The purpose of this chapter is to situate multilingual and inclusive practices in education within the micro-level context of world language (WL) education. Drawing upon qualitative data that was part of a larger study, 53 h of participant observations were conducted in Spanish language classrooms at an institution with a relatively high proportion of linguistically and racially diverse students. This study examines how language teachers incorporate students’ linguistic diversity and the extent to which WL practices and materials integrate diverse sociodemographic identities. From the analysis of data, two themes emerged: teachers’ instructional practices that were supportive of students’ multilingual skills and identities and curricular materials that revealed limited evidence of diverse backgrounds and identities. Contextualized via intersectionality, findings suggest that teachers’ lack of diverse cultural characteristics in WL materials may de-privilege students who do not identify with these identities and can serve as a basis for perpetuating inequities and the exclusion of certain student characteristics. This research holds important implications for teachers and teacher educators as they consider cultural and linguistic plurality and inclusive practices in educational contexts.

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

Multilingualism and Inclusion in Language Teachers’ Pedagogical Practices

  • Sheri K. Dion

摘要

The purpose of this chapter is to situate multilingual and inclusive practices in education within the micro-level context of world language (WL) education. Drawing upon qualitative data that was part of a larger study, 53 h of participant observations were conducted in Spanish language classrooms at an institution with a relatively high proportion of linguistically and racially diverse students. This study examines how language teachers incorporate students’ linguistic diversity and the extent to which WL practices and materials integrate diverse sociodemographic identities. From the analysis of data, two themes emerged: teachers’ instructional practices that were supportive of students’ multilingual skills and identities and curricular materials that revealed limited evidence of diverse backgrounds and identities. Contextualized via intersectionality, findings suggest that teachers’ lack of diverse cultural characteristics in WL materials may de-privilege students who do not identify with these identities and can serve as a basis for perpetuating inequities and the exclusion of certain student characteristics. This research holds important implications for teachers and teacher educators as they consider cultural and linguistic plurality and inclusive practices in educational contexts.