Classroom code-switching in a Vanuatu secondary school: conflict between policy and practice

Willans, Fiona

doi:10.1080/13670050903576038

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Similarly,Willans (2011) claims that language teachers should emphasize bilingual competencies and advocate the strategies which bilingual learners employ in L2 context. Interestingly enough,Cook (2010) argues that the reasons of teaching exclusively in L2 are more commercial and political than being based on SLA theories and research findings.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ First Language Use in Second Language Learning Classroom Context: A Questionnaire-based Study

Mohebbi

Alavi

2014

Bellaterra J. Teach. Learn. Lang. Lit

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Recently the issue of having recourse to second language (L2) learners' first language (L1) in second language acquisition (SLA) is receiving a great amount of attention in SLA research. There has been a great deal of claims and counterclaims with respect to L1 use in L2 learning. The findings of L2 research to date cast doubt on the rationales of proponents of exclusive use of L2. To date, L2 researchers and practitioners have observed L2 classrooms and have come up with different functions of L1 in L2 learning. The present study investigates teachers' beliefs and perceptions about L1 use in English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) learning context. To this end, seventy-two L2 teachers volunteered to fill in a questionnaire which probed into their beliefs and perceptions about employing learners' L1 (Persian) in L2 (English) learning. The data obtained revealed that the L2 teachers used L1 mainly to provide feedback, teach new vocabulary, explain grammar, build rapport, manage the class, give individual help to learners, and save time in lengthy task explanations. Additionally, in contrast to the L2 studies to date in this field, the teachers expressed that they never fall back on learners' L1 to explain instructions for assignments or projects. The findings might have significant implications for language teachers, in particular in EFL contexts, regarding the facilitative effects of L1 use on L2 learning. The pedagogical implications of the study are explained in detail. , 2014, to name but a few). Levine (2014) provides a comprehensive and anew review of the issue of L1 use in foreign language learning classroom context. The recent findings of L2 research examining the use of L1 in L2 learning undermine the strong L2-only stance advocated frequently by policy makers. The existing body of L2 research in the area of L1 use has shown the positive effect of L1 use on prompting

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ First Language Use in Second Language Learning Classroom Context: A Questionnaire-based Study

Mohebbi

Alavi

2014

Bellaterra J. Teach. Learn. Lang. Lit

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“…Hemia hemi tru evritaem nomo […] Students constantly code switch in class between English (or French) and Bislama (Willans, 2011). This context results in a strange situation: children learn Bislama at school although it is not taught formally at school, nor used as the medium of instruction.…”

Section: Bislama As a National Medium Of Instruction?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bislama in the educational system? Debate around the legitimacy of a creole at school in a post-colonial country

Vandeputte-Tavo

2013

Current Issues in Language Planning

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Education policy always appears to be controversial, especially in post-colonial nations. In Vanuatu, the dual educative system inherited from the period of colonization has raised many debates. The government of Vanuatu is certainly aware of national educational issues in the school system such as the poor literacy rate and high school fees but finding solutions in a complex multilingual context is difficult. As a sovereign state Vanuatu not only has to articulate its own linguistic problems while dealing with a complex linguistic colonial heritage, but needs to pay specific attention to donors since the country is still economically dependent. As in many others states, Vanuatu has to simultaneously deal with local issues and global interests. Through the example of Vanuatu's national education policy, this article shows how global pressures and national linguistic ideologies can influence decisions made in a postcolonial state.

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“…Although linguists have long supported the use of Bislama in education (e.g., Crowley, ; Lynch, ; Siegel, , ), Siegel provides an overview of arguments typically put forward by policymakers, teachers, and parents against the use of pidgins and creoles such as Bislama in education (, 1997, 1999, 2008). Negative views still appear widespread amongst these groups in Vanuatu (Willans, ).…”

Section: Proposals For a New Plurilingual Education Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…School rules to enforce the sole use of the medium of instruction are often put in place in an attempt to improve levels of competence, thereby resulting in the enactment of a de facto monolingual policy (Shohamy, ). However, teachers and students, at secondary schools in particular, speak a number of different languages between them, resulting in widespread variation in the extent to which such rules are followed (Willans, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Engineering of Plurilingualism Following a Blueprint for Multilingualism: The Case of Vanuatu's Education Language Policy

Willans

2013

TESOL Quarterly

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This article examines recent proposals in Vanuatu for a new, plurilingual education system. The article discusses these proposals with reference to three principles of plurilingualism upon which the proposals are ostensibly based: the need to value the linguistic repertoires with which children start school, the development of further linguistic resources to enhance individual potential, and the holistic integration of these resources within linguistic repertoires. The author argues that the proposals are driven not by concerns for the fostering of individual plurilingualism, but rather by an agenda of an imagined societal multilingualism within which certain languages are prioritised over all others. The result is an attempt to engineer plurilingual competence by following a blueprint for multilingualism, thus working against the needs of individuals. The article proposes a more flexible model of plurilingualism, within which teachers and learners have the freedom to negotiate meaning through whichever linguistic resources are available to them, rather than stipulating which languages should be used at any given time.

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Classroom code-switching in a Vanuatu secondary school: conflict between policy and practice

Cited by 20 publications

References 16 publications

Teachers’ First Language Use in Second Language Learning Classroom Context: A Questionnaire-based Study

Teachers’ First Language Use in Second Language Learning Classroom Context: A Questionnaire-based Study

Bislama in the educational system? Debate around the legitimacy of a creole at school in a post-colonial country

The Engineering of Plurilingualism Following a Blueprint for Multilingualism: The Case of Vanuatu's Education Language Policy

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