Keywords

1 Introduction

Language education and applied linguistics have seen a shift from monolingual to multi/plurilingual instruction in recent years (see overview in Conteh & Meier, 2014; Kubota, 2016). There has been growing research documenting the use of pedagogies that embrace linguistic and cultural diversity in different language classrooms, such as French (Gajo & Steffen, 2015; Moore & Gajo, 2009), German (Krumm & Jenkins, 2001), and Arabic-Hebrew bilingual classrooms (Schwartz & Asli, 2014), among others. In the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), the monolingual model still prevails, requiring students to conform to one language and one culture, as if plurality were not integral to their identity and daily language use. Recently, however, plurilingual instruction has slowly been gaining attention in TESOL (Taylor & Snoddon, 2013), contributing to a shift towards pedagogy that is culturally and linguistically inclusive.

2 Plurilingualism in TESOL

In my participation in conferences in applied linguistics and TESOL (Teaching English as a second language—TESL— and Teaching English as a foreign language— TEFL— included), I noticed that while TESOL instructors might recognize the value of students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds, the implementation of plurilingual strategies remains a challenge (Ellis, 2013). Languages other than English are seldom explored or used as scaffold to facilitate new language learning. This is possibly a result of the historical dominance of the monolingual and monocultural instructional model in TESOL (Cook, 1999, 2016; Cummins, 2007, 2009), coupled with a lack of teacher preparation to address linguistically diverse classrooms (Abiria, Early, & Kendrick, 2013; Ellis, 2013; Galante, 2015). Adding to these challenges are political pressures in some contexts where English has a dominant status and is considered the language of the elite, leaving teachers fearful of implementing plurilingual strategies in the classroom.

In Canada, many college and university language programs require that instructors be certified prior to teaching English as a second/additional/foreign language. Some of these certificates are international, national and/or state/provincial.Footnote 1 These programs offer professional training and development of linguistic skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking), however, the curriculum generally does not address linguistically and culturally inclusive pedagogies, hence perpetuating monolingual ideologies.

While plurilingual language practices have been integral to many societies, such as South Asian (Canagarajah, 2009) and African (Abiria et al., 2013) since pre-colonial times, plurilingual approaches to instruction have gained traction in language education with the introduction of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) (Council of Europe, 2001) and recently with its Companion Volume (Council of Europe, 2018) which includes descriptors for plurilingual and pluricultural competence. The CEFR has been pivotal in driving the implementation of plurilingual instruction in many countries around the world (Galante, 2018a), with the potential of being implemented in teacher education programs.

For the purposes of this paper, I see plurilinguals as individuals who access their personal linguistic repertoire and use it for communication and new language learning. Like many TESOL instructors, I have witnessed my students use languages other than English when speaking with other students, answering the phone or texting. This competence includes languages they already know (e.g., L1 and English) and others they wish to develop, even if partially. For example, in my experience as a TESOL instructor in classrooms with students from different linguistic backgrounds, I have noted that students naturally learn a few words or expressions in the languages spoken by their classmates.

Recent studies in brain research put forth the idea that multiple languages are activated and accessible even when only one language is being used; that is, activation of languages occurs in parallel (Green & Abutalebi, 2013; Green & Li, 2014; Kroll, Bobb, & Wodniecka, 2006; Kroll, Bogulski, & McClain, 2012). When plurilinguals are reading, speaking, listening and writing in one language only, the knowledge of other languages is not switched off. For example, an individual who is proficient in both English and French will (unconsciously) have French activated when reading English-only texts. Similarly, this parallel activation takes place in phonological representation (Jared, Cormier, Levy, & Wade-Woolley, 2012); for example, when reading interlingual homophones such as oui (/wi/) in French and we (/wi/) in English, both languages are activated, despite different orthographic representations. Interconnectivity of languages shown in brain research underscores the potential for an approach to TESOL instruction that aligns with plurilingualism.

Importantly, to be considered plurilingual, students do not need to be proficient in all of the languages that make up their linguistic repertoire. Even those who consider themselves monolinguals are probably unaware that they are in fact plurilingual, as knowledge of multiple languages, dialects and registers contributes to an individual’s plurilingual linguistic repertoire. Moreover, not all of these languages are equally developed and proficiency levels may vary (Council of Europe, 2001; Moore & Gajo, 2009). This unevenness is not a deficiency; rather, it links the languages as one repertoire accessible to individuals, instead of being separate or isolated. Further, linguistic repertoires refer not only to past experiences with languages, but also to future engagements at social, historical and biographical levels, and with both cognitive and emotional dimensions (Busch, 2015). Broadly, these repertoires are complex, non-linear, embedded in individuals and dependent on their life trajectory, contributing to a unique plurilingual experience.

Following from this understanding, a core aim of a plurilingual approach to instruction is to enrich students’ linguistic repertoires. Students already have a rich linguistic repertoire, and as noted by Cummins (2015), these linguistic resources are often treated with benign neglect but cannot be simply overlooked. Instead of assuming that students are tabula rasa by teaching with a monolingual approach, TESOL instructors can harness language learners’ entire linguistic repertoire to develop English and support students’ agency as plurilingual learners.

3 Plurilingual Agency and Conscientização

Drawing on the conceptualization of agency as “learners’ capacity to make choices and change themselves and/or the environment” (Yashima, 2013, p. 5), plurilingual instruction can encourage students to exert agency in their linguistic choices when they wish or need to (Grommes & Hu, 2014; Piccardo, 2013). Given that each person has a unique plurilingual blueprint, this agency may be exerted in different ways. For example, students can make comparisons across languages for grammatical, pragmatic and phonological learning; use bilingual dictionaries for learning new vocabulary words; and read about the same topic in different languages to enhance understanding of the subject matter (Piccardo & Galante, 2018). Students can also translanguage for purposeful meanings (Otheguy, García, & Reid, 2015): they can alternate languages depending on the person with whom they are talking, insert a word from another language in a conversation for a concept that does not exist in the language of exchange, and even use grammatical morphemes of one language in another for creative representations (Green & Li, 2014). Similarly, when it comes to culture, students may adapt their behaviours and customs according to those with whom they interact. Simply put, plurilingual learners naturally and effortlessly exert agency over their repertoire on a daily basis, including in the classroom; thus, it is crucial that TESOL instructors not only allow students’ agency to be explored but encourage it to be further developed.

Students’ sense of agency can be advanced by the process of conscientização. Conscientização, or in English, conscientization, is a critical term introduced by Brazilian educator and activist Freire (2011), which inculcates the need for individuals to be aware of their actions in relation to social and historical context, political structure and power relations. Conscientização involves a process of critical analysis of the gains, losses, and consequences of these actions, and the use of this analysis for personal and community decision-making. A critical approach of this kind is not new in TESOL (Benesch, 1993; Flores, 2013; Kubota, 2016; Morgan, 1998; Pennycook, 1999), thus engaging with plurilingualism in TESOL similarly needs to address political and social pressures (Marshall & Moore, 2018).

Conscientização in TESOL is important for both students and instructors. To start, it is not an accident that individuals register in English language programs as opposed to other languages. This is a result of the global power English has and its dominance in academia and the global market (Tsui & Tollefson, 2007). Importantly, TESOL instructors can initiate the process of conscientização by reflecting on their own linguistic repertoire and the extent to which it has been shaped by global forces.

For example, reflecting back on my own experience through the process of conscientização allows me to analyze affordances and barriers to educational and professional domains. After years of experience in TESOL in Brazil, I moved to Canada to pursue graduate studies as an international student. Despite having worked as an English instructor for years and having previously obtained successful scores in five proficiency English language tests (Michigan, TOEFL, and Cambridge’s FCE, CAE, IELTS), one more additional test was required if I wanted to gain admission to higher education. There is a financial cost for these tests, and often for English language classes as well, thus only those who can afford to take these classes and tests are able to achieve and demonstrate proficiency in English. These practices highlight the gatekeeping devices that limit access to education for international students.

My identity as an international student shifted when I decided to apply for Canadian immigration, which required that I take one more English proficiency test. As a new immigrant, I had to learn about the credential assessments required by the federal and provincial governments in order to join the workforce in the new country. Many immigrants who arrive in Canada hope to immediately find a job but most positions typically require a degree equivalent to those issued by Canadian institutions, limiting access to employment. In 2011 alone, the unemployment rate of very recent immigrants to Canada was 13.6% compared to 5.5% among Canadian-born individuals (Statistics Canada, 2012a). Reflecting on these real-life circumstances enabled me to see how I was positioned as an international student and an immigrant, among other aspects of my identity. This awareness of multiplicity of identities (Norton, 2016) along with the processes of conscientização (Freire, 2011) are important when teaching through a plurilingual lens as language learners need and deserve to know how to both overcome and challenge barriers to access education, employment, immigration, and citizenship.

Bringing conscientização to the classroom, TESOL instructors can enhance students’ plurilingual agency in different ways. One example is to promote knowledge of policy documents and laws of the country where students are taking their language education to examine the extent to which their agency can and should be exerted. In Canada, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Canada, 1982), the Canadian Multicultural Act (Canada, 1985), and the Guide to Creating an Inclusive Workplace (Canadian Human Rights Commission, 2006) are important documents that instructors can explore with students to develop understanding of their rights as Canadian residents, in case they are confronted with xenophobic, racist or discriminatory behaviours. When students know about their linguistic and cultural rights, they can feel empowered to challenge monolingual practices, whether at school, in the community or in the workplace. Such critical explorations will help inform and even prompt future actions such as challenging societal norms.

Some considerations of the local context are needed in engaging with plurilingual agency and conscientização in plurilingual instruction (Galante, 2018a; Piccardo, 2018), as practices will vary depending on a range of factors including societal and local pressures. For example, in English classrooms in Brazil, students typically speak Portuguese as an L1 and exposure to English outside the classroom is limited. In this context, TESOL instructors might want to maximize their students’ exposure to English in the classroom. Limiting the use of the L1 in the classroom does not mean students cannot draw on their linguistic and cultural resources to make sense of English and related cultures. In fact, because of the dominance of American and British cultural representations in ELT in Brazil (Galante, 2015, 2018b), plurilingualism adds an important dimension to understandings of cultural diversity, particularly considering many Brazilians use English in interactions with other non-native speakers of English. Taken together, engaging with plurilingualism in TESOL requires criticality that addresses both political and social forces at global and local levels.

4 Plurilingualism in Canadian Higher Education

In this section, I provide a reflection on my efforts to construct plurilingual practices with immigrants and international students in two teaching contexts in Canada. I present these reflections as two case studies, one in a college and the other in a university, both located in the province of Ontario which is an English-speaking province with a multilingual and multicultural landscape (Statistics Canada, 2012b). Through a plurilingual lens, I developed classroom tasks that connected language and culture, included metalinguistic and cross-cultural reflections, and critically examined language status, language varieties, behaviours, values, and relations of power. Students in the first case study comprised internationally-trained immigrants in a Canadian college enrolled in a course aimed to enhance language and cultural knowledge in the workplace. Students in the second case study were conditionally admitted international students in a Canadian university enrolled in a course to promote language skills and awareness of multiculturalism in Canada.

4.1 Case Study 1: Internationally-Trained Immigrants in a Canadian College

When internationally-trained professionals are unable to find employment in Ontario, they often seek support from employment agencies, settlement organizations, and educational institutions. One option is to upgrade language skills through government-funded occupation-specific language training (OSLT) programs which focus on English for specific purposes (ESP) in the areas of business, health sciences, child and youth work, technology, and construction trades. These programs are often 180 h in length, and available at no cost to newcomers who have recently received their permanent residency or immigrant status in Canada. OSLT programs help students “develop a strong understanding of typical workplace communication and socio-cultural dimensions within their sector and occupation” (OSLT, n.d.). Typically, these programs include practice of face-to-face and online communication with employers and clients, effective presentations in the workplace, and work meetings. As a former OSLT instructor in the area of accounting and finance, I learned that the curriculum was designed after extensive consultation with faculty from college and employers. OSLT instructors are usually trained in language education, but not in students’ specific employment sectors. While instructors are expected to bring language expertise and general knowledge of workplace culture in Ontario to the classroom, students equally contribute their knowledge and expertise from work experience in their sector and from their previous workplace culture.

TESOL instructors teaching the OSLT program need understanding of and sensitivity to the challenges faced by this unique group of students as they seek to adapt to life in a new country. While OSLT students typically report that their main motivations to immigrate to Canada include better employment conditions, and educational and living opportunities for themselves and their families compared to their countries of origin. Upon arrival in Canada, however, their perceptions often change. Factors that influence new immigrant’s social and economic integration in Canada include educational levels, recognition of foreign credentials, and access to social networks (Statistics Canada, 2012a). An immediate challenge to finding employment is that internationally-trained professionals’ qualifications are not typically considered equivalent to qualifications from Canadian institutions. Another issue is that when immigrants find employment, they tend to be overeducated for the position and receive lower salaries compared to Canadian-born workers (Wald & Fang, 2008).

Students in the OSLT program are often highly educated, with undergraduate, graduate, and even doctoral degrees that need to be assessed for equivalency or supplemented with additional courses. The students in my OSLT class were professionals in accounting and finance who had made previous attempts to find employment in Canada, all unsuccessfully. They had lived in Canada for approximately a year and had immigrated from different countries: China, Mexico, Colombia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Korea, and Thailand. The lack of access to employment contributed to students’ resettlement-related financial anxieties, and was the main reason they enrolled in the OSLT program.

In addition to educational qualifications, a frequent requirement in the Canadian workplace is for general employability skills, of which my students were aware but did not necessarily understand in terms of their practical applications. The OSLT curriculum was designed precisely to include the practical component of these skills and students developed them through classroom practices such as discussions, role-plays and problem-solving scenarios. For example, they learned strategies to communicate with clients, chair a work-related meeting, and deliver oral presentations, among others. Given that the OSLT aims to prepare students to integrate into Canadian workplaces, which are multicultural in nature, strategies included cultural awareness and sensitivity. In this respect, the OSLT curriculum is congruent with the notion of agency and conscientização in creatively and critically addressing social, cultural and political dimensions of plurilingualism in society.

While a political perspective was not explicit in the curriculum, I found that exploring both student and instructor linguistic repertoires (Busch, 2012, 2015) and questions related to motivations, power, and access were helpful to understand students’ particular backgrounds, experiences and challenges. Some critical discussion questions I posed at the start of the course were:

  • What motivated you to come to Canada?

  • What challenges/barriers related to finding employment have you faced so far?

  • Why do you think this was the case?

  • Which languages do you speak?

  • How comfortable would you feel speaking these languages in the Canadian workplace?

This discussion was first held in small groups, where students were free to speak using languages they shared (e.g., a Colombian student and a Mexican student speaking in Spanish). From my observations, students seemed to be surprised that the use of their own languages in this discussion was allowed in the classroom, possibly because of monolingual ideologies that are typically prevalent in educational environments, and/or due to a social climate in which English dominates. After this initial discussion, students reported their ideas back to the whole class using English so all participants could be included in the conversation. During this time, I observed that my students felt free to translanguage and often switched between English and other languages —typically their L1— to voice anxieties related to issues such as lack of employment in Canada, existing power relations in mainstream Canadian culture and shifts in their identities, including their insecurities, uncertainties, and apprehensions. I also shared my own experiences as an immigrant in Canada, which were similar to my students’ experiences, to foster mutual trust. Issues relating to identity can arise as students’ languages and cultures engage with changes in time and place (Norton, 2016), which can trigger positive and/or negative emotions (Busch, 2015).

The entire OSLT curriculum was delivered with a specific aim to foster plurilingual agency and conscientização. For example, in learning how to write a resume for a Canadian audience, students first discussed the information necessary to include in a resume in their country of origin: in some countries, for example, resume include a headshot photo of the applicant, information about marital status and date of birth, all information deemed necessary in some contexts, which is typically not the case in Canada. In comparing and contrasting these expectations as cultural practices, students explored values, beliefs and cultural assumptions about the workplace in both their countries of origin and Canadian society. Comparing students’ own linguistic and cultural practices to those typical of Canada allowed for important reflections of how cultural and linguistic assumptions differ and, most importantly, how behaviours are context-specific and reflective of the social values and beliefs held by different social communities. Furthermore, the discussions enhanced students’ knowledge of their rights as Canadian residents and workers so they could exert their agency and avoid or challenge workplaces that may not respect their rights.

From my observations, many of my students had gone through a major shift in their identity: from that of a somewhat established professional life in their countries of origin to that of an unemployed immigrant. Students shared that being unable to join the workforce in Canada was a major barrier that prevented them from integrating into the new culture. Along with the impact on students’ socioeconomic status, this concern seemed to bring about feelings of distress, resentment, loneliness and sometimes hopelessness. Some students contemplated whether immigrating to Canada had been a mistake given their lack of access to professional opportunities. However, the students were invested in making changes to better their own future possibilities, and they recognized the value of the Canadian government’s support for resettlement, such as the OSLT program. Working with a concept of identity that encompasses understanding of possible futures (Norton, 2013), I wanted to enable my students to project their identities with positive future possibilities. Specifically, we explored critically how dominant discourses can play a gatekeeping role that makes it difficult for some immigrants to access jobs in Canada. Next, I taught cultural and linguistic strategies to help students overcome these barriers, focusing on the specific context of accounting in Ontario, Canada, to maximize students’ knowledge of and access to the job market in their field. All this provided them with a unique opportunity to strengthen their plurilingual agency, and imagine possibilities for their future.

Through these activities, students came to reject notions of deficit. From a plurilingual lens, they repositioned themselves as capable plurilingual social agents. They recognised and found ways to address employment barriers, and openly engaged with their anxieties, frustrations, successes and aspirations. Instructors cannot change these dominant discourses alone but can raise students’ awareness about (in)equity and their position in society and the workplace so they can exert their agency (Marshall & Moore, 2018).

4.2 Case Study 2: International Students in a Canadian University

Many international students in Canadian universities, especially the ones in the early stages of their studies, often seek to develop their academic language and intercultural understanding. Some universities offer credit or non-credit bearing language courses to international students who have met the minimum language requirements for admission (e.g., TOEFL, IELTS), but who wish to further develop their language proficiency. I taught this type of course, called Canadian Language and Culture (CLC), at a university in Ontario. CLC was a 78 h course for first-year undergraduate international humanities students aiming to foster understanding of academic culture as well as linguistic and cultural diversity in Canada. The international students in my class were all from China, with the exception of one student from South Korea. As an instructor, I received a course pack with relevant readings proposed by program administrators. The course pack included articles on topics such as language and communication, multiculturalism, economic and social issues, identity, and belonging, topics which could easily be engaged through a plurilingual approach. The CLC course included graded assignments in areas such as essay writing and oral presentations. For most (if not all) of my students, it was the first time they wrote an academic essay or delivered an oral presentation following guidelines from a Canadian university, which were somewhat different from guidelines in their countries of origin.

Academic writing encompasses specific textual features and discourses that tend to differ from other genres, such as narrative writing or essays in high stakes language tests such as TOEFL and IELTS. Given that the students had not attended high school in Canada, they tended to be unfamiliar with citation practices and styles such as APA and MLA. It was not uncommon for me to hear other instructors make comments such as “Chinese students plagiarize,” a discriminatory assertion that might have bearings on cultural bias and lack of understanding of other educational contexts. Further, such comments gesture to the monolingual and monocultural assumptions that underlie understandings of academic integrity. From a plurilingual lens, instructors might engage in metalinguistic and cultural analysis to help students learn APA or MLA citational practices and what academic integrity in a Canadian institution means. Thus, prior to assigning an essay, discussions about what it means to write an essay in a Canadian university need to take place. For example, I started the CLC course by exploring academic integrity guidelines of the university and asking students whether such expectations were similar in their country of origin, which initiated the development of cross-cultural understandings. In addition to these discussions, I asked students to bring essays written in their own languages to class for a comparative analysis, at several levels: topic sentences, paragraph organization, in-text and reference citation, etc. Through the analysis of differences and similarities with language use, such as metaphorical language and transition words, my students gained understandings of academic essay writing in their new context. Critical discussions about the power these guidelines exert, and how they can be gatekeepers to academic success, were also explored.

Students were also required to deliver two presentations as components of their overall grade, but most of them were unfamiliar with what constitutes a successful academic presentation in the new context. Through a plurilingual lens, I first explored students’ own understandings of oral presentations in China, South Korea and other countries students had been to, so they could use this knowledge to transfer to the Canadian setting. The following discussion questions were used to initiate this cross-cultural and metalinguistic awareness:

  • What is the importance of body language (e.g., eye contact) in academic presentations in China, South Korea, or other countries? How does it differ in Canada?

  • To what extent do presenters engage the audience in academic presentations in China, South Korea, and other countries? Would this be similar in Canada?

  • How is content organized in academic presentations in China, Korea and other countries? How does this compare to Canada?

Given that there are no universal guidelines to academic presentations, similar discussions following a plurilingual lens need to be context-specific. The context in itself can have many layers: the country (Canada), the university, humanities programs, and the CLC course. In this way, students were also being conscientized that expectations for academic presentations would vary among disciplines. Thus, while some broad guidelines as to what constitutes a successful presentation were provided, these were not seen as definitive. Furthermore, they were conscientized that professors in different courses within the same university might have different expectations, award grades differently, provide clear rubrics (or no rubrics) and constructive feedback (or no feedback), among others. This was particularly necessary to prepare students with not only expectations about different courses but also to require accountability from instructors when it came to assignments and clear guidelines.

Some presentations included topics related to the course readings, which despite being mostly about Canadian culture, included other cultural knowledge as part of the plurilingual reflection. For example, in a presentation about Residential Schools in Canada, a grievous period in Canadian history when Indigenous peoples were forced to linguistically and culturally assimilate to Eurocentric-Canadian religious culture, students raised important questions. Questions related to reasons why these historical events occurred, what it meant for Indigenous people at the time, how it has affected Indigenous people’s social, economic and mental health conditions, and what role the government and religious authorities played. In addition, cross-cultural comparisons to similar historical events in other countries were explored (e.g., assimilation of Indigenous peoples in South America). These comparisons were sometimes done during or after the presentation.

One last example that included conscientização related to the expectation of student participation in higher education. Class participation in Canadian universities is typically integral to the evaluation system but many international students are unaware of what constitutes successful participation. The students in the CLC course shared that higher education in their countries of origin were mostly teacher-oriented and required students to listen to lectures attentively and take notes, that is, they were rarely expected to make oral comments or ask questions during class time. Canadian universities, on the other hand, are typically student-oriented and require that students actively participate in class by engaging in oral discussions, asking questions and voicing their opinions. This mismatch between teacher- and student-oriented approaches has been well documented and indicates that learners from a Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) can face disadvantages in class participation compared to Canadians or students from other cultural backgrounds (see Wong, 2004 for overview). The process of conscientização enabled students to understand how cultural practices can be interpreted in the academic context, particularly among instructors who operate in a monolingual/monocultural manner.

Bearing in the mind the different cultural expectations of student roles in class discussion, I purposely introduced in the CLC course a variety of opportunities to foster and evaluate student participation, including both online and face-to-face interactions, and both one-on-one and group discussions. For example, on day one of the program, students quietly listened to me and avoided engaging actively in oral discussions. To encourage student participation, first, I posed questions and asked students to write down their opinions and how they related to the text they had read for that class. Second, I asked them to sit in small groups and share similarities and differences among their answers. Third, I asked one person from each group to be the spokesperson and report their group’s idea to the whole class. This process became a routine until students felt comfortable participating in group discussions. In addition, students were invited to use languages other than English for participation in all activities, whether face-to-face, online, written, oral, group discussions; and their multilingual contributions were equally valued. Importantly, these practices valorised students’ whole linguistic repertoire rather than only English. Conscientizing students that this practice was specific to the CLC course was also important, especially given that in other courses, instructors might have different views of what successful participation meant. My students were also encouraged to ask other instructors about how participation was evaluated so they could exert their agency by following or challenging the requirements.

Taken together, while cross-cultural and cross-linguistic awareness is integral to plurilingualism, it is important that TESOL instructors be sensitive to linguistic and cultural differences without dogmatically dictating what students must or must not do. In addition, considering the varieties that exist within the same culture, it is crucial that some flexibility and relativity be included in discussions related to culture. All in all, the CLC course was delivered through a plurilingual lens, which allowed students to use their plurilingual agency to make mindful decisions about their language use and academic needs (Norton, 2013). In this case, students learned the cultural and linguistic expectations of Canadian universities and how to exercise their plurilingual agency to ensure access to academic cultural norms, which in turn could facilitate their academic success.

5 Discussion

This chapter presented two case studies in adult learning contexts in Ontario, Canada. Despite the same geographical location, students’ demographics, language and cultural backgrounds, as well as needs differed, requiring different approaches for applying a plurilingual lens. One implication that deserves special consideration is the use of languages other than English in the classroom. In the first case study, the OSLT students shared languages other than English to allow for discussions in those languages. By contrast, in the second case study, all but one student in the CLC course shared the same language background. Although this student could use materials in Korean and speak about his language and culture, his contributions were in English when participating in group discussions. At the end of the CLC course, the student reported that he felt validated for having been given the opportunity to share his cultural and linguistic knowledge with others, despite being the only Korean student in class. Thus, while multiple languages can be used in a plurilingual class, TESOL instructors need to take their students’ languages into account.

Students’ levels of target language proficiency are another consideration. In both case studies, students had advanced levels of English (CEFR B2/C1 levels), and my choice to include multiple languages in our English class did not seem to interfere with their English learning. In both classes, the use of other languages was not only possible but welcomed by students. Although the majority of classroom interactions were in English, students used other languages to articulate and negotiate meaning when needed. Further, because Ontario is an English-speaking province, opportunities for using and practicing English were not limited to the classroom. However, in EFL learning contexts where English is not the main language spoken, students’ only opportunity to use English is in the classroom, thus teachers may opt not to include other languages in the classroom. Simply put, plurilingual pedagogies need to be carefully considered as context-specific (Piccardo, 2018) and might differ in levels of implementation.

TESOL instructors may feel pressure from administrators to teach from a monolingual approach, particularly since textbooks and pedagogical materials tend to be only English. Admittedly, these barriers can be a hindrance, but instructors can encourage students to make use of their linguistic repertoire for metalinguistic and cross-cultural awareness and to challenge monolingual standards. Students can also bring materials in other languages to class so cross-language comparisons can be made. In the case studies reported here, students used their plurilingual repertoire during the process of learning the target language and culture, even though the product of their work was delivered in English. Institutional demands required assignments such as essays, presentations, and resume to be written in English; however, the learning activities were plurilingual. Overall, the crucial principle in plurilingual instruction is that students be provided with opportunities to use their plurilingual repertoire and to exercise their agency to make mindful decisions about when and how to use other languages.

6 Conclusion and Implications for Future Directions for TESOL

This chapter examined theoretical underpinnings of plurilingualism along with discussions of linguistic repertoire, plurilingual agency and conscientização. It presented two case studies showing different possible ways of engaging with these perspectives in teaching adult learners. The cases illustrate that students were engaged in plurilingual practices with different linguistic and cultural dimensions: the OSLT focusing on workplace communication and the CLC focusing on academic literacy. A critical examination of the power relations of English vis-à-vis other languages allowed for an understanding of how societal structures— including the labour market and higher education institutions— can act as gatekeepers. The case studies show that both new immigrants to Canada and international students gained linguistic and cultural knowledge to increase their chances of success in their respective context. Students in both case studies were conscientized that despite Canada’s multicultural nature, Canadian society operates from a monolingual lens. Understanding this context is important for students to be conscientized and encouraged to analyze the extent to which their plurilingual agency can be exerted.

At the multi/plurilingual turn in TESOL, instructors may still find it challenging to implement plurilingual approaches to instruction, most likely due to the historical prevalence of monolingualism in TESOL; yet, criticizing instructors for their lack of knowledge of alternatives is unproductive; rather, in addition to professional development aimed at teaching linguistic features (reading, speaking, etc.), instructors would benefit from teacher preparation that addresses linguistic and cultural diversity as well as plurilingual instruction in pre-service and in-service programs. This learning should also address how a plurilingual lens can be infused in present curriculum. Insights drawn from the plurilingual practices described here can variably be applied to other educational settings, depending on course content, institutional and student expectations, educational policies, social context, and language status.

Taken together, through a critical plurilingual lens, TESOL instructors can move away from notions of deficit, which have permeated monolingual ideologies in TESOL, to further students’ understandings of languages and cultures. Ultimately, in times of increasing diversity, monolingual ideologies in TESOL are incompatible with reality. With a plurilingual turn, one that is critical and context-specific, other languages and cultures can be valued, congruently representing a phenomenon that is already natural among many language users. Simply put, TESOL through a plurilingual lens acknowledges that students are not tabula rasa but rather asserts their identity as agents of their own plurilingualism.