He argued that efforts on behalf of minoritized languages that seek such recognition before intergenerational transmission has been established within the group frequently leads to intergroup conflict and to disillusionment. In this article, I draw from Fishman’s stated concern about the limitations of school effectiveness in connection with mother tongue transmission as put forth in his discussions of reversing language shift, but I problematize the notion of language maintenance and intergenerational transmission from the perspective of current theoretical shifts in the fields of sociolinguistics and applied linguistics. I focus on the dilemmas facing the implementation and design of heritage language teaching and assessment programs given the various mechanisms involved in
The teaching and learning of Modern Hebrew outside of Israel is essential to Jewish education and identity. One of the most contested issues in Modern Hebrew pedagogy is the use of code-switching between Modern Hebrew and learners’ first language. Moreover, this is one of the longest running disputes in the broader field of second language research and education. Based on recent conceptualizations of bi/multilingualism together with findings from an empirical investigation of beginner students at an Australian university, this article argues that strategic use of code-switching serves the needs of both learners and teachers working within a bi/multilingual educational environment.
Atemporal and context-free views of langue have been replaced by models focusing on context-bounded processes of sense-making and a strong determination of linguistic forms by the socio-cognitive functions of language. However, the view of separate, closed rule systems for each single language still prevails. Based on Hopper's emergent grammar and socio-constructivist models of language acquisition, we argue, firstly, that language is a praxis rather than a structure, i.e. an open, dynamic and complex system that undergoes change each time it is used. We also strongly question the endoxa that different languages are bound to geographically and politically separate spaces. Highly polyglossic societies are the rule, where plurilingual repertoires represent resources upon which interlocutors can draw to solve their communicative tasks either by sticking to one language at a time or by blended combinations or multilanguaging. It is well known that such mixing follows norms which represent a multilingual emergent grammar. Finally, we call for language theories to explain multilanguaging as one of several forms of normal language behaviour.
This paper suggests that a dynamic systems theory (DST) provides an adequate conceptual metaphor for discussing multilingual development. Multilingual acquisition is a nonlinear and complex dynamic process depending on a number of interacting factors. Variability plays a crucial role in the multilingual system as it changes over time (Herdina & Jessner, 2002). A number of studies on multilingualism have shown that there are qualitative differences between second and third language learning and that these can be related to an increased level of metalinguistic awareness. From a DST-perspective, metalinguistic knowledge and awareness of this knowledge play a crucial role in the development of individual multilingualism.
1. Model of phonological acquisition The article aims at proposing a metacompetence-oriented model of acquisition of second language phonology and presenting its practical implications in the form of pronunciation teaching and learning techniques. The major underlying intention of the author has been to contribute to bridging the gap between second language acquisition research and classroom teaching of foreign language pronunciation. The metacompetence-oriented model advocates the reliance on the cognitive, and not only motor, aspect of pronunciation learning. The theoretical framework driving this study posits that conscious knowledge of phonetic and phonology and developed metalinguistic awareness are related to second language pronunciation achievements. The reliance on phonological metacompetence assumes fully developed cognitive capacities. Therefore, the model is applicable to adult learners of a second language. The present model, embedded in the epistemological framework of Natural Phonology, is an attempt at providing a comprehensive framework of acquisition of L2 phonology that may contribute to a broader understanding of the underlying mechanism. To this end, the model is constructed as consisting of three major component blocks: a) acquisition process, b) metacompetence as a facilitating device, c) socio-and psycholinguistic conditioning factors.
In German-speaking Central Switzerland, French used to be the only foreign language (FL) taught in primary schools (from Grade 5 onwards). According to the ongoing school reform, a second FL should be introduced in primary schools. Some cantons have now implemented a programme including English as the first FL to be learnt at school (from Grade 3 onwards), followed by French as the second FL (from Grade 5 onwards). To examine the impact of this school reform, children of both programmes (with and without previous English instruction) were compared with respect to their French competencies. During this 3-year longitudinal study (N=928), children's listening and reading skills in English and French as well as their reading skills in German were assessed. After 1 year of French instruction, students with previous English instruction showed higher French listening and reading skills than students without previous FL learning experience. Both learners' English skills and their reading skills in the local language of instruction (German) exert a positive influence on the acquisition of the third language (French). A wide range of other contextual and individual factors were included in the analysis to examine if they contribute to the explanation of students' L3 skills.
English as a second language (ESL) is taught in Australia to adult learners of mixed language backgrounds through the medium of English, and there is currently no requirement that ESL teachers speak another language. This paper reports on a study which asked what advantages there may be for ESL teachers to have proficiency in two or more languages. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews and language biographies to explore the connection between the language backgrounds of multilingual and monolingual teachers of ESL, and their knowledge and beliefs about language learning. Theoretical constructs from the field of teacher cognition are used to argue that teachers' own language learning experience is a resource which is a powerful contributor to their conceptions of language, language use and language learning. The more multilingual the teacher, and the more varied his or her learning experiences, the richer this resource appears to be.
Interest in the phenomena of bilingualism and second language learning among both researchers and policy-makers has continued to grow during the past five years. The continued salience of these phenomena is due in part to the rapid growth in cultural and linguistic diversity in industrialized societies brought about by increased immigration and refugee resettlement programs. Policy-makers are naturally concerned to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of programs that teach the dominant societal language(s) to both children and adults.
This paper suggests that a dynamic systems theory (DST) provides an adequate conceptual metaphor for discussing multilingual development. Multilingual acquisition is a nonlinear and complex dynamic process depending on a number of interacting factors. Variability plays a crucial role in the multilingual system as it changes over time (Herdina & Jessner, 2002). A number of studies on multilingualism have shown that there are qualitative differences between second and third language learning and that these can be related to an increased level of metalinguistic awareness. From a DST-perspective, metalinguistic knowledge and awareness of this knowledge play a crucial role in the development of individual multilingualism.
This text presents the findings of a major investigation of second language proficiency in various groups of school-aged learners. It invites a frank appraisal of the research from an outside panel of experts. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are the subject of a lively debate focused on three main research issues: the nature of second language proficiency, the impact of classroom treatment on second language learning, and the role of social and individual factors in bilingual development. This original collection of articles will be of interest to all those concerned with policy and practice in second language education.
Starting from the key idea that learners and teachers bring diverse linguistic knowledge and resources to education, this book establishes and explores the concept of the 'multilingual turn' in languages education and the potential benefits for individuals and societies. It takes account of recent research, policy and practice in the fields of bilingual and multilingual education as well as foreign and second language education. The chapters integrate theory and practice, bringing together researchers and practitioners from five continents to illustrate the effects of the multilingual turn in society and evaluate the opportunities and challenges of implementing multilingual curricula and activities in a variety of classrooms. Based on the examples featured, the editors invite students, teachers, teacher educators and researchers to reflect on their own work and to evaluate the relevance and applicability of the multilingual turn in their own contexts. © 2014 Jean Conteh, Gabriela Meier and the authors of individual chapters. All rights reserved.
This book discusses cognitive and psycholinguistic aspects of third language acquisition and trilingualism, and explores the key role of linguistic awareness in multilingual proficiency and language learning. in view of the widespread acquisition of English by those who are already bilingual or are also acquiring a regional lingua franca this study will contribute to the current discussion of multilingualism with English in Europe and beyond, as well as the understanding of multilingual speech processing. The author supports a dynamic view of multilingualism by stressing the cognitive advantages that the contact with more languages can offer and uses this approach as the basis for future language teaching and learning. Chapters cover topics such as performing in a third language, metalinguistic awareness in multilinguals and in multilingual education, and English as a third language in Europe. Key Features: *The first study of the important role metalinguistic awareness plays in multilingual proficiency *Includes a unique comparison of both second and third language acquisition *Useful for students and scholars of applied linguistics, language education, language planning, psycholinguistics, cognitive linguistics and the study of the English language.
To meet the growing demand for multilingualism, innovative approaches to schooling have been implemented in Austria within the last decade. Two such programmes with a linguistic bias are (1) the Linz International School Auhof (LISA), an immersion school employing English as the language of instruction, and (2) the Lycée Danube, which teaches English according to the traditional high school curriculum, yet introduces French as a third language at an early stage. The present comparative and developmental study was designed to investigate the effectiveness of English instruction at LISA, the Lycée, and a regular Austrian high school. The English proficiency of 75 students drawn from two age groups was analysed on the basis of oral picture book narrations. As hypothesised, LISA students showed the highest levels of English proficiency, which underscores the advantages of immersion education. The analyses of the French-branch shed an interesting light on the new research area of trilingualism. Although below LISA-levels, Lycée students outperformed their peers from the regular high school in all linguistic domains investigated, which indicates a supportive effect of third language learning on second language proficiency. The overall composition of the test-population suggests that in addition to language learning experience, further factors, such as aptitude, motivation, attitudes, and teacher commitment, influence the language learning process.
This article argues that language teaching would benefit by paying attention to the L2 user rather than concentrating primarily on the native speaker. It suggests ways in which language teaching can apply an L2 user model and exploit the students' L1. Because L2 users differ from monolingual native speakers in their knowledge of their L2s and L1s and in some of their cognitive processes, they should be considered as speakers in their own right, not as approximations to monolingual native speakers. In the classroom, teachers can recognise this status by incorporating goals based on L2 users in the outside world, bringing L2 user situations and roles into the classroom, deliberately using the students' L1 in teaching activities, and looking to descriptions of L2 users or L2 learners rather than descriptions of native speakers as a source of information. The main benefits of recognising that L2 users are speakers in the own right, however, will come from students' and teachers' having a positive image of L2 users rather than seeing them as failed native speakers.
This book addresses how the new linguistic concept of ‘Translanguaging’ has contributed to our understandings of language, bilingualism and education, with potential to transform not only semiotic systems and speaker subjectivities, but also social structures.
The book from which these sections are excerpted (N. Chomsky, Rules and Representations, Columbia University Press, 1980) is concerned with the prospects for assimilating the study of human intelligence and its products to the natural sciences through the investigation of cognitive structures, understood as systems of rules and representations that can be regarded as “mental organs.” These mental structui′es serve as the vehicles for the exercise of various capacities. They develop in the mind on the basis of an innate endowment that permits the growth of rich and highly articulated structures along an intrinsically determined course under the triggering and partially shaping effect of experience, which fixes parameters in an intricate system of predetermined form. It is argued that the mind is modular in character, with a diversity of cognitive structures, each with its specific properties arid principles. Knowledge of language, of the behavior of objects, and much else crucially involves these mental structures, and is thus not characterizable in terms of capacities, dispositions, or practical abilities, nor is it necessarily grounded in experience in the standard sense of this term.Various types of knowledge and modes of knowledge acquisition are discussed in these terms. Some of the properties of the language faculty are investigated. The basic cognitive relation is “knowing a grammar”; knowledge of language is derivative and, correspondingly, raises further problems. Language as commonly understood is not a unitary phenomenon but involves a number of interacting systems: the “computational” system of grammar, which provides the representations of sound and meaning that permit a rich range of expressive potential, is distinct from a conceptual system with its own properties; knowledge of language must be distinguished from knowledge of how to use a language; and the various systems that enter into the knowledge and use of language must be further analyzed into their specific subcomponents.
This paper outlines a framework for academic language learning that highlights the importance of focusing instructionally on meaning, language, and use. Academic language learning refers to the learning of the language registers in L1, L2 or L3 required to function successfully in school contexts where these languages are being used for instruction of academic content. As such, knowledge of academic language is intertwined with both the concepts taught in school and the cognitive processes required to carry out academic tasks. The research reviewed in the paper suggests that in order to develop students' academic language proficiency in bilingual or trilingual contexts, instruction must focus extensively on the processing of comprehensible input (meaning). This will entail encouraging students to read extensively in the target language in an increasing range of genres. Additionally, however, there is an important place for focusing on language itself in order to demystify how language works, explore cross-linguistic relationships, and develop students' awareness of the intersections of language and power in human discourse. Finally, actual use of the target language in oral and written modes consolidates the internalisation of the code and enables students to express their identities and intelligence in powerful ways through the language.
This paper examines the consequences of the fact that human minds may know more than one language for the poverty-of-the-stimulus argument that speakers know more than they could have learnt. Qualifications to the argument are necessary because not all L2 learners attain the same compe tence as L1 speakers; types of evidence are potentially available that can be ruled out for the Ll. The way in which L2 learning has been concep tualized in terms of access to UG and of a black box metaphor makes the L2 grammar seem separate from the L1 grammar rather than one over all system contained within a single mind. What is needed is the idea of 'multicompetence' - the compound state of a mind with two grammars. Multicompetence is the norm for the human race in that most minds know more than one language. Hence the logical problem of language acquisition is how the mind acquires a grammar with one or more settings for each parameter, rather than the special case of a mind that knows only one language. This has implications for all uses of the poverty-of-the-stimulus argument, not just in L2 learning.
Twenty-five years ago, Language Awareness (LA) was put forward, primarily by modern linguists, as a new 'bridging' element in the UK school curriculum. It was viewed as a solution to several of the failures in UK schools: illiteracy in English, failure to learn foreign languages, and divisive prejudices. The intervening years have inevitably seen a number of developments that cause us to reflect further on the need for foreign language teachers and other teachers to cooperate. Three relevant issues are discussed here. Firstly, natural approaches to foreign language learning, bolstered by the Chomskyan notion of the Language Acquisition Device, prompted a taboo during the 1970s and 1980s on formal language instruction and talk about language. Secondly, the recent emphasis on foreign languages as useful skills rather than part of education has also led attention away from the wider value of awareness. Thirdly, the fact that UK university students are choosing more and more to pursue a different foreign language from that studied at school highlights the unpredictability, especially in English-speaking countries, of a pupil's future language needs. LA can address this growing phenomenon as part of a progressive 'language apprenticeship'.
Although mother tongue (MT) and foreign language (FL) teaching and learning have much in common, there is little evidence that teachers exploit the relationship in any systematic way. This paper revives Eric Hawkins’ idea of a language studies trivium where Language Awareness activities should fill the ‘space between’ the learner's two languages. A distinction is drawn between awareness and consciousness of language, and cross‐linguistic relationships are suggested to be a major, yet unexploited source of input salience strengthening, evidence being adduced from natural bilinguals’ metalinguistic activities. Suggestions for the classroom are outlined.
A particular view of bilingualism — the monolingual (or fractional) view — has been given far too much importance in the study of bilinguals. According to it, the bilingual is (or should be) two monolinguals in one person. In this paper, the monolingual view is spelled out, and the negative consequences it has had on various areas of bilingual research are discussed. A bilingual (or wholistic) view is then proposed. According to it, the bilingual is not the sum of two complete or incomplete monolinguals; rather, he or she has a unique and specific linguistic configuration. This view is described and four areas, of research are discussed in its light: comparing monolinguals and bilinguals, language learning and language forgetting, the bilingual's speech modes, the bilingual child and ‘semilingualism’.
The last decade has witnessed a rapid increase in interest in multilingualism. Whereas a number of scholars in language acquisition research still base their work on the monolingual native speaker norm, others have developed more realistic viewpoints. This article provides an overview of international research on third language learning and teaching, including examples mainly from a European background. It describes sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic and educational aspects of multilingual teaching and emphasizes current research trends in this fairly young area of language teaching. The challenging ways which have been suggested to achieve multilingualism for all necessarily have to address learners, teachers, educators and policy makers. It will be argued that multilingual education can only be successful if language teaching in general is restructured and oriented towards multilingual norms.
Research over the last decades has shown that language development in its multiple forms is characterized by a succession of stable and unstable states. However, the variation observed is neither expected nor can it be accounted for on the basis of traditional learning concepts conceived of within the Universal Grammar (UG) paradigm. In this paper, I argue that modularly organized grammars bear much more of a dynamic potential than admitted thus far, and I propose a dynamic approach to the development of grammars, based on a conception of change as developed in the realm of Dynamic Systems Theory (DST). In my discussion of the available evidence of system-internal inconsistencies in different types of language acquisition and diachronic language change, I suggest that the nonlinear behavior observed results from a complex information flow modeled by internal and external feedback processes and that changes in grammars are tied to the amplification of new information leading to system-internal conflicts. Finally, I reconsider the role of UG in the apparent dichotomy of chance and necessity in the evolution of grammars. I argue that their stability is tied to universal principles and constraints on the format of natural languages (hence the self-similar or fractal nature of language), whereas the potential for change is given in the functional categories and their associated properties (the loci of grammars' bifurcation sensitivity).
Focussing on Turkish immigrant children, in whom weak L1/L2 performance has repeatedly been reported, the article aims at providing explanations for origin-specific differences between the L1/L2 acquisition of immigrant children from Turkey and former Yugoslavia living in Austria. The discussion focuses on the countries of origin, taking into account particularly their policies on (minority) language(s) and education. The resulting new explanatory model integrates approaches from socio- and psycholinguistics as well as language attrition studies, sociology and pedagogy. This model is applied to a sample of 60 primary school immigrant children from the two countries of origin. Because of their interdisciplinary and specifically language-political character, the results may have considerable implications for further research as well as educational and political practice.
Der vorliegende Artikel hat zum Ziel, mōgliche Erklärungen für bislang ungeklärte herkunftsspezifische Unterschiede im L1- und L2-Erwerb von in Österreich lebenden Migrantenkindern aus der Türkei und dem ehemaligen Jugoslawien zu bieten. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird dabei dem Herkunftskontext, und hier v.a. der Sprach(en)- und Minderheitenpolitik der Herkunftsländer, geschenkt. Das daraus resultierende Modell beruht auf Ansätzen aus Psycho- und Soziolinguistik sowie Sprachtodforschung, Soziologie und Erziehungswissenschaft. In einer empirischen Studie wird das neue Modell erstmals auf 60 Migrantenkinder aus der Türkei und dem ehemaligen Jugoslawien angewendet. Aufgrund des interdisziplinären und spezifisch sprach(en)politischen Charakters der Untersuchungsergebnisse ergeben sich daraus Empfehlungen nicht nur für die verschiedenen Gebiete der Migrationsforschung, sondern besonders auch für die Ebene der schulischen und bildungspolitischen Praxis.
In many countries in the world, English is identified as a foreign language with no official status but is increasingly used
as the language of wider communication. In a number of these countries it is common that English is learned as a third language.
Recent psycholinguistic research on third language acquisition and trilingualism has made clear that the acquisition of an
L3 shares many characteristics with the acquisition of an L2 but it also presents differences. Accordingly, the educational
aspects of teaching English as an L3 differ from those of teaching English as an L2 and have more implications concerning
the optimal age for the introduction of the different languages and the desired level of proficiency in each. In the Basque
Country there are two official languages, Basque and Spanish, and English is taught as a third language. Several projects
have been carried out in order to improve proficiency in English: the early introduction of English in kindergarten, the use
of content based approaches, and the use of English as one of the languages of instruction. This chapter describes the characteristics
of these projects and discusses their outcomes as they relate to specific research conducted on third language acquisition.
This text presents the findings of a major investigation of second language proficiency in various groups of school-aged learners. It invites a frank appraisal of the research from an outside panel of experts. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are the subject of a lively debate focused on three main research issues: the nature of second language proficiency, the impact of classroom treatment on second language learning, and the role of social and individual factors in bilingual development. This original collection of articles will be of interest to all those concerned with policy and practice in second language education.
This paper proposes a framework for examining the way in which bilinguals control the use of their two languages. In so doing it seeks to extend current functional descriptions of language production and to provide a single scheme in which both normal and pathological performance can be understood. Within the overall framework a specific model is developed. It is compatible with current findings, makes predictions about the performance of normal as well as brain-damaged bilinguals, and explains some previously puzzling findings.
Fremdsprachenlernerfahrungen und Lernstrategien
- B Mißler
Vergleichsweise einfach
- A Müller
Balanced bilingual and L2‐dominant learners of L3 in Ireland Looking beyond second language acquisition: Studies in third language acquisition and trilingualism
- Ó Laoire
Variation in cross-linguistic influence on the interlanguage lexicon as a function of perceived first language distance
- W Schweers
Wege zur Mehrsprachigkeit in unseren Schulen
- M Wandruszka
L3—Stand der Forschung—Was bleibt zu tun?
- B Hufeisen
Implementing the lexical approach. Putting theory into practice. Hove: Language Teaching
- M Lewis
The nature of the L2 user
- V Cook
Mehrsprachigkeitskonzept—Tertiärsprachen— Deutsch nach Englisch
- B Hufeisen
- G Neuner
The multilingual challenge: Cross-disciplinary perspectives
- U Jessner
- C Kramsch
Non-native language teachers. Perceptions, challenges and contributions to the profession
- E Llurda
Englisch und Mehrsprachigkeit: Die Rolle des Englischen für den Erwerb weiterer Fremdsprachen
- H Vollmer
Evlang—l’E’veil aux Langues à l’Ecole Primaire
- M Candelier