“Because it is my life, and I’m the one who makes choices” – Newcomers in the French education system and career guidance
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Timea Pickel
Abstract
The chapter analyses the career guidance counselling procedures regarding newcomer students attending “Classes d’accueil” in France. The aim of the research is to question the monolingual ideology pertaining to the educational objectives set out for such students by the Ministry of Education, i.e. the priority set on the acquisition of French as the language of schooling, without acknowledging the learners’ plurilingual repertoires. Based on retrospective interviews with two newcomers, we analyse the gap between their professional aspirations and the possibilities offered to them by the educational and guidance counselling structures in place. We explain how, once students attend mainstream classes, their plurilingual and pluricultural competence is made virtually invisible and they are disempowered by the priority given to high competence in French.
Abstract
The chapter analyses the career guidance counselling procedures regarding newcomer students attending “Classes d’accueil” in France. The aim of the research is to question the monolingual ideology pertaining to the educational objectives set out for such students by the Ministry of Education, i.e. the priority set on the acquisition of French as the language of schooling, without acknowledging the learners’ plurilingual repertoires. Based on retrospective interviews with two newcomers, we analyse the gap between their professional aspirations and the possibilities offered to them by the educational and guidance counselling structures in place. We explain how, once students attend mainstream classes, their plurilingual and pluricultural competence is made virtually invisible and they are disempowered by the priority given to high competence in French.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
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Part 1. Policies
- Plurilingualism and the challenges of education 15
- The Council of Europe’s Language Education Policy Profile 33
- Australian Language Policy and the design of a national curriculum for languages 55
- Acts of identity in the continuum from multilingual practices to language policy 75
- Minority language instruction in Berlin and Brandenburg 87
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Part 2. Multilingual practices
- Dynamics and management of linguistic diversity in companies and institutions of higher education 113
- Discourse, representation and language practices 139
- “Because it is my life, and I’m the one who makes choices” – Newcomers in the French education system and career guidance 161
- The effects of language transfer as a resource in instruction 181
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Part 3. Language development
- Effects of biliteracy on third language reading proficiency, the example of Turkish-German bilinguals 199
- L1 and L2 proficiency in Hebrew English adolescent learners 219
- Developing a written lexicon in a multilingual environment 245
- Index 259
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part 1. Policies
- Plurilingualism and the challenges of education 15
- The Council of Europe’s Language Education Policy Profile 33
- Australian Language Policy and the design of a national curriculum for languages 55
- Acts of identity in the continuum from multilingual practices to language policy 75
- Minority language instruction in Berlin and Brandenburg 87
-
Part 2. Multilingual practices
- Dynamics and management of linguistic diversity in companies and institutions of higher education 113
- Discourse, representation and language practices 139
- “Because it is my life, and I’m the one who makes choices” – Newcomers in the French education system and career guidance 161
- The effects of language transfer as a resource in instruction 181
-
Part 3. Language development
- Effects of biliteracy on third language reading proficiency, the example of Turkish-German bilinguals 199
- L1 and L2 proficiency in Hebrew English adolescent learners 219
- Developing a written lexicon in a multilingual environment 245
- Index 259
