Full Description
This book explores the need for a change in perspectives towards linguistic diversity and pluri/multilingual education, and highlights the role of teachers, students, caregivers, and researchers, as agents of social cohesion in today's complex societies. The book examines how a change in perspectives on the part of these social actors can challenge dominant language ideologies and trigger more equitable, just and cohesive educational environments and social communities that honour and leverage the linguistic repertoire of each individual. While the agency of students and teachers has been brought to the fore by a number of publications on pluri/multilingual education, this dimension is particularly relevant for researchers themselves, whose agency and epistemic stance are paramount in the construction and interpretation of observed phenomena. In this respect, this book tackles this aspect by means of autobiographical narratives, in which each author/researcher provides insights into experiences in their professional and/or personal life that had an impact on the way they see their agentive role in society. This book is intended for researchers, practitioners, language policy makers and graduate students with an interest in the link between pluri/multilingual education and cohesion in educational communities and the broader society.
Contents
Introduction.- Language Learning, Identity, and Interaction: Findings from Multicultural Educational Contexts in Chile.- Plurilingual Multiliteracy Spanish as a Second Language Course for Return Students from the United States to Mexico.- Students as Agents of Change.- Plurilingual Education for Plurilingual Learners: A Project for Primary Schools.- Language Learning in the Community: A Bridge for Social Cohesion.- Co-constructing Plurilingual Activities in Italian Primary Schools. A Case Study Concerning the Benefits of a Participatory Approach to Teacher Training.- Shifting the Paradigm: Inclusive Plurilingual Education as a (Re)positioning Journey.- Plurilingual Education: Pathways to Social Change.
