A Lecturer’s Applications of Translingualism in a Multiethnic Classroom Environment to Help Students to Cope with Multiethnic Situations in Positive and Fruitful ways
Keywords:
multilingualism, ethno-linguistic, multilingual classroom, translingualism, multiculturalismAbstract
Taiwan, once called Formosa (meaning beautiful island in Portuguese), is a country with a diverse ethno-linguistic heritage, and therefore it is a multiracial, multicultural and multilingual country, the society of which consists of more than 16 different aboriginal communities in addition to majority Han peoples. This paper employs the phenomenological method, using natural and qualitative description to explore how the different cultural backgrounds of senior high school students in Taiwan in a multilingual classroom that promoted multilingualism come to value other languages spoken in their class or in their actual communities.
Evidence supporting students' attitudes and motivation in learning community languages and English, came from close analysis of interactional patterns with peers and teachers in classes and informal settings, and from students' explanations of their actual school experiences in group work and interviews with students themselves, parents, community figures, and educational leaders over a four-month period during the process of the course.
In a word, being in a multiethnic classroom environment, a lecturer may apply the theme of translingualism to help students to cope with multiethnic situations in positive and fruitful ways; furthermore, it has the potential to promote multilingualism and pluralism in minority and majority group students who study several languages at a time in a multilingual classroom.Â
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