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Multilingual Resources in Classroom Interaction

Portuguese and African/Creole Languages in Monolingual and Bilingual Education Programs

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Discourse and Education

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Language and Education ((ELE))

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Abstract

The use of multilingual resources in classroom interaction has been a contentious issue. It is widely debated by teachers, policymakers, and language-in-education researchers. There have long been calls for a ban on students’ first languages in second and foreign language learning contexts, allegedly to avoid creating opportunities for these languages to “interfere” with the development of the “target” language. However, there is a growing body of research now calling into question the power of language pedagogies based on exclusive use of the target language. This new research is promoting the use of multi/plurilingual resources in classroom interaction as a legitimate communicative and pedagogical strategy.

This chapter discusses these issues with reference to language-in-education policies and practices in the PALOP countries (“African Countries where Portuguese is an Official Language”). The focus is on the use of bi/multilingual resources in classroom interaction in both monolingual and bilingual education programs.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The development stage of a language is gauged based on the availability or not of standardized orthography, glossaries, dictionaries, grammar books, literature materials, etc.

  2. 2.

    The experiment started with the teaching of five languages – Kimbundu, Umbundu, Kikongo, Côkwe, and Nganguela – but, with time, other languages have been introduced in the system, including Oshykwanyama and Fyote.

  3. 3.

    The 16 local languages being used as media of education in Mozambique are Emakhuwa, Shimakonde, Kimwani, Cinyanja, Ciyaawo, Echwabo, Elomwé, Cinyungwe, Cisena, Cindau, Ciwutee, Gitonga, Cicopi, Cithswa, Xichangana, and Xirhonga.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Av. Julius Nyerere, C.P. 257, Maputo, Mozambique

    Feliciano Chimbutane

Authors
  1. Feliciano Chimbutane
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Correspondence to Feliciano Chimbutane .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Education, Univ of Pennsylnia Graduate School of Education, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Stanton Wortham

  2. Tampa, Florida, USA

    Deoksoon Kim

  3. University of Auckland, Auckland, Australia

    Stephen May

Appendix: Transcription Symbols and Conventions

Appendix: Transcription Symbols and Conventions

.

Stopping fall in tone, with some sense of completion

,

A slightly rising tone giving a sense of continuation

…

Pause

?

Raising intonation (marking uncertainty or a question)

!

Emphasis (marked prominence through pitch or increase in volume)

[

[

Overlapping turns

“ ”

Indicates the beginning and end of a direct quotation or parts of reading from textbooks, blackboard, etc.

(…)

Indicates that parts of the episode transcribed have been omitted

((text))

Contextual information

[word or text]

Word or text not uttered but implicit in speaker’s speech

Italics

Marks utterances or words in Portuguese or translated from Portuguese

Italics (emboldened)

Marks utterances or words in African languages or translated from African languages

UPPER CASE

Indicates louder speech than the surrounding talk

S:

Nonidentified student

Ss:

Several or all students speaking simultaneously

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Chimbutane, F. (2015). Multilingual Resources in Classroom Interaction. In: Wortham, S., Kim, D., May, S. (eds) Discourse and Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02322-9_31-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02322-9_31-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02322-9

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