Abstract
This paper reports on a study on in-service and pre-service teachers’ language attitudes and perceived proficiency in two multilingual education contexts: the Basque Autonomous Community (Spain) and Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy). The total sample was made up of 1,094 participants (553 pre-service teachers, 541 in-service teachers). Data were collected by means of the same questionnaire used in a study published in 2007, which this research replicates. The cross-country comparison highlights the impact of diverse language policies; the Basque Autonomous Community shows robust support for the minority language, Basque, in contrast to Friuli Venezia Giulia’s less supportive approach to Friulian. Similarities include teachers’ high perceived proficiency in the State language (Spanish and Italian respectively) and positive views on multilingualism (including the minority, the majority and English as a foreign language). Notably, in-service teachers express more favorable attitudes than their pre-service counterparts towards the minority language, but less favorable towards the State language. With this study, we aim to contribute to the ongoing discourse on multilingualism within an educational system that embraces multiple languages, aiming to provide potentially valuable insights for policy and teacher training practice.
Funding source: H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Award Identifier / Grant number: 101022752
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank all the participants in the survey, whose collaboration has been invaluable. The authors would also wish to thank the Societât Filologjiche Furlane/Società Filologica Friulana for their help in reaching participants in FVG, as well as the anonymous reviewers for their insightful and constructive comments on this work.
-
Research funding: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement N. 101022752. This work has also been supported by the Basque Government under grant number IT1426-22.
-
Disclaimer: The contents of the present contribution reflect only the authors’ views; the EU Research Executive Agency (REA) is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
-
Disclosure statement: No potential conflict of interest is reported by the authors.
Chi-square tests for independence (only significant results are reported):
Perceived general proficiency in Basque/Friulian, Spanish/Italian and English in the BAC and in FVG (2 categories: None+A little, Good+Very good) | |
Basque/Friulian | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 58.92, p < 0.000, V = 0.33 (medium) |
English | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 4.30, p < 0.05, V = 0.09 (small) |
Perceived written proficiency in Basque/Friulian (2 categories: None+A little, Good+Very good) | |
Basque/Friulian | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 186.36, p < 0.000, V = 0.59 (very large) |
Importance attached to Basque/Friulian in the BAC and in FVG (2 categories: Not important+A little important, Important+Very important) | |
1. To make friends | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 29.37, p < 0.000, V = 0.23 (small-to-medium) |
2. To read | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 141.25, p < 0.000, V = 0.51 (large) |
3. To write | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 172.44, p < 0.000, V = 0.56 (large) |
4. To watch TV | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 161.49, p < 0.000, V = 0.55 (large) |
5. To get a job | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 284.48, p < 0.000, V = 0.73 (very large) |
6. To be liked | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 27.67, p < 0.000, V = 0.23 (small-to-medium) |
7. To live in the BAC/FVG | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 37.49, p < 0.000, V = 0.26 (small-to-medium) |
8. To educate children | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 103.93, p < 0.000, V = 0.44 (medium-to-large) |
9. To go shopping | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 43.13, p < 0.000, V = 0.28 (medium) |
10. To make phone calls | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 71.98, p < 0.000, V = 0.36 (medium) |
11. To pass exams to become civil servant | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 427.35, p < 0.000, V = 0.89 (extremely large) |
13. To speak with students at school | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 217.18, p < 0.000, V = 0.63 (very large) |
14. To speak with colleagues at school | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 234.88, p < 0.000, V = 0.66 (very large) |
15. To speak with friends (out of school) | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 42.07, p < 0.000, V = 0.28 (medium) |
16. To speak with people (out of school) | χ 2 (1, n = 541) = 16.78, p < 0.000, V = 0.18 (small) |
Attitudes towards trilingualism in Basque/Friulian-Spanish/Italian-English in the BAC and in FVG (2 categories: Disagree+Strongly disagree, Agree+Strongly agree) | |
1. It is important to be able to speak [the three languages] | χ 2 (1, n = 487) = 5.09, p < 0.05, V = 0.10 (small) |
4. Children get confused when learning [the three languages] (recoded) | χ 2 (1, n = 470) = 6.78, p < 0.01, V = 0.12 (small) |
5. Knowing [the three languages] helps to get a job | χ 2 (1, n = 469) = 9.97, p < 0.01, V = 0.15 (small) |
9. People know more if they know [the three languages] | χ 2 (1, n = 407) = 19.34, p < 0.000, V = 0.22 (small-to-medium) |
11. Speaking [the three languages] is more for younger than older people (recoded) | χ 2 (1, n = 398) = 5.23, p < 0.05, V = 0.11 (small) |
12. Young children can learn to speak [the three languages] at the same time with ease | χ 2 (1, n = 471) = 4.62, p < 0.05, V = 0.10 (small) |
14. People can earn more money if they speak [the three languages] | χ 2 (1, n = 309) = 17.42, p < 0.000, V = 0.24 (small-to-medium) |
15. I would like to be a speaker of [the three languages] | χ 2 (1, n = 503) = 11.35, p < 0.001, V = 0.15 (small) |
17. I would like my children to speak [the three languages] | χ 2 (1, n = 509) = 4.47, p < 0.05, V = 0.09 (small) |
18. [The three languages] can live together in the BAC/FVG | χ 2 (1, n = 472) = 29.69, p < 0.000, V = 0.25 (small-to-medium) |
19. Given the new European context (UE, euro, free movement of people/goods, etc.), it is important to speak [the three languages] | χ 2 (1, n = 462) = 8.07, p < 0.01, V = 0.13 (small) |
20. In schools in the BAC/FVG more languages should be taught, in addition to [the three languages] | χ 2 (1, n = 401) = 5.90, p < 0.05, V = 0.12 (small) |
21. Speaking [the three languages] helps people to make progress at work | χ 2 (1, n = 439) = 15.81, p < 0.000, V = 0.19 (small-to-medium) |
22. I would regret it if English dominated over the other languages | χ 2 (1, n = 458) = 22.74, p < 0.000, V = 0.22 (small-to-medium) |
23. I would regret it if Spanish/Italian dominated over the other languages | χ 2 (1, n = 420) = 72.27, p < 0.000, V = 0.41 (medium-to-large) |
24. I would regret it if Basque/Friulian dominated over the other languages | χ 2 (1, n = 390) = 14.79, p < 0.001, V = 0.19 (small-to-medium) |
Independent samples t -tests (only significant results are reported):
BAC | FVG |
---|---|
Attitudes towards Basque | Attitudes towards Friulian |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Attitudes towards Spanish | Attitudes towards Italian |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Attitudes towards English | Attitudes towards English |
|
|
n.s. |
|
|
|
Attitudes towards multilingualism in the three languages | Attitudes towards multilingualism in the three languages (*) |
|
|
|
n.s. |
-
All the above results were confirmed by the corresponding nonparametric Mann–Whitney U tests. The only finding that was not confirmed was the one about attitudes towards multilingualism in the three languages in FVG (*). While the independent sample t-test did not find any significant difference between in-service and pre-service teachers, the nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test found a significant small difference (with p < 0.05).
References
Alisaari, Jenni, Leena M. Heikkola, Nancy Commins & Emmanuel O. Acquah. 2019. Monolingual ideologies confronting multilingual realities. Finnish teachers’ beliefs about linguistic diversity. Teaching and Teacher Education 80. 48–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.01.003.Search in Google Scholar
Alisaari, Jenni, Salla Sissonen & Leena M. Heikkola. 2021. Teachers’ beliefs related to language choice in immigrant students’ homes. Teaching and Teacher Education 103. 103347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103347.Search in Google Scholar
Andrews, Stephen & Angel M. Y. Lin. 2017. Language awareness and teacher development. In Peter Garrett & Josep M. Cots (eds.), The Routledge handbook of language awareness, 57–74. New York, NY: Routledge.10.4324/9781315676494-4Search in Google Scholar
ARLeF – Agjenzie Regjonâl pe Lenghe Furlane. 2015. Ricerca sociolinguistica sulla lingua friulana [Sociolinguistic survey on the Friulian language]. Retrieved from: https://arlef.it/app/uploads/materiali/1-ricerca-sociolinguistica-sulla-lingua-friulana-2015.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
Babad, Elisha Y., Jacinto Inbar & Robert Rosenthal. 1982. Pygmalion, galatea, and the Golem: Investigations of biased and unbiased teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology 74(4). 459–474. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.74.4.459.Search in Google Scholar
Baker, Colin. 1992. Attitudes and language, Vol. 83. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Search in Google Scholar
Basque Government. 2021. VII Encuesta sociolingüística [7th sociolinguistic survey]. Retrieved from: https://bideoak2.euskadi.eus/2023/03/20/news_84431/VII_ENCUESTA_SOCIOLING%C3%9C%C3%8DSTICA_resumen.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
Bier, Ada & David Lasagabaster. 2023. What has changed over 18 years? Future teachers’ language use and attitudes towards multilingualism in the Basque autonomous community. Language and Education 37(6). 675–697. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2022.2121611.Search in Google Scholar
Bier, Ada & David Lasagabaster. 2024a. Language use and attitudes of prospective teachers: A comparison of the Basque and Friulian multilingual contexts. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 45(10). 4348–4363. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2159967.Search in Google Scholar
Bier, Ada & David Lasagabaster. 2024b. A holistic approach to language attitudes in two multilingual educational contexts. In Danuta Gabrys-Barker & Eva Vetter (eds.), Modern Approaches to researching multilingualism. Studies in Honour of larissa aronin, 381–414. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature.10.1007/978-3-031-52371-7_20Search in Google Scholar
Bier, Ada, Gabriele Zanello & Antonella Ottogalli. 2024. The Friulian language in education in Italy. In Regional dossiers series, 2nd edn. Leeuwarden, The Netherlands: Mercator European Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning. https://www.mercator-research.eu/en/regional-dossiers/friulian-italy/.Search in Google Scholar
Blanchard, Sarah & Chandra Muller. 2015. Gatekeepers of the American dream: How teachers’ perceptions shape the academic outcomes of immigrant and language minority students. Social Science Research 51. 262–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.10.003.Search in Google Scholar
Byrnes, Deborah A., Gary Kiger & M. Lee Manning. 1997. Teachers’ attitudes about language diversity. Teaching and Teacher Education 13(6). 637–644. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(97)80006-6.Search in Google Scholar
Campos Bandrés, Iris O. 2021. Actitudes de los maestros en formación hacia las lenguas extranjeras y la educación multilingüe [Trainee teachers’ attitudes towards foreign languages and multilingual education]. Revista Electrónica Interuniversitaria de Formación del Profesorado 24(2). 67–80. https://doi.org/10.6018/reifop.428651.Search in Google Scholar
Caruana, Sandro & David Lasagabaster. 2011. Using a holistic approach to explore language attitudes in two multilingual contexts: The Basque country and Malta. In Cecilia Varcasia (ed.), Becoming multilingual. Language learning and language policy between attitudes and identity, 39–64. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang.Search in Google Scholar
De Angelis, Gessica. 2011. Teachers’ beliefs about the role of prior language knowledge in learning and how these influence teaching practices. International Journal of Multilingualism 8(3). 216–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2011.560669.Search in Google Scholar
Dörnyei, Zoltán. 2007. Research Methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, Qualitative and mixed methodologies. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Fischer, Nele & Cornelia Lahmann. 2020. Pre-service teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism in school: An evaluation of a course concept for introducing linguistically responsive teaching. Language Awareness 29(2). 114–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2020.1737706.Search in Google Scholar
Fusco, Fabiana. 2019. Plurilingualism and language contact in Friuli Venezia Giulia: The state of the research. Quaderni d’Italianistica 40(1). 165–199. https://doi.org/10.33137/q.i.v40i1.34160.Search in Google Scholar
Fusco, Fabiana. 2020. L’educazione plurilingue nella formazione degli insegnanti. Appunti da una ricerca [Multilingual education in teacher training. Notes from a research study]. Rassegna Italiana Di Linguistica Applicata 1. 63–80.Search in Google Scholar
Garrett, Peter. 2010. Attitudes to language. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Gartziarena, Mikel & Nerea Villabona. 2022. Teachers’ beliefs on multilingualism in the Basque country: Basque at the core of multilingual education. System 102749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102749.Search in Google Scholar
Gorter, Durk & Elisabet M. Arocena. 2020. Teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism in a course on translanguaging. System 92. 102272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102272.Search in Google Scholar
Guzmán-Alcón, Irene & Laura Portolés. 2021. In-service teachers’ language attitudes in the Valencian educational system: The effect of the school language programme and the L1. Caplletra. Revista Internacional de Filologia 71. 121–146. https://doi.org/10.7203/Caplletra.71.21034.Search in Google Scholar
Haukås, Åsta. 2016. Teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism and a multilingual pedagogical approach. International Journal of Multilingualism 13(1). 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2015.1041960.Search in Google Scholar
Jeoffrion, Christine, Aurore Marcouyeux, Rebecca Starkey-Perret, Marie-Françoise Narcy-Combes & Ilker Birkan. 2014. From multilingualism to plurilingualism: University students’ beliefs about language learning in a monolingual context. Language Culture and Curriculum 27(1). 8–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2014.887724.Search in Google Scholar
Kirsch, Claudine, Gabrijela Aleksić, Simone Mortini & Katja Andersen. 2020. Developing multilingual practices in early childhood education through professional development in Luxembourg. International Multidisciplinary Research Journal 14. 319–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2020.1730023.Search in Google Scholar
Lasagabaster, David. 2005. Bearing multilingual parameters in mind when designing a questionnaire on attitudes: Does this affect the results? International Journal of Multilingualism 2(1). 26–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501220508668375.Search in Google Scholar
Lasagabaster, David. 2017. Language learning motivation and Language attitudes in multilingual Spain from an international perspective. The Modern Language Journal 101. 583–596. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12414.Search in Google Scholar
Lasagabaster, David & Ángel Huguet (eds.), 2007. Multilingualism in European bilingual contexts: Language use and attitudes. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.10.2307/jj.27939661Search in Google Scholar
Lee, Jin Sook & Eva Oxelson. 2006. “It’s not my job”: K–12 teacher attitudes toward students’ heritage language maintenance. Bilingual Research Journal 30(2). 453–477. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2006.10162885.Search in Google Scholar
Moodie, Ian. 2016. The anti-apprenticeship of observation: How negative prior language learning experience influences English language teachers’ beliefs and practices. System 60. 29–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2016.05.011.Search in Google Scholar
Pavón Vázquez, Víctor, Nina Lancaster & Carmen Bretones Callejas. 2019. Keys issues in developing teachers’ competences for CLIL in andalusia: Training, mobility and coordination. Language Learning Journal 48(1). 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2019.1642940.Search in Google Scholar
Pérez Cañado, María Luisa. 2018. Innovations and challenges in CLIL teacher training. Theory Into Practice 57(3). 212–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2018.1492238.Search in Google Scholar
Pohlmann-Rother, Sanna, Sarah Désirée Lange, Laura Zapfe & Daniel Then. 2021. Supportive primary teacher beliefs towards multilingualism through teacher training and professional practice. Language and Education 37(2). 212–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2021.2001494.Search in Google Scholar
Portolés, Laura & Otilia Martí. 2020. Teachers’ beliefs about multilingual pedagogies and the role of initial training. International Journal of Multilingualism 17(2). 248–264. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2018.1515206.Search in Google Scholar
Pulinx, Reinhilde, Piet Van Avermaet & Orhan Agirdag. 2017. Silencing linguistic diversity: The extent, the determinants and consequences of the monolingual beliefs of Flemish teachers. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 20(5). 542–556. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2015.1102860.Search in Google Scholar
Rodríguez-Izquierdo, Rosa M., Inmaculada González Falcón & Cristina Goenechea Permisán. 2020. Teacher beliefs and approaches to linguistic diversity. Spanish as a second language in the inclusion of immigrant students. Teaching and Teacher Education 90. 103035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103035.Search in Google Scholar
Rosenthal, Robert & Lenore Jacobson. 1968. Pygmalion in the classroom: Teacher expectation and pupils’ intellectual development. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.Search in Google Scholar
Ruiz, Richard. 2017. Orientations in language planning. In Nancy H. Hornberger (ed.). Honoring richard Ruiz and his Work on language Planning and bilingual education, 13–32. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.10.21832/9781783096701-004Search in Google Scholar
Sordella, Silvia. 2015. L’educazione plurilingue e gli atteggiamenti degli insegnanti [Multilingual education and teachers’ attitudes]. Italiano LinguaDue 1. 60–110. https://doi.org/10.13130/2037-3597/5038.Search in Google Scholar
Sundqvist, Pia, Henrik Gyllstad, Marie Källkvist & Erica Sandlund. 2021. Mapping teacher beliefs and practices about multilingualism: The development of the MultiBAP questionnaire. In Päivi Juvonen & Marie Källkvist (eds.), Pedagogical translanguaging: Theoretical, Methodological and empirical perspectives, 56–75. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.10.2307/jj.22730465.8Search in Google Scholar
Szecsi, Tunde, Janka Szilagyi & Debra A. Giambo. 2015. Attitudes and beliefs of teacher candidates regarding heritage language maintenance. Heritage Language Journal 12(1). 75–99. https://doi.org/10.46538/hlj.12.1.4.Search in Google Scholar
Vikøy, Aasne & Åsta Haukås. 2021. Norwegian L1 teachers’ beliefs about a multilingual approach in increasingly diverse classrooms. International Journal of Multilingualism 20(3). 912–931. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2021.1961779.Search in Google Scholar
© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Review Article
- The application of social network analysis in applied linguistics research: a systematic review
- Research Articles
- The neoliberal coloniality of EMI in Hong Kong higher education: insights from online stancetaking
- Unpacking fluid linguistic landscape in a community coffeehouse in Hangzhou, East China: an everyday life perspective
- Translanguaging in public and digital spaces: integrating telecollaboration to linguistic landscapes studies
- Investigating the relationships of writing behaviours to linguistic complexity and accuracy in independent and integrated writing task performance
- Exploring unobserved heterogeneity of speech fluency and its dynamic interactions with emotions
- Modality of input and factors affecting incidental vocabulary learning: reading, listening, and viewing with captions
- Blurred lines of participation: nexus analytical tools for reflecting on the roles of researchers and participants in change-oriented research projects
- The contribution of second language writers’ translanguaging ability to their information-based academic writing ability
- Translanguaging in the linguistic landscape: creative scripts in Yi ethnicity students’ handwritten signs
- Playing with funds of difficult knowledge: interactional insights for heritage language education
- Creating a meaningful summative assessment in a Chinese immersion context: a translanguaging perspective
- Transnational media and English spread in the Expanding Circle: Hollywood’s predominance, language accommodation, and English as an additional language in cinema, television, and video on demand
- Translingual practices for critical language awareness in English as an additional language writing education
- Multilingualism, translanguaging, and education in the Vaupés, Northwest Amazonia: dynamics of language use, and language loss
- Moderation of teacher-student rapport in the link between smartphone addiction and foreign language burnout and its gender difference
- The impact of divergent language policies on teachers’ language attitudes and proficiency in two multilingual education settings
- Exploring EFL learner resilience and examining its association with L2 buoyancy and language achievement
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Review Article
- The application of social network analysis in applied linguistics research: a systematic review
- Research Articles
- The neoliberal coloniality of EMI in Hong Kong higher education: insights from online stancetaking
- Unpacking fluid linguistic landscape in a community coffeehouse in Hangzhou, East China: an everyday life perspective
- Translanguaging in public and digital spaces: integrating telecollaboration to linguistic landscapes studies
- Investigating the relationships of writing behaviours to linguistic complexity and accuracy in independent and integrated writing task performance
- Exploring unobserved heterogeneity of speech fluency and its dynamic interactions with emotions
- Modality of input and factors affecting incidental vocabulary learning: reading, listening, and viewing with captions
- Blurred lines of participation: nexus analytical tools for reflecting on the roles of researchers and participants in change-oriented research projects
- The contribution of second language writers’ translanguaging ability to their information-based academic writing ability
- Translanguaging in the linguistic landscape: creative scripts in Yi ethnicity students’ handwritten signs
- Playing with funds of difficult knowledge: interactional insights for heritage language education
- Creating a meaningful summative assessment in a Chinese immersion context: a translanguaging perspective
- Transnational media and English spread in the Expanding Circle: Hollywood’s predominance, language accommodation, and English as an additional language in cinema, television, and video on demand
- Translingual practices for critical language awareness in English as an additional language writing education
- Multilingualism, translanguaging, and education in the Vaupés, Northwest Amazonia: dynamics of language use, and language loss
- Moderation of teacher-student rapport in the link between smartphone addiction and foreign language burnout and its gender difference
- The impact of divergent language policies on teachers’ language attitudes and proficiency in two multilingual education settings
- Exploring EFL learner resilience and examining its association with L2 buoyancy and language achievement