Teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding tasks highlighting different aspects of multilingualism

Teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding tasks highlighting different aspects of multilingualism Martien Berben & Koen Van Gorp Centre for Language and Migration (K.U.Leuven)

Multilingualism in primary education (1) • Multilingual classrooms are a reality in Flanders. But • (1) Belgian legislation prohibits other languages than Dutch as a medium of instruction (except for FL teaching);

Multilingualism in primary education (2) • (2) Language teaching practice is characterised by processes of homogenisation: • teacher-centered pedagogical practices; • teaching the standard variety of Dutch, and more specifically teaching the use of 'good', correct Dutch as a legitimate language. Practice = orientated towards assimilation

Equal Educational Opportunities • On the other hand: • Fine-tuning teaching practices to learners' voices, experiences, perspectives and needs is seen as a characteristic of qualitatively high and effective education. • Education that values and incorporates (linguistic) diversity is richer than one which denies the existence of diversity. Discourse = orientated towards pluralism

Central question • Tension between practice (assimilation) and discourse (pluralism): how do teachers deal with multilingualism on a day-to-day basis? • Can we position teachers on a continuum ranging from assimilation (denying, unifying diversity) to pluralism (exploring, exploiting diversity)?

Multilingualism: 2 perspectives • Multilingualism as code: are different codes allowed? Is the linguistic repertoire of teachers and pupils exploited? • Multilingualism as voice: are pupils able to express their own meanings and have a real contribution to the classroom discourse?

Research questions • Teachers' beliefs about multilingualism as code and voice? • Teachers' practices regarding multilingualism as code and voice? • Relation between beliefs and practices concerning code and voice?

Teachers' beliefs • Analysis of the teachers' personal interpretative framework (Kelchtermans, 1994, 2001) • encompassing both his/her professional self and his/her subjective educational theory = a set of cognitions that operates as a lens through which teachers perceive their job situation, give meaning to it and act in it.

Teachers' practices: three tasks • Confronting teachers with 3 specific tasks in which multilingualism, both code and voice, is present in varying degrees to elicit teachers' practices regarding multilingualism: • Let's go on holiday (LoH) • Learning is easy (LiE) • Radio Tika (RT)

Let's go on holiday • What languages do pupils understand and speak? (code) • Where can they go on holiday with their combined linguistic repertoire? (voice) • How do the pupils and teachers appreciate their multilingual repertoire? (code-voice) • Pupils work in language heterogeneous groups (no code-choice suggestions). = Language awareness (talking about L1)

Learning is easy • Experience that children in other countries learn in different ways. • What have pupils learned at home? Interaction in home language (language homogeneous groups) (use of L1 to express own voice; to support learning process) • Pupils write their own school timetable.(voice in L2) = Limited use of L1

Radio Tika • Pupils compose a radio news report in as many languages as possible (use of different codes/L1's = outcome of task),(voice in L1) • Group composition has to be as heterogeneous as possible regarding language. = Extensive use of L1

Design (1) • Small-scale exploratory research • 1 week observation, 3 elicitation tasks (practices) • audiotaping of teacher-pupil interaction • audiotaping of pupil-pupil interaction of 1 group/classroom during tasks • Half-standardised interviews (beliefs) • Qualitative analyses (triangulation)

Design (2) • Where? • 2 primary schools in the same neighbourhood in largest Flemish city • 3 classes of 10-12 years old pupils (all DSL learners) • Who? • Heidi, Kaat, Aagje • When? • April and May 2004

Beliefs about code: use of L1? (1) I speak another language with newcomers: Yes, I do that sometimes, yes. Miss, what does this mean? And I try to explain that, explaining is not easy, and drawing and doing this or that,and if it doesn't work, I don't mind that other pupils explain in their own language Yes in that case, possiblytoo. HeidiKaatAagje new-comers Actually, I don't have any problems with it, as long as they don't disturb what's going on, and they co-operate In the end we don't understand what 's being said. Name calling, they start to call us names in Moroccan, Itry to discourage it as much as possible. Also to speak as much proper Dutch as possible of course. It happens, but I try to discourage it as much as possible. What's going on and that you can't follow what's happening, that's why I'd rather not allow it, I want to be able to follow what's going on also if they are doing a project. What are they saying, how do they interpret things, so I don't allow it during lesson activities That's very understandable I think.It's the same with me. If I am angry, my speech is less careful. informal Yes yes, I think I would allow itif it concerns task content, is really about understanding formal stimulate use tolerate discourage suppress

Beliefs about code: use of L1? (2) • L1 as a goal: stimulate • not one teacher accepts this. • L1 as a means: tolerate or use • depending on situation (formal of informal) and persons involved (absolute beginners or not).

Practices code: use of L1? • Three cases/incidents • newcomers, absolute beginners • Learning is easy • Radio Tika

Practices newcomers: Aagje • Aagje interrupts Achmed who is explaining in English to Layla, because • “Layla understands a lot. He probably wanted to use English to help her, but he's not fully aware that she'll probably understand him even if he's speaking Dutch. So I think that's the reason I did that, because I know that Layla understands a lot, but at this moment she just can't speak that much Dutch”

Practices newcomers: Kaat • Fatima tries to understand Gisèle. Kaat tries to help by asking in French what Gisèle wants to say. • “Yes I sometimes do that because it gives her confidence. She often has little self confidence, she often thinks that she doesn't understand, whereas she does understand what's it all about. And then I say a particular word, and it can be just one word in French, and I notice that she reacts much quicker.”

Practices vs beliefs: code Where do we position Aagje and Kaat now? HeidiKaatAagje new-comers informal formal stimulate use tolerate discourage suppress

Practices vs beliefs: code - LiE HeidiKaatAagje new-comers informal formal stimulate use tolerate discourage suppress

Practices Radio Tika in L1: Heidi • Group assignment: Make a news report for Radio Tika. Use as many different languages or dialects as you can. • “Yes, you know, because I thought, I leave it open, do they say no, it doesn't matter. I see what happens. And some pupils said: no, miss, no. And I said: that's ok, you don't have to. And some said: yes. In the end I was kind of surprised that they…”

Practices Radio Tika in L2: Aagje (1) • Aagje: task performance in Dutch • “I don't think that they have to talk Moroccan in the classroom, because eventually in that case we don't understand them. Name calling, they start to call us names in Moroccan.I try to discourage it as much as possible. Also to speak as much as possible proper Dutch of course”

Practices Radio Tika in L2: Aagje (2) • “Also I don't have enough control over what's happening. And I think that they would deviate from the task. Because they would be occupied with other stuff and they would be laughing a lot. I don't think they would keep it serious. So, yes, I thought they wouldn't learn much.”

Practices Radio Tika in L2: Kaat (1) • Kaat: task performance in Dutch • [in respons to Let's go on holiday] “It definitely gave the children a certain boost but it also provided them with an opportunity to act silly.” • “In any case they would have said things… I don't know. It's not they were gonna say obscene things or things that aren't allowed to be said. But yes I don't know… I honestly admit I think I am (frightened)”

Practices RadioTikain L2: Kaat (2) • “And I see it happen. Put them in front of a microphone and they would also have said things the other speakers of Moroccan would have laughed at very loudly. And we wouldn't know what's it all about, and I don't think that's necessary. Other things can be taught, safer things. In principle, you can give anything, but…”

Practices vs beliefs: code - RT HeidiKaatAagje new-comers informal formal stimulate use tolerate discourage suppress

Beliefs about voice • All teachers: a clear choice for learner-centered education. • Groupwork, interaction, projects • Well-being, active involvement, pupils can say everything • Nuance: Aagje shows slightly less belief in learner-centeredness • "Letting the pupils express themselves as much as possible"

Practices: voice Expands space for learners' voice: writing assignment (LoH) HeidiKaatAagje Mainly restrictions: not about the Dutroux trial (RT) tasks Create space and give feedback on experiences of the children (LiE, LoH) Legitimizes learners' voice: the school principal (LiE) short, 'sterile' intro Explicite questioning of experiences, background pupils (LoH) Miss, like the Vlaams Blok. Do you know what they have done… (RT) Like the beheading of that American. Good, ok. I wanna talk about… (RT) learner initiative Yeah, miss, like in the Netherlands… (RT) stimulate use tolerate discourage suppress

Discussion and Conclusions

Code: from beliefs to practices • Clear differences between beliefs of teachers and their practices. • Beliefs: a complex story, but some orientation towards code-choice dependent on context, situation, persons, … • Practices: use of L1 was problematic and disregarded

Voice: from beliefs to practices • Only small differences between beliefs of teachers and their practices. • Beliefs: a clear choice for creating legitimate space for the voice of the pupils (learner-centered education). • Practices: • Opportunities for voice were realised, and sometimes even expanded. • But they were opportunities to express learners' voice in L2, not in L1.

Conclusions: code and voice • Openness for code and voice seem to go hand in hand • But no one-to-one relation • The teachers who show the greatest openness to voice also show the greatest openness in allowing other codes. • The teachers who discourage other codes, show openness towards the childrens' voice, but restrict these opportunities the most (compared to the other teachers).

Conclusions: methodology • Elicitation tasks were a useful instrument in order to surface matching or conflicting beliefs and practices of the teachers regarding multilingualism as code and as voice.

To conclude: Heidi's opinion • “the less trouble you make of it, the less the pupils are inclined to use their own language. But the more you provoke them and act upon it, the more they exploit and abuse the situation. For myself, I don't have any problems with the children using their own language."

Teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding tasks highlighting different aspects of multilingualism