Multilingualism, Regional & Minority Languages:
Paradigms for ‘Languages of the Wider World’
16th –17th April 2009
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
NEGOTIATING LANGUAGES
OTHER THAN FRENCH
IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM
IN FRANCE
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
0
AIM OF THE PRESENTATION

Show how education language policies are
interpreted, negociated and recreated by
teachers working in multilingual classrooms

Research project: Language Policy in the
Classroom: Teachers as Change Agents
(Kate Menken & Ofelia García, CUNY)
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
1
PLAN OF THE PRESENTATION





Question: what is the positioning of student teachers
regarding linguistic practices in the classroom?
Case study of two student teachers (IUFM Alsace) working in
« écoles maternelles » (age 3 - 6)
Analysis of their strategies to accomodate the languages of
very young emergent bilinguals (German and Thai – Turkish)
The dominance of French: prevents the bilingual capital of
both teachers and students to be built upon as a learning and
teaching resource
Yet teachers can act as change agents of the various policies
they have to translate into practice
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
2
THE STUDY


Based on reflective essays and interviews with two student
teachers (2007-2008)
Teaching placement one day a week in pre-primary school
ST. TEACHERS
FEMALE
MALE
Teachers’ languages
French, German, English
Turkish French
children’s languages
German - Thaï
Turkish
Age of children
2-3 (boys)
3 and 7 (girls)
Number of bilinguals
2 out of 25
1 out of 23 - 1 in other class
Tutor for practicum
CH
Other
Other experiences
4 weeks exchange in school in
Christine
Hélot, Université de
England
1 week exchange in French
school in Turquey 3
Strasbourg
TEACHER EDUCATION IN FRANCE






Post graduate two year course in IUFM
1st year: academic, leading to a very competitive exam
« concours »
2nd year: professional training with several practicum in
schools – state certification
In service training courses
Course weighed down by evaluation
Reflective practice: short writing project on
pedagogical
questions relating toChristine
theirHélot,
weekly
placement
Université de
Strasbourg
4
AIMS OF THE STUDY




Not to compare the 2 student teachers’projects
But to analyse how they each reflected on the
language strategies they used with very young
emergent bilinguals (Garcia, 2008) entering school
Analysis based on their writing project and on 4
interviews (2007/2008)
The context :
- constrained learning situation for both student
teachers = limited space for innovation and creativity
- but student teachers like being in the classroom
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
5
LANGUAGE EDUCATION


-

-
24 h course on the didactics of a « foreign » language
= German
48 h didactics of school language = French:
normative approach to literacy teaching
wide-spread use of children’s literature
Since 2006-07: 6 hour module on linguistic and
cultural diversity (Tessla project, Hancock et al 2006)
bilingualism and 2nd language acquisition at school
addressing issue of linguistic discrimination
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
6
THE PRE-PRIMARY CURRICULUM
(BO 2008, 12)

« The essential objective of pre-primary schooling is the acquisition
of a rich and structured oral language, comprehensible to others ».

« With very young children, it is not necessary to provide specific
teaching of French as a second language. The communicative
situations linked to life in the classroom are in most cases sufficient
as long as they happen in a context where plurilingualism is not
denigrated and the child is called upon to express himself ».

Both students saw their pupils as « non French speaking » (cf preprimary curriculum, 2008: 88-89)
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
7
NEGOCIATING SEVERAL LANGUAGES
IN THE CLASSROOM


The importance of relationship with
parents: both student teachers gave
support to families to understand the
school system and culture
Both broke the implicit rule of using only
French in the classroom: overt/covert
policy? (Shohamy, 2006)
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
8
STUDENT TEACHERS’ ANALYSIS
The silencing of bilingual pupils in the normative monolingual
classroom
- Example 1 (DB) : « And then LH is at a loss, and she is excluded
from her group and sometimes her friends make remarks because
she does not understand, and she goes even angrier. At that
moment being bilingual myself, I decide to intervene and to use
Turkish, since I share this language with the pupil. I wanted to
know whether she was capable of doing her school work if I gave

her the instructions in Turkish »
- Example 2 (MGR): « I didn’t want this difference of language to
become a difficulty for them, at the very moment they discover
what it is like to be at school »
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
9
MY ANALYSIS: TURKISH






Student teachers discourse shows how monolingual ideologies are
reproduced
As a primary teacher in France DB functions like a monolingual
teacher, although he is bilingual, bicultural
He does not feel legitimate when he uses Turkish in the classroom
He has personal experience of language discrimination but little
understanding of language ideology
He transformed the learning situation of two pupils but it does not
empower him to change attitudes of his colleagues
He modelled a successful mediation with Turkish parents but
could not change the language policies in the school
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
10
MY ANALYSIS: GERMAN - THAÏ







Use of German in class is legitimate even at pre-primary
Authentic use of German not FLT, in every day activities with the
whole class, but to integrate German-speaking child
Thaï: more difficult, she does not know the language
Learnt a few words of Thaï from the mother + included Thaï in
daily greetings and some classroom language
Designed 2 vocabulary booklets French with pictures re classroom
language
She created a multilingual space where the 2 languages became
part of the experiences of the whole class
She supported mother’s use of Thaï at home
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
11
CREATING MULTILINGUAL
SPACES (MGR, 2008: 21)

« Whereas this linguistic difference could have
been a hindrance to the socialisation of the
children, I have the impression it has helped to
build it faster. Now the children themselves
teach me beautiful lessons about learning to
live together. Now some of them ask me
spontaneously how to say this or that in T’s
language (German) »
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
12
CHILDREN’S ATTITUDES


-
Very young pupils are sensitive to multilingualism
Impressed by their teachers’ bilingualism:
- « Teacher, you can speak so well! » : a 3 year old on
hearing her teacher switching from French to
German
DB was questioned in the playground by several
Turkish speaking boys who had heard he used
Turkish in his class : « Are you one of us? »
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
13
CONCLUSION (1)


The potential of LA activities with very young learners to:
- integrate the L2s of pupils in class activities
- enable pupils to make sense of their linguistic environment
- enable L2 pupils to find their voice in the monolingual class
- transform the monolingual classroom into a multilingual space
But it is not enough= teachers need to:
- feel confident working with languages they do not know
- be empowered to change school practice re L2 speakers and
their languages
- reflect critically on power relationships re language use in the
classroom and the role of language ideologies
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
14
CONCLUSION (2)


Teacher working with Thaï and German clearly acted as a
change agent for her class, the school and the parents
Teacher working with Turkish did make a definite difference
for two children but could not impact the school culture
because of the low status of Turkish
- ex: he could have devised activities in Turkish for the whole
class but he did not feel legitimate enough
- but he did show to an experienced teacher that it is essential
to communicate with parents
- he became a role model for some Turkish speaking boys in
the school
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
15
FINAL CONCLUSION





Even in a very centralised, hierarchichal and monolingually
biased education system, teachers can be key agents of change
from the beginning of their career.
Both student teachers understood the pupils had a right to have
their L1 acknowledged and valued in class
It remains difficult for a teacher on her own to dispel entrenched
prejudice as in the case of Turkish
Institutional and ideological mechanisms of power prevent
teachers from being efficient agents of change outside of the
classroom at the school level for ex.
Much more needs to be done to support linguistically diverse
students: starting with valuing the bilingualism of our teachers!
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
16
LINGUISTIC AND SOCIAL ACTIVISM
« Language awareness and linguistic and social
activism stemming from the position of borderlands
will together create more spaces for a
multilingualism that will contain the voices that
have been silenced and will permit language
minority communities to make visible their dream of
a better world.» (Garcia & al, 2006: 37)
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
17
THANK YOU
[email protected]
Grateful thanks to DB and MGR.
Christine Hélot, Université de
Strasbourg
18