Working Towards Sustainable Multilingualism in Urban Settings

• In Event: Linguistic Diversity: A Global Challenge for Education

Abstract

We present the initial findings from a pilot study investigating the creation and customization of a basic language awareness curriculum by pre-service/in-service teachers that includes a structured reading intervention program using dual language books. The research builds on the premise that such resources can give teachers the opportunity to effectively implement strategies in multilingual/multicultural classrooms that build on children's cultural capital and create a stronger learning community. Researchers such as Escamilla and Hopewell (2010) point to the importance of building culturally responsive literacy and language programs enabling students to utilize their heritage languages. Hélot and Young (2006) emphasize the need to create a language awareness curriculum that responds to linguistic and cultural diversity in an effective way and that pre-service/in-service teachers can learn to be more effective professionals when they are made aware of the abundance of languages spoken and cultures represented by human beings. This is language awareness, and using this awareness to create teaching strategies that build on or incorporate existing linguistic realities should be a priority.
Our paper describes the process of building a framework for a language awareness curriculum. It identifies the basic principals required to make this program successful. As a second step, we discuss the adaptation and implementation of this basic curriculum by pre-service/in-service teachers working in culturally and linguistically diverse schools. The results highlight the need to recognize, celebrate and become aware of how students’ home languages impact the educational significance of their cultural capital. Finally, this language awareness curriculum represents a step forward in addressing the cognitive and sociocultural complexities of becoming literate within a culturally and linguistically rich environment.

Author

• Rahat Naqvi, University of Calgary