In-service and Pre-service Perspectives: Cultivating Plurilingual Awareness in Multicultural Classrooms

Abstract

Recent years have seen a growing interest in fostering inclusivity and interaction among individuals from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds in FL or L2 classes, which has led to the proliferation of intercomprehension practices in language teacher education, facilitating teachers' identity development, intercultural sensitivity, and plurilingual awareness. Using plurilingualism as a conceptual framework, the data of this qualitative study is collected from a pre-service teacher education program and an intensive language education program at two state universities. Building on the previous research and challenges reported by in-service teachers in multicultural and multilingual classrooms, some scenarios are formed with prompts to reveal metaphors, followed by semi-structured interviews to elaborate on the participants' perspectives. In light of the findings, some suggestions and implications are provided with pedagogical purposes to soften the bonds among different cultures in language classrooms and foster interaction among members of different societies and awareness of plurilingual competences. Acknowledging the substantial impact of English language teachers' intercultural sensitivity, diversity, and inclusion, and an emerging need for enhanced educational equality and social justice in teacher training, this study contributes to the existing research by providing implications for teacher identity development.

Keywords

• Multicultural Classrooms
• Plurilingual Awareness
• Pre-Service Teachers
• In-ServiceLanguage Instructors

Çok Kültürlü Sınıflarda Çok Dilli Farkındalık Oluşturma hakkında Öğretmen Adayları ve Akademisyenlerin Bakış Açıları

Abstract

Son yıllarda, eğitimde farklı dil ve kültürel geçmişlere sahip bireyler arasında kapsayıcılığı ve etkileşimi teşvik etme konusunda artan bir ilgi görülmektedir. Bu durum, İngilizce öğretmeni eğitiminde karşılaşılan zorlukların giderilmesine yardımcı olan dil bilinci geliştirme, çok kültürlü duyarlılık ve çok dilli farkındalığı kolaylaştıran dil öğretimi uygulamalarının artmasına sebep olmaktadır. Bu bağlamda, bu nitel çalışmanın verileri, iki farklı devlet üniversitesinde bulunan, bir İngiliz Dili Eğitimi Programı’nda eğitim gören öğretmen adaylarından ve bir Hazırlık Okulu’nda görev yapan İngilizce öğretmenlerinden toplanmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında, literatürdeki araştırmalara ve çok kültürlü ve çok dilli sınıflarda öğretmenlerin karşılaştıkları zorluklara dayanarak, metaforlar bağlamında bazı senaryolar oluşturulmuştur. Bu adımları takiben, katılımcıların bakış açılarını detaylandırmak amacıyla yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Çalışma detaylı irdelendiğinde, dil sınıflarındaki farklı kültürler arasındaki bağları güçlendirmek ve farklı toplum üyeleri arasında etkileşimi teşvik etmek amacıyla bazı pedagojik öneriler sunulduğu görülmektedir. Bu öneriler doğrultusunda, bu çalışmanın, İngilizce öğretmenlerinin kültürlerarası duyarlılığının yüksek olması gerekliliği varsayımını kabul ederek ve öğretmen eğitiminde eğitim eşitliğinin ve sosyal adaletin vurgulanmasına duyulan ihtiyacı göz önünde bulundurarak, öğretmen kimliği gelişimine dikkat çekerek mevcut araştırmalara katkıda bulunması beklenmektedir.

Keywords

• Çok Kültürlü Sınıflar
• Çok Dilli Farkındalık
• Öğretmen Adayları
• İngilizce Öğretmenleri

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