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Remaking the Ground on which they Stand: Plurilingual Approaches Across the Curriculum

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Plurilingual Pedagogies

Part of the book series: Educational Linguistics ((EDUL,volume 42))

Abstract

Drawing on perspectives in critical applied linguistics, this chapter highlights how teachers in a multilingual, multicultural elementary school located in Ontario, Canada, integrated plurilingual pedagogies into literacy and curriculum learning activities. The purpose of the partnership was to support English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers in implementing pedagogic strategies for engaging emergent bi/multilingual students in literacy activities. Teachers incorporated students’ linguistic repertoires into teaching and learning tasks, as both a scaffold and a resource for ongoing learning and literacy engagement. Broadly, these efforts highlighted the value of multilingualism and the role that students’ linguistic repertoire can play in language learning and biliteracy development: scaffolding new learning; promoting metalinguistic awareness; developing biliteracy; and valorizing students’ cultural and linguistic identities. The chapter articulates key strategies that might comprise a plurilingual approach to pedagogy, offering an expansive view of students’ linguistic capabilities and inviting students’ translanguaging practices into the learning context.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    All student and teacher names have been changed to pseudonyms to protect privacy and confidentiality.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Saskia Van Viegen

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  1. Saskia Van Viegen
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Correspondence to Saskia Van Viegen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Bishop’s University, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Sunny Man Chu Lau

  2. Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Saskia Van Viegen

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Van Viegen, S. (2020). Remaking the Ground on which they Stand: Plurilingual Approaches Across the Curriculum. In: Lau, S.M.C., Van Viegen, S. (eds) Plurilingual Pedagogies. Educational Linguistics, vol 42. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36983-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36983-5_8

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-36983-5

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