Drawing on Multilingualism in Mainstream Teacher Education Programs: Affordances and Challenges

• In Event: Diverse Perspectives on (Inter)National Education

Abstract

Many U.S. Teacher Education Programs are centered on monolingual methods and preparation standards (DeJong, 2013). Such TEPs also hold monoglossic language orientations that marginalize multilingual candidates (García, 2009). While many studies have demonstrated the power of multilingual techniques in TEPs, fewer have addressed the path to incorporating these techniques in mainstream TEPs. In this study, I draw on formal interviews, survey data and observations to demonstrate how burgeoning efforts to support multilingualism in one elementary TEP interact with pre-existing language orientations. I argue that in order to fully incorporate multilingualism, TEPs require programmatic ideological shifts away from monoglossic norms, towards heteroglossic language use. Finally, I demonstrate how such a shift can better serve multilingual candidates and future bilingual teachers

Author

• Rachel D Snyder, University of Washington - Seattle