THIRD READING

This week we had a reading called 'MARILLE - Promoting plurilingualism in the majority language classroom'.

5 words

- Plurilingualism

- Language/s of schooling

- Multilingual reality

- Intercultural understanding

- Developmental approach

3 main ideas

- Previously plurilingualism in the classrooms was seen as a problem, but it can actually be used as an approach among different cultures and identities that can be found in the own community. In fact, the school should reflect the nature of the community.

- When the different languages and dialects that the students know can be used in the classroom, plurinlingualism is promoted and therefore children can appreciate not only the main languages, but also the little-known ones.

- To promote plurilingualism in schools, all learners and all subjects have to be involved. Therefore the curriculum developers, the school itself and educators, among others, should consider giving support for this to happen. Besides, there should also be opportunities of working with different groups and individuals, so that students can develop skills to live in a diversity of communities. 

1 idea that touches me

'If all learners learn to enjoy the diversity of languages in their communities, to develop curiosity about them, and with this, respect and esteem for languages and those who are plurilingual, this will provide an environment in which learners can be proud of their own plurilingualism'. Languages are an approach to different cultures, and the promotion of their knowledge is a chance for understanding and appreciate other societies. It is a way of unify through the diversity.

                                   

Have I seen plurilingualism during the Practicum?

In fact, all the English lessons are only focused on the English language. The teacher always speaks in English, although the children are not pressured to answer in English, but they can speak in Catalan or Spanish to communicate themselves. So I haven't seen a promotion of plurilingualism in the classroom, although the other day something related happened.

In one of the classrooms there is a student that came last year from Russia. He is starting to speak Catalan and Spanish, but he seems to understand these languages. That day a student brought a book in which the story was written in different languages, being one of them Russian. The teacher then encouraged the Russian child to read the book and also asked him to say some words in his mother-tongue language, so that the other students could have an introduction to it. It was a little act in which another language, which was not the 'language of schooling', was promoted.

                             

Have I seen some critical event this week?

In the school different projects are done during the year. In this course the students of sixth grade are going to Menorca as the final trip, but it is not just about going there. In the school they are doing a project about this topic, completing different activities in a diversity of subjects to get to know better the place where they are going to go, so that they will arrive there prepared and able to move around the place. In fact, they are going to make some activities on their own, without following the teachers. So, although the teachers will be always observing, the thing is to encourage children to be autonomous.