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    Blocs modulaires pour une formation enseignante sensible à la dimension linguistique
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    Why it is important

Building blocks for planning language-sensitive teacher education

Cette page sera disponible en français en 2024. Veuillez vous référer aux pages en anglais pour le moment.

Why is language-sensitive education important?

This section addresses why it is important for all teachers and teacher educators to be language-sensitive. Over recent decades the need for all teachers to give greater attention to the language(s) which they and their learners use and to be language-sensitive has become ever more urgent. To mention just two reasons for this:

Handling linguistic and cultural diversity

In many schools in Europe and beyond, due to migration there are now much larger numbers of learners whose language and cultural backgrounds are different from those of learners born in the country. This may mean that they need more support with using the language of schooling confidently and may therefore need help. However, at the same time diversity of cultures and languages in classrooms offers teachers good opportunities to widen the cultural and language horizons of all learners.

Developing digital literacy

The very fast development of the internet and the wide use by learners of social media and online sources means that youngsters are exposed to more varied uses of the spoken and written language and possibly also to more numerous confusing influences and disinformation that are difficult for them to deal with. At younger ages, children may need guidance, including from teachers, in how they should interpret what they read and hear online, and in how they use such media in their lives and in their school learning.

Depending on the context there may be other equally important reasons to develop greater language-sensitivity in educational settings.

TASK A Which of the following points of view do you agree with? If you have the opportunity, discuss your answers with someone else.

i“As a teacher in primary school, I understand that we have to help pupils to develop their ability to use the language of schooling competently and appropriately in all their lessons, whatever the subject.”
ii“I think the teaching of language is the job of the teacher of the language of schooling. Teachers of science like me have to concentrate on our subjects – there is so much to teach. We don’t have time to focus on language except maybe in written work if the meaning isn’t clear.”
iii“I am a teacher of the language of schooling. I work on various aspects of learners’ language skills, including their literacy. But I don’t know enough about the specific language demands in science or geography or other subjects to be able to help learners to do well in those subjects. Subject teachers need to work on literacy and oral language skills needed for their subjects.”
iv“I believe that being able to understand and use language is closely connected with and essential for learning: often I’ve found that it is much easier for learners with strong language skills to acquire and understand new concepts or new information than for those with limited language skills.”
v“In one of my history classes there are seven children who have a migrant background and don’t speak the language of schooling so well. They struggle with the subject, but it’s not really my job to help them with the language – that would take time away from teaching the history syllabus. They should be taught language separately.”
vi“In a school like ours with a diverse population of learners, and in any school, it is crucial to take an inclusive approach to our teaching. I think teachers of different subjects need to work closely with the teachers of the language of schooling to help all learners develop and broaden their language skills. This will not only help them to do well in their education – it will also help them in their lives after school. But I’m not sure they should be allowed to use their home languages in school.”

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TASK B Thinking of one of the subjects that student teachers in your context are going to teach when they qualify or a subject taught by practising teachers whom you work with, list some of the language demands that their learners may have difficulty with. 

Compare the difficulties that occur at an early stage, e.g. year 5 or 6 of their schooling, with those at a later stage, e.g. years 9 or 10 of their schooling.

TASK C Choose three of the difficulties you have mentioned. Do student teachers in your context know how to help learners to overcome them? How does their teacher education course help them with this?

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