Bringing the outside in: Attitudes towards multilingual competence in Zambia and Tanzania
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Colin Reilly
Abstract
Language-in-education policies in many African countries are heavily influenced by a monolingual mindset and monoglossic conceptualizations of language. This policy situation does not accurately reflect the multilingualism which characterizes language use within communities nor the linguistic repertoires of individuals in these communities. This chapter focuses on the tensions between multilingual repertoires found outside of the classroom and the seemingly monolingual policies within them. We discuss findings from linguistic ethnographic research carried out in Zambia and Tanzania. We examine individual attitudes towards language and how children acquire their communicative competence, and compare the language practices that are found and valued outside of schools, with those found within schools. Our findings show that adults and children engage in sophisticated translanguaging practices as a natural part of their everyday lives outside of educational contexts. Multilingual practices are seen to emerge organically from the necessity to communicate in different contexts within the community. This informal practice sharply contrasts with the language education provided in formal educational contexts where an artificial monolingualism is enforced and where multilingual practices and skills are often not welcomed or valued. We conclude with recommendations for utilizing the multilingual practices which are acquired outside of the classroom to enhance learning within the classrooms, thereby strengthening communicative competencies across formal and informal contexts.
Abstract
Language-in-education policies in many African countries are heavily influenced by a monolingual mindset and monoglossic conceptualizations of language. This policy situation does not accurately reflect the multilingualism which characterizes language use within communities nor the linguistic repertoires of individuals in these communities. This chapter focuses on the tensions between multilingual repertoires found outside of the classroom and the seemingly monolingual policies within them. We discuss findings from linguistic ethnographic research carried out in Zambia and Tanzania. We examine individual attitudes towards language and how children acquire their communicative competence, and compare the language practices that are found and valued outside of schools, with those found within schools. Our findings show that adults and children engage in sophisticated translanguaging practices as a natural part of their everyday lives outside of educational contexts. Multilingual practices are seen to emerge organically from the necessity to communicate in different contexts within the community. This informal practice sharply contrasts with the language education provided in formal educational contexts where an artificial monolingualism is enforced and where multilingual practices and skills are often not welcomed or valued. We conclude with recommendations for utilizing the multilingual practices which are acquired outside of the classroom to enhance learning within the classrooms, thereby strengthening communicative competencies across formal and informal contexts.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- Setting the scene: Informal language learning and socialization in additional languages 1
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Part I: Informal language learning in private contexts
- The impact of family and media on L2 development in early childhood in a multilingual society: The case of the Seychelles 19
- ELF and other languages in the family: Portraying multilingual repertoires at dinner tables across Europe 51
- Dynamic language repertoires: The case of an Italian-Turkish couple in Istanbul 87
- A multimodal perspective on communicative competence in multilingual Afro-Surinamese speaker communities 111
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Part II: Informal language learning in public contexts
- Communicative competence in the virtual breathing space: Minoritized language learning in social media 149
- Researching the benefits of integrating language and museum education on students’ linguistic, cognitive, affective, and intercultural development 171
- Bringing the outside in: Attitudes towards multilingual competence in Zambia and Tanzania 199
- Student teachers’ attitudes toward translanguaging in formal learning vis-à-vis informal interaction: A survey of a university in Kenya 231
- About the contributors 261
- Index of subjects 265
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- Setting the scene: Informal language learning and socialization in additional languages 1
-
Part I: Informal language learning in private contexts
- The impact of family and media on L2 development in early childhood in a multilingual society: The case of the Seychelles 19
- ELF and other languages in the family: Portraying multilingual repertoires at dinner tables across Europe 51
- Dynamic language repertoires: The case of an Italian-Turkish couple in Istanbul 87
- A multimodal perspective on communicative competence in multilingual Afro-Surinamese speaker communities 111
-
Part II: Informal language learning in public contexts
- Communicative competence in the virtual breathing space: Minoritized language learning in social media 149
- Researching the benefits of integrating language and museum education on students’ linguistic, cognitive, affective, and intercultural development 171
- Bringing the outside in: Attitudes towards multilingual competence in Zambia and Tanzania 199
- Student teachers’ attitudes toward translanguaging in formal learning vis-à-vis informal interaction: A survey of a university in Kenya 231
- About the contributors 261
- Index of subjects 265
