Reforming Approaches to Language in Education: Exploring Plurilingual Pedagogies Through Collaborative Inquiry With Educators

• In Event: 14.044 - Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: 14.044-8 - Language, Power, and Creative Plurilingualisms in International Contexts

Abstract

In Ontario, Canada, educators are developing capacity for teaching in multilingual classrooms - among the 2.1 million students in Ontario, 27% were born outside of Canada, and many of these students speak a language other than English at home. These circumstances point to the need for evidence-based policies on the role of home languages in education. Current theoretical and empirical studies on language in education provide a rationale for exploring whether and how home languages might be drawn upon as a resource for language, literacy and curriculum learning. Addressing these issues, this presentation draws upon evidence from classroom practice to articulate key processes in a plurilingual approach to pedagogy that recognizes and builds upon linguistic diversity in multilingual classrooms.

Author

• Saskia Stille, York University