Affordances of multilingual learning situations – Possibilities and constraints for foreign language classrooms
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Judith Buendgens-Kosten
Abstract
Against the background of technological development and linguistic diversity in our society, a multilingual software application for classroom usage, including digital picture-books in different languages, has been developed in the context of an EU-funded project called MuViT. This product has been adapted for a research study called LIKE (Elsner, Buendgens-Kosten & Hardy 2014) which focuses on the question how mono- and multilingual learners of English at primary and early secondary school level make use of different languages (L1, L2, L3) while working with a computer-based story in pairs. So far 50 dyads have been tested and observed during their work with the stories. In this paper, the relevant design decisions regarding the use of the multilingual digital storybooks and its implementation in a quasi-experimental setting will be discussed, focusing on the affordances they provide from the perspective of the researchers. In a second step, the focus will move to how pupils make use of the multilingual affordances offered by the learning environment (software and peer to peer situation). Case analyses drawn from the sample will be presented with regard to pupils’ receptive code-switching behavior. On the basis of a sequential qualitative analysis, we will describe in which way the use of different languages may contribute to or rather interfere with processes of foreign language learning. This analysis will point out the potential and limits of multilingual language learning environments (learning material and multilingual pair-/group work) with regard to foreign language learning and allow for methodological implications for the use of multilingual learning material and pair-/group work arrangements.
Abstract
Against the background of technological development and linguistic diversity in our society, a multilingual software application for classroom usage, including digital picture-books in different languages, has been developed in the context of an EU-funded project called MuViT. This product has been adapted for a research study called LIKE (Elsner, Buendgens-Kosten & Hardy 2014) which focuses on the question how mono- and multilingual learners of English at primary and early secondary school level make use of different languages (L1, L2, L3) while working with a computer-based story in pairs. So far 50 dyads have been tested and observed during their work with the stories. In this paper, the relevant design decisions regarding the use of the multilingual digital storybooks and its implementation in a quasi-experimental setting will be discussed, focusing on the affordances they provide from the perspective of the researchers. In a second step, the focus will move to how pupils make use of the multilingual affordances offered by the learning environment (software and peer to peer situation). Case analyses drawn from the sample will be presented with regard to pupils’ receptive code-switching behavior. On the basis of a sequential qualitative analysis, we will describe in which way the use of different languages may contribute to or rather interfere with processes of foreign language learning. This analysis will point out the potential and limits of multilingual language learning environments (learning material and multilingual pair-/group work) with regard to foreign language learning and allow for methodological implications for the use of multilingual learning material and pair-/group work arrangements.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Policy perspectives
- Language education in and for a multilingual Europe 33
- Multilingualism and education in sub-Saharan Africa 57
- Language policy, language study, and heritage language education in the U.S. 77
- Globalization, national identity, and multiculturalism and multilingualism 99
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Part II. Theoretical perspectives
- L3, the tertiary language 127
- Plurilingual identities 151
- Models of multilingual competence 173
- The multilingual turn in foreign language education 191
- Linguistic landscaping 213
- Identity and investment in multilingual classrooms 237
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Part III. Empirical perspectives
- The acquisition of English as an L3 from a sociocultural point of view 255
- Affordances of multilingual learning situations – Possibilities and constraints for foreign language classrooms 281
- L1 effects in the early L3 acquisition of vocabulary and grammar 305
- “One day a father and his son going fishing on the Lake.” – A study on the use of the progressive aspect of monolingual and bilingual learners of English 331
- English as a lingua franca at the multilingual university 359
- Learning English demonstrative pronouns on bilingual substrate 381
- Contributors 407
- Subject index 419
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Policy perspectives
- Language education in and for a multilingual Europe 33
- Multilingualism and education in sub-Saharan Africa 57
- Language policy, language study, and heritage language education in the U.S. 77
- Globalization, national identity, and multiculturalism and multilingualism 99
-
Part II. Theoretical perspectives
- L3, the tertiary language 127
- Plurilingual identities 151
- Models of multilingual competence 173
- The multilingual turn in foreign language education 191
- Linguistic landscaping 213
- Identity and investment in multilingual classrooms 237
-
Part III. Empirical perspectives
- The acquisition of English as an L3 from a sociocultural point of view 255
- Affordances of multilingual learning situations – Possibilities and constraints for foreign language classrooms 281
- L1 effects in the early L3 acquisition of vocabulary and grammar 305
- “One day a father and his son going fishing on the Lake.” – A study on the use of the progressive aspect of monolingual and bilingual learners of English 331
- English as a lingua franca at the multilingual university 359
- Learning English demonstrative pronouns on bilingual substrate 381
- Contributors 407
- Subject index 419
