Im Rahmen der Vortragsreihe "Mehrsprachigkeit und (soziale) Gerechtigkeit" hält Prof. Dr. Enrica Piccardo von der University of Toronto einen Vortrag mit dem Titel: "From linearity to complexity: an agentive, plurilingual and technology-mediated language education".
From linearity to complexity: an agentive, plurilingual and technology-mediated language education
The complex societies we live in require a new vision able to overcome binary categories such as native speaker vs non-native speaker and to embrace a flexible and holistic understanding of languages and language varieties, thus facilitating communication across boundaries, both spatiotemporal and linguistic, and fostering social justice through a sustainable, inclusive education.
The concept of plurilingualism as distinct from multilingualism (Council of Europe, 1996, 2001, 2020), provides a key to conceptualize language learning and teaching as a complex dynamic phenomenon. Together with the foundational concept of mediation (Dendrinos, 2024; Piccardo, 2022), plurilingualism enables a focus on co-construction of knowledge and meaning and on seeing language as action to be undertaken – languaging (Raimondi, 2014; Swain, 2006) – rather than as an inert entity to be acquired or studied. This action-oriented, plurilingual vision has the potential to innovate language education and promote inclusive quality schooling for all.
After introducing the notion of agency as a key to innovating the teaching/learning process (Larsen-Freeman, 2019; Piccardo, in press; van Lier, 2008), the presentation will discuss the potential of a curriculum organized around action-oriented scenarios to enable a shift from a linear to a dynamic view of language education, one that supports learners’ agency and makes space for diverse forms of mediation and creativity (Piccardo & North, 2019). A synthesis of data from three consecutive research projects conducted with language teachers will be presented that show the crucial role of both learner and teacher agency in enabling the above-mentioned shift. Based on these data the talk will discuss the importance of supporting teachers in developing the agency they need to operationalize plurilingual, action-oriented and technology-mediated pedagogies.
Finally, the presentation will explain the conceptualization, methodology and partial findings of a multi-year, Canada-wide study, Advancing Agency in Language Education (AALE), which built on the results of earlier research projects. AALE investigates the relationship between teacher beliefs and the role of teacher agency to foster pedagogical innovation. Findings from the first phase of AALE will be presented that reveal teachers’ enthusiasm for plurilingual, action-oriented, and technology-mediated practices along with tensions about implementing such practices.