Multiliteracies Dr. Vicky Obied Goldsmiths, University of London October 2011
EAL linguistic diversity Pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL) in Secondary Schools in England 2005-9% 2006-9.5% 2007-10.6% 2008-10.8% 2009-11.1% 2010-11.6% EAL learners still have no National Curriculum entitlement to EAL teaching and learning. www.naldic.org.uk
Poetry Project Why did I do nothing? Poetry and the experiences of bilingual pupils in a mainstream inner-city secondary school English in Education Poetry Matters Autumn 2007, Vol. 41, No. 3 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1754-8845.2007.tb01163.x/abstract
EAL Specialist Teachers Teachers of English as an Additional Language (EAL) in secondary schools in England (School Census January 2008): Inner London 128 Outer London 215 Total in England 845 The Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) survey (TDA, 2008) The survey found that only 37% of NQTs felt that their preparation to work with children learning English as an additional language was good or very good.
Context of the research The research study examined teachers knowledge about language and their preparation during their PGCE and their NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher) year for the range of EAL learners in their classes. Data collection: video-recordings of focus group interviews with 21 student teachers at the end of the PGCE (June 2009); audio-recordings of interviews with five NQT English teachers and five EAL co-ordinators in mainstream schools (Nov. 2009 March 2010); video-recordings of English lessons inclusive of EAL learners in four East London schools (Dec 2009 March 2010); samples of EAL learners writing around literary texts (Nov. 2009 March 2010). Additional data: audio-recordings with 2 bilingual student teachers of English successful EAL learners (June 2010); audio-recording of focus group interview with 7 student-teachers of English at the end of the PGCE who had completed the GPS option Multilingual Classrooms (June 2010).
Sharing the research in its early stages Centre for Language, Culture and Learning in collaboration with colleagues from the Institute (Cathy Wallace) and U.E.L. (Raymonde Sneddon) and a Goldsmiths MA student (Sam Holmes) - December 2009. Exploring cultural, linguistic and cognitive issues in approaching literary texts with EAL learners in monolingual and multilingual settings
Educational Implications The local and global issues: 1. Support EAL specialists and subject teachers to develop an EAL pedagogy in mainstream secondary school classes. 2. Provide access to diverse, cognitively demanding texts that draw on the pupils cultural, linguistic and imaginative capital. 3. Support pupils first language development in mainstream schools and create time and a space for EAL learners to become bi- and multi- literate in their home languages. 4. Structure the teaching of literary texts, so that bi- and multilingual pupils become attuned to the nuances of the new language. 5. Open the way to continuation of academic studies, post-16.
Professional Development for staff working in multilingual schools 1. Supporting language acquisition and development. 2. Linking language and learning. 3. Language policy and social justice. The Resources: This section collates existing resources which can be used to support teachers and managers working in multilingual schools. Jim Anderson, Christine Hélot, Joanna McPake and Vicky Obied Presented at the forum in Geneva (2-4 November 2010) http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/listdocs_geneva2010.asp#top OfPage
Who s prepared to develop intercultural practices? Are national policies, are schools, is teacher education more oriented towards a monocultural or intercultural approach (see table)? By contrasting monocultural and intercultural perspectives the table seeks to shed light on these tensions and to make transparent the choices facing educators at all levels. Anderson, J. & Obied V. 2011. Languages, literacies and learning: from monocultural to intercultural perspectives. In Naldic Quarterly, Vol 8, No 3, Spring 2011
Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice The first interdisciplinary conference for Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice - Cardiff University, June 2011. There is a special focus on cross-boundary collaboration and translation of research findings to ensure impact. Why listen to plurilingual students? Can research carried out into multilingual classrooms by preservice teachers of the majority language make a difference to their own professional practice? http://caerdydd.ac.uk/encap/newsandevents/events/c onferences/alapp/index.html
Poetry Matters ESRC Seminar Series Seminar 3 (University of Leicester) Poetry pedagogy 3: supporting the intellectual and aesthetic development of all learners through poetry September 2011. Developing poetry pedagogy for EAL learners within inclusive intercultural practices. http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/pressreleases/2011/january/poetry-matters-esrcseminar-series
Bilingual Poetry After I had distributed the poems and was expecting to hear a chorus of other languages, the class was struck with a sudden silence. Approaching one of the bilingual students, I asked what was wrong and was told that she couldn t read the Punjabi script as she could only speak it. Another student raised her hand and said the same for Vietnamese, Nepalese, and so on. Before long I was left with just one student who could confidently read in Albanian and who had confided in me that she found speaking her home language embarrassing.
Research focus on multiliteracies Multiliteracies: interdisciplinarity, multilingualism, multimodality What are the implications of new literacies for school policy and pedagogy? To what extent are schools changing to take account of new literacies? What are the implications for initial teacher education? Jim Anderson & Vicky Obied (Researching education policies and pedagogies in the light of new literacies: interdisciplinary and intercultural perspectives, July 2011).
Multilingual Learning http://www.gold.ac.uk/clcl/multilinguallearning/