Faculty of Education - Research Publications
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ItemPlurilingualism and language and literacy education(SPRINGERNATURE, 2022-11)Abstract In this paper, we discuss the place of plurilingualism in Language and Literacy Education. The article problematises English-only, monolingual-centric assumptions upon which much of Australia’s current literacy education policy discourse has been based, to instead advancepluriliteraciesas an alternate, more generative lens through which to view literacy learners, literacy learning, and literacy capabilities. The paper begins with tensions inherent in how policy “imagines” learners in Australian schools, and the problem of imposing English-only, monolingual-centric notions of literacy when multilingualism is increasingly more the norm than the exception in many mainstream Australian classrooms. We consider how a pluriliteracy perspective on literacy education offers a more appropriate approach to addressing learners’ developmental literacy needs, with particular attention to students’ identity and agency. Finally, we consider effective implementation of plurilingual approaches to language and learning, with a focus on the intersection of ideology, practice, and policy.
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ItemChallenging the monolingual mindset: Understanding plurilingual pedagogies in English as an Additional Language (EAL) classrooms(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2021-01)Current theories of bilingualism argue that the language practices of bilinguals are drawn from a single linguistic repertoire, and that enabling access to the full breadth of students’ language practices can be a vital resource for further language development. This challenges commonplace practices within English as an Additional Language (EAL) education in Australia, where curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment are predicated on monolingual (English-only) structures. Even though many teachers identify with the need to draw on students’ linguistic repertoires, a lack of pedagogical guidance can result in disengagement with this issue. As we move towards identifying and systematizing plurilingual practices, it is imperative we understand teacher stance towards the use of languages other than English in the classroom. This research, therefore, sought to explore the use of language mapping to build teachers’ awareness of their students’ communicative lifeworlds, and to reflect on their stance towards students’ languages (other than English) in contexts where the focus is learning English as an additional language. The findings illustrate pedagogical practices which go at least some way to subverting the dominance of English-only structures, as well as demonstrating that teacher positioning towards the use of first languages is dynamic in that it is responsive to changes in student context, as well as to new knowledge, as gained through the language mapping activities.
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ItemLanguage programming in rural and regional Victoria: Making space for local viewpoints in policy development(John Benjamins Publishing, 2019-12-10)Despite decades of often ambitious policies in Australia, languages education is still characterized by intermittent commitment to the teaching of languages, with inequitable access particularly entrenched in rural and regional contexts. While research has focused on the practical and material constraints impacting on policy implementation, little research has investigated the role of the discursive terrain in shaping expectations and limitations around what seems achievable in schools, particularly, from the school principal perspective. Beginning with an overview of policy interventions and an analysis of contemporary challenges, we use Q methodology to identify and analyze viewpoints at work in similarly-positioned rural and regional schools. In doing so, we seek to determine what seems possible or impossible across settings; the role of principals in enabling and constraining pathways for the provision of school language programs, and the need for macro-level language policy to be informed by constraints specific to rural and regional contexts.