This volume offers a unique insight into multilingualism and sociolinguistic diversity employing the dominant language constellation (DLC) approach. How can novel research inform teaching practices? How do current theories account for multilingual reality in settings as diverse as countries of Western and Eastern Europe and Tunisia and Maghreb? The volume deals with issues of plurilingual identity of teachers and multilingual learners and examines the issues of foreign language teaching both in contexts perceived as monolingual and multilingual Drawing on the intersection of analytic categories such as language repertoire, translanguaging, visuality and narratives, it particularly emphasizes the connections between DLCs, language awareness and identity. The contributors demonstrate how formal language teaching can capitalize on the DLC paradigm and how teacher education programs can use it both as a framework to discuss and as a tool to enhance teacher education and professional development.
This volume on DLC as an approach to exploring facets of language awareness and identity presents a very welcome contribution to the study of multilingualism as a complex and dynamic phenomenon. The studies stemming from a range of mainly educational settings in different countries will definitely enhance our thinking perspectives in an area of research with increasing interest.
Prof. Dr. Ulrike Jessner, University of Innsbruck (Austria) and University of Pannonia (Hungary)
Author(s): Larissa Aronin, Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer
Series: Multilingual Education
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 310
Foreword: Some Reflections on Dominant Language Constellations at the Doctor’s Office
References
Contents
Contributors
Introduction: Understanding Identity and Language(s) Awareness by Dint of DLC
1 Introduction
2 Language Awareness and Languages Awareness?
3 Identity
4 Multimodal and Multisensorial Representations as Methods and Tools of Research
5 About This Book
References
Part I: DLC, Identity, Awareness, and Language Policy
Dominant Language Constellations and Language Policy and Planning in Two Settings: Perspectives from Tunisia
1 Introduction
2 DLC: A Differentiated Perspective on Multilingual Language Policy and Planning
3 Planning DLCs in Postcolonial Tunisia: A Planning of Paradoxes
4 The Present Study: Database and Methodology
4.1 Dataset A: The General Curriculum (September 2017)
4.2 Dataset B: Opinion Newspaper Articles (2011–2021)
5 Results and Discussion
5.1 The General Curriculum: Rhetorical Structure
5.2 Discursive Construction of the DLC in the General Curriculum
5.3 Discourses, DLC and National Identity in Public Debates
5.3.1 Essentialising DLC-Related National Identity
5.3.2 Victimization
5.4 Consensual Identity: Valorizing the DLC
5.5 Diversity, Territorial Citizenship and Democracy
6 Conclusion
References
Digital DLC Models as Instruments for Raising Awareness and Better Understanding of Current Multilingualism in HEI
1 Introduction
2 A Brief Overview of the Status of Multilingualism in HEI in a Multilingual Country, Switzerland
3 The State of Multilingualism in Educational Technologies for HEI
4 Digital DLC Model Design
4.1 Internal Digital Model of DLC
4.2 External Digital Model of DLC
5 A DLC Profiles Server Prototype
6 Discussion
6.1 People Awareness
6.2 IT Awareness
7 Conclusion
References
Part II: DLC-Identity-Awareness Triad in Formal Language Education: From Primary to Higher Education
Applying DLC to the Study and Discussion of Early Multicompetence in a Trilingual Minority Context in Northern Italy
1 Introduction
2 DLC and Multi-competence: Theoretical Considerations and Practical Implications
3 Politico-Historical Background
4 Multilingual Repertoires in Monolingual Polities: How Does the Monoglossic Imposition Affect Learning in Multilingual Contexts?
5 Investigating Multilingual Profiles and Competences at the Primary School Level
5.1 The Participants in the Study
5.2 Results of the Empirical Study
6 Final Considerations and Conclusion
References
Dominant Language Constellations in Luxembourg: Clusters of Identities and Networks of Representations of Plurilingualism
1 Introduction
2 Conceptual Framework
2.1 Identity-Based Strategies by Dominant Language Constellations: An Emic Approach of Social Stakeholders
2.2 Characteristics and Levels of Language Constellations (LC): A Holistic Approach
3 Methodology
4 Context
5 Analysis
6 Conclusion
References
Language Repertoires or Individual Dominant Language Constellations: The Reality of Instructed Educational Settings in a (Mostly) Monolingual Context
1 Introduction
2 The Concept of Language Repertoires or DLC: Context as a Factor
3 Multilinguals Functionalities in a (Mostly) Monolingual Context: DLC Language Identity Representations (the Study)
3.1 The Context and the Rationale for the Present Study
3.2 Description of the Study
3.2.1 Research Questions
3.2.2 The Study Sample
3.2.3 Data Collection Instruments
4 Results
4.1 My Multilingual Profile (Data Presentation)
4.1.1 Background Bio Data
4.1.2 (Explicit) Metaphors: Examples Across Languages (L1 Versus L2 Versus L3)
4.1.3 Visual Metaphors
4.1.4 DLC as a Response to Monolingual Challenges: Constructing Multiple Language Identity(-ties) – Discussion
5 Conclusions and a Way Forward
References
Dominant Language Constellation and Plurilingual Awareness: The Case of Student Language Teachers in Greece
1 Introduction
2 DLC as a Tool for the Development of Plurilingual Awareness
3 Methodology
3.1 Research Questions
3.2 Research Design and Tools
3.3 Student Language Teachers (SLT) Profiles
4 Data Analysis
4.1 Language Portraits and Roads
4.1.1 DLC Patterns in Language Portraits
4.1.2 DLC Patterns in Language Roads
4.1.3 Synthesis
4.2 Interviews
4.2.1 Reflections on Language Portraits and Roads
4.2.2 Repositioning on Multilingualism
5 On the Way to Plurilingual Awareness
6 Conclusion
References
Are Teachers Developing Strategies to Enhance the Use of DLC in the Learning of Portuguese as a Foreign Language in English-Dominant Classrooms?
1 Introduction
2 Towards Multilingual and Multicultural Language Education
3 Using Learners’ Full Language Repertoire vs Dominant Language Constellation in the Foreign Language Teaching and Learning
4 The Study
4.1 Methodology
4.2 Findings and Discussion
5 Conclusions
References
DLC of Consecutive Multilinguals Studying Languages in an Officially Monolingual Environment
1 Introduction
2 Use of Linguistic Autobiographies in Defining DLCs
3 Defining DLCs in Linguistic Repertoires
4 The Study
4.1 Aim of the Study
4.2 Context of the Study
4.3 Sample, Data Collection and Analysis
4.4 Participants’ Linguistic Repertoires
5 Results
5.1 Description of DLC
5.2 Participants’ Explicit and Implicit Criteria for Distinguishing Between DLC and Other Languages in Their Repertoires
5.2.1 Communicative Function
5.2.2 Cognitive Function
5.2.3 Identity Function
5.3 Prospective DLC Languages
6 Conclusion
Appendix
Prompts on What Data Should Be Included in the Linguistic Autobiography
References
Part III: DLC-Identity-Awareness Triad in Teacher Education and Professional Development
‘Speaking About My Languages Promotes My Language Awareness’: Student Teachers’ Beliefs About Language Awareness and Their Dominant Language Constellations
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Background
2.1 Teachers’ Beliefs and Teacher Identity
2.2 Plurilingual Awareness: The Link Between Language Awareness and DLC
2.3 (Student) Teachers’ Beliefs About Plurilingual Pedagogies and LA
3 Empirical Study
3.1 The Context: Linguistic Composition of Hamburg
3.2 Context of the Study and Participants
3.3 Methods of Data Collection and Analysis
4 Results and Discussion
4.1 DLC Pattern I
4.2 DLC Pattern II
4.3 DLC Pattern III
5 Conclusions and Perspectives
Appendixes
References
Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Identity and Representations of English as a Foreign Language: Toward a Dominant Language (Teaching) Constellation?
1 Introduction
2 Language Education as Political Action
3 Teacher Professional Identity
4 Dominant Language (Teaching) Constellations: A Heuristic Construct
5 The Study
5.1 Data Collection: Context and Participants
5.2 Multimodal Narratives as Data: Analytical Procedures
6 Findings: A ‘Clipping’ Picture of Student Teachers’ Representations of EFL Teaching
6.1 A Dominant Language (Teaching) Constellation: The Salient Presence of EFL alongside (Inter)cultural Aims
6.2 An Emergent and Non-dominant Language (Teaching) Constellation: The Multilingual Classroom
6.3 Discussion and Synthesis
7 Implications for Teacher Education
References
The Dynamics of Dominant Language Constellations: Moments of Linguistic ‘Ecological Transition’ as Portrayed by Pre-service Language Teachers
1 Introduction
2 Language Biographies, Dominant Language Constellations, and Moments of Linguistic Ecological Transition: Connecting the Dots
3 Empirical Study
3.1 Context and Participants
3.2 Data Analysis Procedures
4 Analysis of the Corpus
4.1 Moments of Linguistic Ecological Transition Represented by Student Teachers
4.2 Ecological Transitions and DLC Dynamics: Which Ecological Transitions Facilitate and/or Hinder the Transformation of Potential DLC into Real Ones?
5 Synthesis and Perspectives: Towards an Ecological Model of Individual Multilingualism Development
References
‘We Can Do More With It’: Dominant Language Constellations of Teachers in Multilingual Frisian Primary Schools
1 Introduction
2 Language Attitudes, Knowledge and Practical Skills in Frisian Primary Schools
3 Dominant Language Constellations
4 Methodology
4.1 Participants and Procedure
4.2 Materials
4.3 Data Analysis
5 Results
5.1 Dominant Language Constellations
5.2 Towards a Typology of Attitudes, Knowledge, and Practical Skills
5.2.1 Teachers’ Attitudes
5.2.2 Teachers’ Knowledge
5.2.3 Practical skills
6 Discussion and Conclusion
References
Dominant Language Constellations, Identity, and Awareness: a posse ad esse
1 Introduction
2 On the Expansion of the Concept of DLC and Its Fields of Application
3 On Commonalities and Differences Between Concepts Describing Multilingualism
4 Ways Forward
References
Index
