Christine Hélot - Böcker

Within the scope of today’s globalisation, linguistic diversity is a given fact of the world we live in. In several educational contexts in Europe, language awareness (LA) activities have been introduced with the objective to prepare pupils cognitively, socially and/or critically for life as multilingual, open minded and/or empowered citizens in a diverse world. Despite previous research in various contexts, the concept of LA remains problematic: a generally accepted, evidence-based conceptualisation is missing. This confronts both research and education with a challenge: in order to develop LA activities, implement them successfully in educational contexts and achieve the expected outcomes, we should know what the concept stands for, how it works and why we would choose to implement it in classrooms (or not). This volume focuses on three apparent simple questions: what, how and why? The first question – what? – refers to the concept(ual mess) of LA. The second question – how? – refers to the implementation of LA activities in several educational contexts. The third question – why? – is a recurrent theme running through all the chapters and deals with a reflection on the way we deal (un)consciously with LA activities in education.

This book offers a new perspective for research in the field of bilingual education by proposing an integrated approach to the study of bilingualism in minority and majority settings. Programmes for indigenous groups, for national minorities and for migrants are analysed together with programmes aimed at dominant language groups, by well-known scholars from eight different countries in Europe and the Americas. Each contribution seeks to go beyond the traditional dichotomy between policy, practice and research into bilingual education programmes for majority language speakers, and modalities offered for minority language speakers. Thus, the book argues for the construction of a shared discourse for research into bilingualism and bilingual education and for the adoption of an ecological perspective on language education.

With contributions from leading scholars all around the world, this volume underlines the ever-pressing need for new language in education policies to include all learners’ voices in the multilingual classroom and to empower teachers to develop responsive and transformative pedagogies. Using testimonies, narratives and examples from different international contexts, this book points clearly to what can be achieved practically in the multilingual classroom so that multilingual learners’ voices are legitimated, while also addressing the complex inter-relating sociolinguistic issues around the promotion of bilingualism and multilingualism in education.

With contributions from leading scholars all around the world, this volume underlines the ever-pressing need for new language in education policies to include all learners’ voices in the multilingual classroom and to empower teachers to develop responsive and transformative pedagogies. Using testimonies, narratives and examples from different international contexts, this book points clearly to what can be achieved practically in the multilingual classroom so that multilingual learners’ voices are legitimated, while also addressing the complex inter-relating sociolinguistic issues around the promotion of bilingualism and multilingualism in education.

De nombreux enfants dans le monde sont scolarisés dans plusieurs langues. Cet ouvrage explore plusieurs exemples d’éducation multilingue et plurilingue dans divers contextes d’enseignement, et propose, selon une perspective critique et engagée, une analyse des défis que la pluralité des langues et des cultures pose aux enseignants dans leur classe.Across the world, many children are being educated in more than one language. In looking at examples of multilingual and plurilingual education from different countries, this book explores the diverse contexts within which this education takes place, and the challenges facing teachers in responding to this diversity, from critical and socially engaged perspectives.

The study of linguistic landscapes, the analysis and interpretation of the relationships between languages and spaces, is a blooming field in current sociolinguistics. In all their diversity, linguistic landscapes can be seen as the linguistic mirror of the dynamics of our globalised society. This book offers a selection of the best presentations given at the 3rd International Linguistic Landscape Workshop, which took place at the University of Strasbourg in May 2010. The various contributions offer new perspectives on the mapping of multilingualism in different social contexts, and analyse how the linguistic landscape reflects social change. The book includes chapters in French and in English and provides a wide array of case studies dealing with language policy, political activism, art, advertising, religion, literacy, education and migration.