Australian schools are increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse places, and yet, the monolithic weight of the “monolingual mindset” (Clyne, 2008) still hulks at the centre of Australian education systems. Despite this, there is increasing recognition of the value of multilingualism, and the importance of incorporating students’ home languages and multilingual abilities into teaching and learning. Teachers, teacher educators and curriculum developers seek guiding principles for multilingual approaches and examples of effective strategies which can be adapted and translated for diverse educational contexts. This paper suggests some principles which support effective multilingual pedagogy, illustrated with examples from students learning English as an additional language or dialect (EALD) and their teachers in two South Australian secondary schools. At a foundational level, a multilingual stance underpins the success of multilingual pedagogies. Attention to both vertical and horizontal dimensions of multilingualism (Heugh, 2018) is central to effective multilingual pedagogy. Additionally, the expertise of both students and teachers must be recognised and specified. Multilingual students are experts in using and managing their multilingual repertoires for interaction and learning, while teachers are responsible for learning design, teaching school literacies, and maintaining a supportive learning environment. A key to success is that multilingual pedagogies are developed from and respond to students’ existing multilingual practices. It is hoped that these principles can help extend discussion around the use of multilingual resources and translanguaging practices in school-based learning, and give impetus to collaboration engaging students, teachers and researchers in action research and development of multilingual pedagogies. In this way, Australian education might begin to emerge from the shadow of the monolingual monolith.
Key findings, analysis and recommendations that have emerged from a research project, ‘Using Human Language Technology to enhance academic integrity, inclusivity, knowledge exchange, student diversity and retention’ at the University of South Australia conducted in 2019 are discussed in this article. The primary purpose of the project was to address some of the challenges and opportunities afforded by increasing student and teacher diversity at a predominantly English-medium Australian university through newly enhanced human language translation technology (HLT) also known as machine translation (MT). This technology is frequently used for the translation of human language, and it falls under the umbrella of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. From the institution’s perspective, key aims of the project were to contribute to the university’s Digital Learning Strategy priorities and core values embedded in a structural transformation of the university. These include integrity, accountability, diversity, social justice, engagement and collaboration. The researchers’ objectives focussed on multilingual pedagogies using HLT to support knowledge exchange (transknowledging), and translanguaging for all students. These disrupt inequitable hierarchies, and position bi-/multilingual students as valuable resources for monolingual staff and students.
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Many teachers who see the multilingual and multicultural nature of society reflected in their classrooms seek inclusive and effective teaching strategies that go beyond conventional monolingually and monoculturally conceived approaches. Translanguaging, as communicative and cognitive practice which draws on a speaker’s full multilingual repertoire, is a valuable resource for teaching and learning in contemporary linguistically diverse classrooms. When enacted in teaching and learning, translanguaging supports students not only to employ their full range of linguistic and cultural knowledge in the learning process to enable deeper and more connected understanding of content and language, but also contribute to the learning of their peers and teachers and bridge spaces between educational institutions, families and communities. This special issue addresses the role and use of translanguaging as a resource for students and teachers in a range of education settings including institutions and systems operating under a monolingual mindset (Clyne, 2008) in English-speaking countries including USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The studies present examples of practice from early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education settings, encompassing students from all walks of life in mainstream education, introductory language centres and heritage language classrooms. Discussion of multilingual and translanguaging practice, learning and pedagogy, case studies of linguistic and educational practice, and principles for translanguaging in teaching and learning will interest and inform educators in all roles, including teachers, teacher educators and researchers.
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