Page 63 - Languages Victoria December 2019

Languages Victoria
of the language as sometimes it is just impossible to translate some expressions in other languages!
Would these plurilingual strategies be effective also in the additional language class?
Not many studies have explored the possibility of allowing students to use their home languages in learning additional ones, although in some multilingual contexts such as European countries like Spain, the use of translanguaging and the pedagogical use of translation seem to have determined a positive impact on students learning additional languages (e.g. Cenoz and Gorter, 2013; Corcoll, 2013). This is an aspect that I aim to further explore in my research.
Plurilingual strategies in the languages class: two ideas.
One – Know your students.
A first step in allowing the home languages in the additional languages class is to better understand the role of each language in the linguistic practices of students. One possible strategy is to investigate and describe the linguistic practice of the students through language maps or languages portraits (for a brief explanation see https://barefootteflteacher.com/ blog/iatefl-2019-day-one-review).
What language do they speak? With whom? Where? For what reasons? Knowing how our students deal with linguistic experiences outside school could help us to better support them in learning an additional language.
Fig. 1 – Language map (D’warte, 2014)
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