Knowledge, Awareness, and Reflexivity: The Languages Classroom as a Participative Space for Multilingual Identity Construction

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring the Impact of Translanguaging Pedagogies Across Learning Contexts

Abstract

In this paper we argue that foreign language classrooms are key sites for the construction of multilingual identities, by which we mean individuals’ explicit understandings of themselves as users of more than one language. We draw on data from a longitudinal study conducted alongside key stakeholders (teachers of French, German and Spanish) in four secondary schools in England to explore how multilingual identity influences foreign language learning. We first establish the rationale for the development and implementation of innovative pedagogical resources which aim to facilitate students’ multilingual identity construction. Secondly, we present data which indicates the potential benefits of such an intervention on students’ self-identification as multilingual, their perceptions of language learning and their intention to continue to study languages.

Authors

• Karen Forbes, University of Cambridge

• Yongcan Liu, University of Cambridge

• Linda Fisher, University of Cambridge