Tong Ye
When we talk about the concept of pluricultural competence or plurilingual education, it is most likely framed in the European context, or similar contexts where plurilingualism is more ubiquitous (Coste & Zarate, 2009). It is also well-recognised that the language teacher profession has developed historically as a largely one language-only enterprise, leading to the accepted view that, as long as the teacher has proficiency in the target language, then her other languages, or lack of them, are irrelevant (Moloney, 2017). Combining these two phenomena, a question has been raised in my head: what would plurilingual education mean in other contexts and what should we expect from teachers in those contexts where the learners’ own languages play a key role in the learning process?
Through taking a look at the indigenous contexts where language loss has a great impact on education, I got a better idea of how bilingual education is conducted inside of indigenous classrooms from the indigenous school boards in Montreal and proved that plurilingualism is not exclusive only in European contexts. The inspiration came from Kroskrity’s (2018) long-term research that was conducted in two ideologically divergent Native American linguistic communities, which demonstrates that the indigenous language ideologies associated with bilingualism, multilingualism and plurilingualism surprisingly persist and these ideologies are different in modes of language transformation and the nature and scope of recent language revitalization efforts. Based on this research, I found that the adoption of plurilingual education can be very beneficial for students in indigenous schools, yet certain challenges regarding counteracting indigenous language extinction, such as qualified teacher shortage, hegemonic influence of other mainstream languages and underfunding of school boards are daunting tasks waiting to be solved (Gomashie, 2019; Kroskrity, 2018; Taylor et al., 2008).
Among all these problems, language loss among Indigneous peoples is symbolic of a destructive colonization process that has threatened Indigenous communities to their very core. Having traditional Indigneous language speakers and bilingual programs within Indigneous community schools and the larger school board are essential for language revitalization and success for Indigenous Students (Taylor et al., 2008). However, indigenous languages are extremely at risk, and fluent speakers of these languages are few and far between. One hurdle all schools face is that there are not many fluent indigeous language instructors, which has left a huge gap that few people can fill. The hegemonic influence of other mainstream languages here in Montreal also undermined Indigenous plurilingualism and replaced all other Indigenous languages with English or French, promoting massive language shift toward these languages, and in refiguring language and identity relationships (Kroskrity, 2009).
We cannot end this discussion with many concrete answers, since these problems that have been discussed will not be resolved overnight, or by simply changing teacher requirements or offering professional development support for indigenous schools. Nevertheless, I hope the complex topic motivates and encourages you, as educators, to consider these things when moving forward in all educational contexts and hopefully discover a way in which plurilingualism theories are utilized to empower students from different communities.
References:
Coste, D., Moore, D., & Zarate, G. (2009). Plurilingual and pluricultural competence. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
Gomashie, G.A. (2019). Kanien’kéha/Mohawk Indigenous Language Revitalisation Efforts in Canada. McGill Journal of Education/Revue des sciences de l’éducation de McGill, 54(1).
Kroskrity, P. V. (2009). Embodying the reversal of language shift: Agency, incorporation, and language ideological change in the Western Mono community of Central California.
Kroskrity, P. V. (2018). On recognizing persistence in the Indigenous language ideologies of multilingualism in two Native American Communities. Language & Communication, 62, 133-144.
Moloney, R. (2017). The Plurilingual TESOL Teacher: The Hidden Languaged Lives of TESOL Teachers and Why They Matter Elizabeth Ellis. Boston, MA: De Gruyter Mouton, 2016. Pp. xiv+ 313. TESOL Quarterly, 51(2), 475-477.
Taylor, D., Caouette, J., Usborne, E., & Wright, S. (2008). Aboriginal languages in Québec: Fighting linguicide with bilingual education. Diversité urbaine, 69-89.
