Plurilingual education and pedagogical plurilanguaging in an elementary school in Japan

Abstract

In this article, we examine a plurilingual practice in Japan – a country traditionally described as being extremely monolingual. The contribution explores innovative teaching that disrupts monolingual ideologies and how we view TESOL practice. The context of the study is a public elementary school situated in western Japan. We follow the classes of one teacher to discuss her use of pedagogical plurilanguaging as intentional instructional strategies that integrate several languages and cultural viewpoints to support the development of language and content learning, plurilingual awareness and multiperspectivity. We explain how we think it echoes with, and differs from, the concept of translanguaging. Data sources include audio and video recordings of classroom interactions, visual documentation, researchers’ field-notes, teachers’ and learners’ reflective journaling, as well as learners’ productions. The study has implications for teacher training and curriculum design and resituates the teaching of English as a world language in a more complex and multifaceted way.

Sur les traces de Louise Dabène et de quelques escargonithorynques

“…Cet intérêt pour le pluriel porté au centre de la réflexion didactique trouve de nombreuses mises en résonance, aussi dans d'autres contextes, ainsi qu'avec de nouvelles notions circulantes comme aujourd'hui, par exemple, celles de translanguaging (Cenoz & Gorter, 2020) et de plurilanguaging (Piccardo, 2018 ;Moore, Oyama, Pearce & Kitano, 2020 Le flux des ideés ne peut etre entendu comme une simple transplantation dans un autre contexte car il est assimilé par les reśeaux existants d'ideés, de theóries, de langues à travers un processus d'adaptation, qui tient compte de l'histoire, des ideés dejà en place, de la structure seḿiotique des debats en cours (p. 12).…”

Plurilingualism and STEAM

“…Much as in plurilingualism, which emphasizes the interconnectivity of languages (Lüdi & Py, 2009), STEAM seeks to break down the separation of subjects and encourage interdisciplinary knowledgebuilding through awareness of connections between disciplines and to emphasize the importance of art and aesthetics in disciplinary learning (Sinclair, 2006). Some studies have examined STEAM with a specific inclusion of plurilingual education, encouraging the development of transferable skills in multiple languages across arts and science disciplines (Moore, Hoskyn & Mayo, 2018;Moore, 2020). However, little work has focused on multidisciplinary approaches to plurilingualism and language learning, with a focus on peace at the primary level (although see Ishihara, Orihashi, & Clark, 2019).…”

“…The Japanese language also incorporates Arabic numerals, and to a degree the Roman alphabet, yet all exist within one named language system, Japanese, which is the native language of more than 98% of citizens and residents in Japan, and the only official language of schooling. Space precludes a full explanation of the plurality in the Japanese language, which is covered in detail in Moore et al (2020). 9 While space precludes full coverage of social studies lesson content, it should be noted that peace learning at this school is not centered on the atomic bombings and 'Japan-as-victim' rhetoric.…”