Neuza Costa

ABSTRACT

An essential part of language learning at all levels of education is the knowledge of culture, often taught through predefined linguistic and cultural content. Today, in the midst of a pandemic, as online teaching and learning has become the norm, not the exception, as classrooms worldwide have, in some cases, literally gone global, encouraging culturally and linguistically sensitive teaching increases not only students’ horizons but also provides them with the necessary tools they need to thrive in a globalized, multicultural, multilingual world, where respect for one another’s background is of the utmost importance and value. This article looks at the use of semi-structured research activities to nurture the use of culturally and linguistically sensitive responsive teaching, as students’ and teachers’ use their own multicultural, plurilingual linguistic repertoire in the classroom, as individual and group work is conducted. More specifically, students are encouraged to use their L1 or any other language they feel comfortable with, alongside English (the target language, in this case), in order to conduct research and discuss their findings with colleagues. Findings show that the active participation of both students and teacher, involves reading and, listening comprehension tasks, as well as writing and speaking production tasks, during which not only the target language is required, but also other languages are used to enrich the negotiation, as well as the acquisition of language and content. Further analysis indicates a higher degree of involvement in the research conducted, thus greater participation in the classroom and use of the target language.

Keywords

foreign language acquisition, linguistically sensitive teaching, multilingualism, multiculturalism, language diversity, translanguaging

References

1. Conceição, M.C. (2020). Language policies and internationalization of higher education. European Journal of Higher Education, 10(3), 231 - 240. DOI: 10.1080/21568235.2020.1778500.WWW.SUSTAINABLEMULTILINGUALISM.COM #SM2021

2. Conceição, M.C. (2020). Higher Education Language policies: global trends and local needs. In Pieters, D. and Keersmaekers, T. (Ed.), Internationalization of Higher Education and National Language: Policy Interventions and case studies (pp. 45 - 57). Peter Lang.

3. Cummins, J. (2017). Multilingualism in Classroom Instruction: I think it’s helping my brain grow. Scottish Languages Review and Digest, (33), 5-18. ISSN 1756-039X (Online)

4. Njoroge, M.C., Mwangi, P.W., Ndung’u, R.W. et al. (2014). Introduction: multilingualism and education: the critical nexus. Multilingual Education, 4(10). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13616-014-0010-5

5. Weinberg, L., & Symon, M. (2017). Crossing borders: The challenges and benefits of a collaborative approach to course development involving content and language specialists in different countries. In J. Valcke, & R. Wilkinson (Eds.), Integrating content and language in higher education: Perspectives on professional practice (pp.135-150). Peter Lang.