Towards Multilingual Education

This volume focuses on research in bilingual and multilingual education. It discusses the results of research conducted in different multilingual educational contexts and particularly in Basque schools and universities where Basque, Spanish and English are used as subjects and as languages of instruction.

Recently intensified global mobility has reinforced the interest for ethnolinguistic diversity and multilingualism in education and society. Interdisciplinary Research Approaches to Multilingual Education brings together current interdisciplinary perspectives in multilingual and second language education to examine research and language teaching in specific countries, as well as different aspects of multilingual education that include language policies and ICT applications. Containing context-specific practical interventions and relevant theoretical approaches, it considers the contemporary challenges of language policies and practices to inform teacher and curriculum development based on international empirical research. The chapters of this book are centered around the following themes: Educational programs and policies Teaching and learning Linguistic diversity ICT and language learning This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in language education, bilingual education, second/foreign language learning, CALL, and applied linguistics. It will also appeal to educational administrators and those involved with language education policies.

Over the past 40 years, Jim Cummins has proposed a number of highly influential theoretical concepts, including the threshold and interdependence hypotheses and the distinction between conversational fluency and academic language proficiency. In this book, he provides a personal account of how these ideas developed and he examines the credibility of critiques they have generated, using the criteria of empirical adequacy, logical coherence, and consequential validity. These criteria of theoretical legitimacy are also applied to the evaluation of two different versions of translanguaging theory – Unitary Translanguaging Theory and Crosslinguistic Translanguaging Theory – in a way that significantly clarifies this controversial concept.

This book examines the benefits of multilingual education that puts children’s needs and interests above the individual languages involved. It advocates flexible multilingual education, which builds upon children’s actual home resources and provides access to both the local and global languages that students need for their educational and professional success. It argues that, as more and more children grow up multilingually in our globalised world, there is a need for more nuanced multilingual solutions in language-in-education policies. The case studies reveal that flexible multilingual education – rather than mother tongue education – is the most promising way of moving towards the elusive goal of educational equity in today’s world of globalisation, migration and superdiversity.

This book documents current research showing how, in countries where educational practices are inclusive of linguistic diversity and responsive to local conditions, implementation of bi/multiilingual education in both system-wide and minority settings can be successful.

Multilingual Approaches for Teaching and Learning outlines the opportunities and challenges of multilingual approaches in mainstream education in Europe. The book, which draws on research findings from several officially monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual countries in Europe, discusses approaches to multilingual education which capitalise on students’ multilingual resources from early childhood to higher education. This book synthesises research on multilingual education, relates theory to practice, and discusses different pedagogical approaches from diverse perspectives. The first section of the book outlines multilingual approaches in early childhood education and primary school, the second looks at multilingual approaches in secondary school and higher education, and the third examines the influence of parents, policy-makers, and professional development on the implementation and sustainability of multilingual approaches. The book demonstrates that educators can leverage students’ multilingualism to promote learning and help students achieve their full potential. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers, and postgraduate students in the fields of language education, psychology, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics.

Recently intensified global mobility has reinforced the interest for ethnolinguistic diversity and multilingualism in education and society. Interdisciplinary Research Approaches to Multilingual Education brings together current interdisciplinary perspectives in multilingual and second language education to examine research and language teaching in specific countries, as well as different aspects of multilingual education that include language policies and ICT applications. Containing context-specific practical interventions and relevant theoretical approaches, it considers the contemporary challenges of language policies and practices to inform teacher and curriculum development based on international empirical research. The chapters of this book are centered around the following themes: Educational programs and policies Teaching and learning Linguistic diversity ICT and language learning This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in language education, bilingual education, second/foreign language learning, CALL, and applied linguistics. It will also appeal to educational administrators and those involved with language education policies.

Given the boost in global immigration and migration, as well as the emphasis on creating inclusive classrooms, research is turning to the challenges that teachers face with the increasing need for bilingual and multilingual education. The benefits of bilingual education are widespread, allowing students to develop important cognitive skills such as critical thinking and problem solving as well as opening further career opportunities later in life. However, very few resources are available for the successful practice and implementation of this education into the curriculum, with an even greater lack of appropriate cultural representation in the classroom. Thus, it is essential for educators to remain knowledgeable on the emerging strategies and procedures available for making bilingual and multilingual education successful. The Research Anthology on Bilingual and Multilingual Education is a comprehensive reference source on bilingual and multilingual education that offers the latest insights on education strategy and considerations on the language learners themselves. This research anthology features a diverse collection of authors, offering valuable global perspectives on multilingual education. Covering topics such as gamification, learning processes, and teaching models, this anthology serves as an essential resource for professors, teachers, pre-service teachers, faculty of K-12 and higher education, government officials, policymakers, researchers, and academicians with an interest in key strategy and understanding of bilingual and multilingual education.