Challenging the monolingual mindset: Understanding plurilingual pedagogies in English as an Additional Language (EAL) classrooms

Abstract

Current theories of bilingualism argue that the language practices of bilinguals are drawn from a single linguistic repertoire, and that enabling access to the full breadth of students’ language practices can be a vital resource for further language development. This challenges commonplace practices within English as an Additional Language (EAL) education in Australia, where curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment are predicated on monolingual (English-only) structures. Even though many teachers identify with the need to draw on students’ linguistic repertoires, a lack of pedagogical guidance can result in disengagement with this issue. As we move towards identifying and systematizing plurilingual practices, it is imperative we understand teacher stance towards the use of languages other than English in the classroom. This research, therefore, sought to explore the use of language mapping to build teachers’ awareness of their students’ communicative lifeworlds, and to reflect on their stance towards students’ languages (other than English) in contexts where the focus is learning English as an additional language. The findings illustrate pedagogical practices which go at least some way to subverting the dominance of English-only structures, as well as demonstrating that teacher positioning towards the use of first languages is dynamic in that it is responsive to changes in student context, as well as to new knowledge, as gained through the language mapping activities.