9th LAb session. Friday 18th November 2022.
Learner Autonomy in a Multilingual World: Supporting those learning/using multiple languages
[Link to abstracts and recordings]
Our featured speakers for the 9th LAb session were:
- Christian Ludwig, Freie Universität, Germany
- Jean-Marc Dewaele, Birkbeck, University of London, England
- Katherine Thornton, Otemon Gakuin University, Japan
In recent years, beliefs surrounding the monolingual “native” speaker norm, and the goal of language education of developing a second, monolingual competence within learners has been questioned (Grosjean, 1989; Douglas Fir Group, 2016; Ortega, 2014). With traditional views altering the conception of bilingual or multilingual learners’ competence has gradually shifted to a more dynamic and holistic view (Douglas Fir Group, 2016; García & Li, 2014; García et al., 2021), in which all of a speaker’s semiotic and linguistic resources and capacities are acknowledged (Douglas Fir Group, 2016).
As educators and scholars, we have seen how multilingual environments motivate and broaden horizons (Benson & Lamb, 2021), encourage the autonomous use of wider range of strategies (Chik & Melo-Pfeifer, 2021), validate multilingual competencies as personal and social resources (Benson & Lamb, 2021) and form the basis of a more equitable and inclusive society (Chik, 2021; Ortega, 2014, 2019, 2022). With all these benefits (and more), our hope was to stimulate reflection on how learner autonomy fits into our increasingly multifaceted view of a multilingual world.
In our 9th LAb session, we sought to hear from colleagues in all contexts around the world who could help us add to our understanding of this growing area of research. In particular, presenters were asked to consider some of these questions:
- How do multiple languages co-exist in traditional classrooms, in online spaces and in self-access?
- How can more inclusive multilingual societies facilitate learners’ engagement and participation in desired communities?
- How can educators support learners in utilising their own plurilingual resources and realise their capacities as plurilingual resources themselves?
- What frameworks and tools are appropriate for exploring autonomy and multilingualism/plurilingualism in language education?
- How does the inherent link between translanguaging and agency (Li Wei, 2021) affect learner autonomy?
- What is next for Learner Autonomy in a Multilingual world?
Further reading
Benson, P. & Lamb, T. (2021). Autonomy in the age of multilingualism. In M. J. Raya & F. Vieira (Eds.), Autonomy in language education: Theory, research and practice (pp. 74-88). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429261336-7
Chik, A. (2021, Dec 13). Societal multilingualism in Sydney: The implications for individuals [keynote presentation]. The Value of Languages in a Multicultural World Online Conference 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOA8FoUv23s
Chik, A., & Melo-Pfeifer, S. (2021). Seeing language learner autonomy in young learners’ visual narratives. In M. J. Raya & F. Vieira (Eds.), Autonomy in language education: Theory, research and practice (pp. 121-141). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429261336-11
Douglas Fir Group. (2016). A transdisciplinary framework for SLA in a multilingual world. The Modern Language Journal, 100(S1), 19-47. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12301
García, O., Flores, N., Seltzer, K., Li Wei, Otheguy, R., & Rosa, J. (2021) Rejecting abyssal thinking in the language and education of racialized bilinguals: A manifesto, Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 18(3), 203-228, https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2021.1935957
Grosjean, F. (1989). Neurolinguists, beware! The bilingual is not two monolinguals in one person. Brain and Language, 36, 3-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/0093-934x(89)90048-5
Ortega, L. (2014). Ways forward for a bi/multilingual turn in SLA. In S. May (Ed.), The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and bilingual education (pp. 42-63). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203113493
Ortega, L. (2019). SLA and the study of equitable multilingualism. The Modern Language Journal, 103(S1), 23-38. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12525
Ortega, L. (2022, January 27). Researching language learning and multilingualism: What’s social justice got to do with it? [online colloquium presentation]. University of Utah Linguistic Colloquium Series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6r6W9ZxQ50