Laura Becerra Calabria D.N.I.

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Multilingual Education
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION TO MULTILINGUALISM. a. ENGLISH WORLD -WIDE. b. THE SPREAD OF E NGLISH IN E UROPE. c. MULTILINGUALISM WITH ENGLISH IN EUROPE .

2. LEARNING AND USING A 3RD LANGUAGE .

3. MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION. a. b. c. d. e. WHY MULTILINGUALISM ? MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION. CURRICULUM PLANNING . TEACHING ENGLISH AS A 3RD LANGUAGE . MULTILINGUAL TEACHING PROJECTS IN EUROPE.

4. CONCLUSION.

5. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES.

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1. INTRODUCTION TO MULTILINGUALISM.
One of the most remarkable linguistic developments of the twentieth century has been the phenomenal spread of the English language to all parts of the globe. In many countries in the world English is identified as a foreign language with no official status, but is increasingly used as the language of wider communication as a result of British colonial power in the nineteenth and the first decades of the twentieth centuries and the dominance of the United States of America in the latter twentieth century. This development has been most spectacular in those countries that in the past fell under British and latter North American rule, where English was used as the language of colonial administration and later became established as a second language, often enjoying official status as a co-official or even national language or as an administrative language. However, at present English is learnt and taught as a third language in a growing number of countries world-wide. As researches say Half of the population of the world will be speaking and learning English by 2015. The terms which have emerged in connection with the world-wide spread of English include Global English, Global Language, International English, World English, World Englishes, World Language and Global Lingua Franca. A) ENGLISH WORLD-WIDE. According to Kachru (1985, 1992) the spread of English world-wide can be visualized in terms of three circles: 1. The inner circle includes those countries where English is the 1L for the majority of the population, such as the United kingdom, The United States of America, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. But English is not the only language spoken in these countries.

2. The outer circle includes those countries where English is a 2L used at the institutional level as the result of colonization. Some examples are India, Nigeria or the Philippines.

3. The expanding circle comprises those countries where English has no official status and is taught as a foreign language, such as Continental Europe, China or South America.

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The contact between English and other languages in the three circles and the spread of English In the outer expanding circles bears important sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic implications. Sociolinguistically, the spread of English as a lingua franca threatens the traditional ownership of English as a property of its native speakers. At the same time, new non-native varieties have developed as the result of the contact of English and other languages. Regarding the implications at the psycholinguistic level, English is acquired by many individuals not only as a second language but also as a third or fourth language. This is the case of Continental Europe. B) THE SPREAD OF ENGLISH IN EUROPE. Contrary to what happened to other continents, English begun to leave its mark in Europe after the WWII. Many interrelated factors have contributed to this situation of British, and above all American, influence in post-war Europe. As we have just mention, the position of English has changed, and this development carries significant sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic and educational implications in Europe, too. Most European countries are located in the expanding circle where English is a foreign language with no official status but is increasingly used as a language of wider communication. The spread of English brings about the promotion of both societal and individual bilingualism and multilingualism. More often than not English, and not the language of the country where they find themselves, is used as a working language, either a sole one or as one of several. Apart from these groups of people there are many ordinary European nationals for whom the use of English has become an indispensable part of their linguistic repertoire. So, internationalization, co-operation and mobility have led to an expansion in the European use of English.

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C) MULTILINGUALISM WITH ENGLISH IN EUROPE. According to Hoffman (2000) due to the increasingly extensive use of English in Europe we can speak of societal and individual multilingualism. But, how can we define the term multilingualism? Multilingualism has been defined as the ability of societies, institutions, groups and individuals to engage, on a regular basis, with more than one language in their day-to-day lives (European Commission 2007). Skuttnab-Kangas (1984) identified four types of definitions of multilingualism: Definitions by origin view multilingualism as a developmental phenomenon. Definitions by competence use linguistic competence in two or more languages as a criterion. Functional definitions are based on functions that the use of language serves for the individual or the community. Social, psychological or sociological approaches which define multilingualism in terms of the speakers attitudes toward or identification with two or more languages. Multilingualism with English in Europe is very varied. Different patterns can be seen in terms of when, how, where, why and to what degree of competence English is acquired and used alongside other languages. A distinction has to be made between the societal and individual bilingualism and multilingualism existing in the British Isles and that encountered elsewhere in Europe, for the simple reason that virtually everybody has exposure to the language in the former. In the continental Europe English has become established as the worlds most prominent language of international communication. In Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands the English language has acquired a higher profile than anywhere else in Europe, due to their relatively small size and their dependence on international trade and collaboration; and also, to the predominance of subtitled, rather than dubbed English programmes on their television channels. German is the European language which has been influenced more than any other by English. In the countries with Romance languages English has been expanding at a slower rate, acquiring growing significance in education and the job market, and there has been an almost universal adoption of teaching English as a first foreign language in schools. In the case of the European Union, English is becoming a second rather than a foreign language because it is the main language of communication among European citizens. Thus, a European non-native variety of English called Euro-English is emerging. It shares characteristics of British and American English but presents some differences when compared to native varieties. This model is presented in Northern Europe as a second language or lingua franca, in Southern Europe as a foreign language, in Central Europe as a foreign language but becoming a lingua franca and in Eastern Europe as having gained importance since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Laura Becerra Calabria Page 5

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2. LEARNING AND USING A 3 RD LANGUAGE.

It is important here to highlight the difference between second language acquisition or SLA and third language acquisition or TLA, since TLA differs in many aspects from learning a second language. Firstly, SLA, that is, the process of learning and the product of having learnt a second language, can potentially exert influence on the acquisition of a third language. In fact, most studies on general proficiency indicate a positive effect of bilingualism on TLA and that this effect can be explained as related to learning strategies, metalinguistic awareness and communicative ability. In addition, TLA is not only more complex but also requires different skills on the learner. Consequently, the term TLA and trilingualism can be seen as covered by the term multilingualism, but not by bilingualism. This complex nature of TLA is linked to several variables, such as: a) b) c) d) The various routes of acquisition third language learning can take. The individual factors guiding the acquisition processes in the multilingual learner. The different learning contexts. The psychological and linguistic effects that the interaction between the languages can produce.

Whereas in SLA the 2L can be learnt either after the 1L or at the same time, regarding TLA Cenoz (2000) claimed that at least four acquisition routes can be observed: 1. 2. 3. 4. The three languages can be acquired simultaneously. The three languages can be learnt consecutively. Two languages are learnt simultaneously after the acquisition of the 1L. Two languages are acquired simultaneously before learning the 3L.

Furthermore the acquisition process can be interrupted by the process of learning another language and restarted again. This can be applied to all three languages involved. The individual or psychological factors influencing the process of learning several languages is already enormous and their interplay very complex. Some of them are the relationships between language aptitude, language anxiety attitude and motivation, field dependence, language learning strategies, self-confidence, metalinguistic awareness, etc The contexts in which SLA and TLA take place can be either naturalistic or formal or a combination of both. In the case of TLA the variety of possible combinations of the two contexts may increase. Regarding the linguistic and psychological interaction between the languages in the multilingual learner, there exist some phenomena such as the loss or attrition of one of the languages. This failure is linked with cross-linguistic influence (CLI). Several predictors of CLI have been identified. Williams and Hammarberg (1998) presented some influential criteria in the relationship between the languages in 3L production and acquisition in order to describe the mechanisms governing CLI: the typological similarity between the languages, the cultural similarity, the level of proficiency, the recency of use and the status of 2L in TLA. Laura Becerra Calabria Page 6

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3. MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION.
A) WHY MULTILINGUALISM? It is suggested that one of the main goals in future language teaching should be to foster linguistic awareness, one of the key factors of multilingual proficiency, in the classroom. The study of multilingualism in education can bring different perspectives together. It is possible to study language processing, language acquisition and language use by individual learners at school but schools are necessarily linked to the society in which they are located. Schools are not only influenced by society but can also have an important effect on society. According to the European Commission (2005), multilingualism has advantages in many different ways. At the individual level, it can improve individual cognitive skills and develop first language skills. Multilingualism can also make European citizens more aware of other cultures, and increase European mobility. The aim of the European Commission is that all European citizens have practical skills in three languages: their mother tongue and two more. It is considered that languages have a cultural value and provide a sense of identity. The Council of Europe also fosters multilingualism. It has established the European Centre for Modern Languages and developed some key instruments for language learning such as the European Language Portfolio (ELP) or the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The ELP (www.coe.int/portfolio) is a document where personal language learning experience is recorded and the CEFR is a tool for setting, standards for different stages of language learning allowing for international comparison in learning and evaluation (Council of Europe, 2002). Both instruments have been developed to promote multilingualism and language learning. B) MULTILINGUAL SCHOOLING For many children all over the world learning a third language at school is a common experience. TLA in the school context and trilingual education are not new phenomena but are becoming more widespread. Nevertheless, multilingual education can present additional challenges above and beyond those encountered in bilingual education because it is much more complex. According to Cenoz and Genesee (1998) multilingual education consists on educational programmes that use languages other than the L1s as media of instruction (although some teach additional languages as school subjects) and they aim for communicative proficiency in more than two languages. Accomplishing this calls for complex educational planning in order to accommodate multiple linguistic aims, curricular materials, and teaching strategies within the framework of limited school schedules. Multilingual education, like bilingual education, can take different forms because it is necessarily linked to the sociolinguistic context in which it takes place and has to take account of the relative status and use of the languages involved.

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Multilingual education can be affected by a large number of individual and contextual variables. Among the individual variables that can affect language acquisition and language use we could include aptitude, attitudinal variables and motivation, gender and anxiety or socioeconomic status. As far as the contextual variables is concerned, the linguistic characteristics of the languages, such as the typological distance between the languages already known by the speaker and the target language could be influential in the acquisition process. Apart from the linguistic distance, the sociolinguistic environment in which a bilingual and multilingual school is placed is very important. We can look at two different levels: the macro level and the micro level. At the macro level we can consider the relative vitality of the languages used at school and / or spoken by the students in society at large. At the micro level it is important to take into account the social network students have. Educational variables in multilingual education comprise those related to education in general and those which are specifically linked to the teaching and learning of languages. The specific variables related to languages include: C) the use of the different languages as subjects and languages of instruction the introduction of languages at different ages, teachers degree of multilingualism and specific training use of languages in the school environment.

CURRICULUM PLANNING

The importance of knowing an international language of wider communication has also influenced curriculum planning. Most language teachers still treat each curricular language as an isolated unit; they do not allow any code-switching or any other mention of the students mother tongue or other languages in the curriculum. Such a reductionist perspective also implies that a classroom is not viewed as a multilingual context because teachers simply ignore the fact that their students have been in contact with other languages and have already built a repertoire of language learning strategies and an enhanced level of metalinguistic awareness. In this way they waste valuable resources for creating synergies and new qualities. This stands in contrast to new developments in both multilingualism research and teaching, which propose to move away from isolation towards cooperation between the languages in the learner. In this vein, Clyne (2003) suggested a language-centered approach which means that a relationship through and with a language should be developed. This also requires that the roles of L1 and L2 in L3 have to be redefined by raising awareness of the existing potential for competencies in other languages. That is, the use of previous foreign language learning Laura Becerra Calabria Page 8

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experiences and strategies as well as the development of skills to compare, transfer and infer should be fostered in TLA (Hufeisen 2005). Today, the facilitative role that transfer can play in language learning is not disputed any longer but has become widely acknowledged together with the cognitive benefits of contact with two and more languages in general. Such an approach also implies that prior linguistic knowledge of students can be exploited and not regarded as some kind of negative, interfering and destructive force that hinders the language learning process. Besides, result of recent studies show that the number of strategies employed by multilingual speakers seems to increase with linguistic experience and language proficiency in the various languages in contact. Also, one of the areas calling for further research directly relates to the development of multilingual materials, such as textbooks, ideally equipped with common terminology for all languages. Regarding the role of a multilingual teacher, it seems that the ideal language teacher has also experienced language learning and can pass on and use this knowledge in the classroom. This language learning experience should be complemented by the study of language acquisition research as part of teacher education. Also, there exists the debate over the native versus non-native teacher in a multilingual context. It has been agreed that the non-native teacher has to be accepted as a teacher in her/ his own right because the students can profit from skills and abilities which are based in his / her linguistic background and language learning experience. Yet, one of the most difficult aims of future work on language teacher education will be to make sure that language teachers are experts on multilingualism, even if they teach only one language. D) TEACHING ENGLISH AS A 3L At first sight English as a third language might be seen as a variant of English as a foreign language, but it is different as it is being increasingly used as a lingua franca. It implies that English is losing its foreignness and it is developing structural commonalities characterizing the lingua franca in its various contexts. Thus, the increasing number of speakers of English as a lingua franca (ELF) presents a crucial factor in the growth of global multilingualism. Therefore, including English in the curriculum of schools in a non-English speaking environment seems to be necessary and is also welcomed by both parents and students. The more English is used as a lingua franca or third language on a daily basis, the more it seems to be developing different characteristics from English as a foreign language, and this change should also be taken into account in teaching (Jenkins 2000). But this does not imply that students should stop learning other languages. To the contrary, recent statistics show that English will be learned together with other languages, at least in the European context, since it serves to activate and support cognitive processes for further learning and it could serve as cognitive foundation for contrastive learning and reflection on language learning. That is to

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say, it could contribute essentially to the development of linguistic awareness in multilingual learners. English is seen as necessary for wider communication and there are different approaches to teach English and other foreign languages at school. One of the most important developments in foreign language teaching is CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), developed in Europe in the nineties and influenced by socio-constructivist ideas, the focus on for approach and the language awareness movement. CLIL includes a wide range of teaching practices but the idea is to take content from other subjects and academic disciplines so that students pay attention to the content and to the language at the same time. Both language and content are equally important. CLIL has received strong support from European institutions such as the European Union. Very often institutions and their representatives are not aware of the linguistic background of their pupils or students so that it appears to be unimportant whether a language is taught as a first or second foreign language. But the results of multilingualism research suggest that more concern should be directed to decisions concerning the status of languages in the language learning process. The implementation of the acquisition of English into an all-embracing concept of language learning and language education towards multilingualism and multiculturalism can only be successful if the appropriate restructuring also takes place in teacher education. E) MULTILINGUAL TEACHING PROJECTS IN EUROPE Over the last decade, due to the efforts of the council of Europe to foster plurilingualism, a number of projects have been initiated within Europe, and the stimulating influence of the language awareness movement on some projects on multilingual learning in Europe is clearly visible. As the most well-known, the EuroCom (European Comprehension) project (www.eurocomfrankfurt.de) aims to provide European citizens with a solid linguistic basis for understanding each other, at least within their own language family. Also, in order to assist the challenge of creating a multilingual Europe the Council of Europe has established The European Centre of Modern Languages (ECML) in Graz, Austria (www.ecml.at) whose mission is to encourage excellence and innovation in language teaching and to help learning and teaching of languages more effectively. Furthermore, other projects in several European countries, mainly concerning primary and secondary schooling, have clearly been stimulated by the language awareness movement. The development of methods concentrating on raising language awareness in the school context has just begun and it will certainly take some time to establish them in modern curricula. The role of English in all educational efforts aiming at multilingualism in Europe is very special.

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4. CONCLUSION
To bring this dissertation to a conclusion it seems that a great deal of work on multilingual education still needs to be done. Most of all this work entails developing linguistic awareness in teachers, learners and teachers as learners, as well as assessing multilingual proficiency. The implementation of concepts related to third language teaching is needed not only as an essential part of multilingual education but also of language teaching in general. In this way, language teaching in general could profit from the experiences of L3 teaching. First, languages being taught in the classroom need to be linked in order to profit from the synergies and to exploit the resources that many of the pupils already have available through the prior language knowledge. Second, portfolios of some other form of linguistic background documentation should be obligatory in the classroom so that the advantages or positive effects of multilingualism can be identified and eventually taken advantage of. In this way an awareness of the students multilingualism can be provided for both teachers and fellowstudents. In sum, it is clear that the implementation of all the necessary changes, concerning both learning and teaching a 3L, presents a major challenge for future multilingual education.

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5. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES.
Alcn, E. and Safont, M.P. English and Multilingualism. In C. Chappelle (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Aronin, L. & Hufeisen, B. (2009) The Exploration of Multilingualism. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Cenoz, J. and Valencia,J. (1994). Additive trilingualism: Evidence from the Basuqe Country. Applied Psycholinguistics, 15: 197-209. Cenoz, J. & F. Genesee (eds) (1998). Beyond bilinguialism: Mulilingualism and multilingual education. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Cenoz, J. (2000). English in Europe. In Cenoz, J. and Jessner, U. (Eds.) English in Europe. The Acquisition of a Third Language. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Cenoz, J. (2003). The additive effect of bilingualism on third language acquisition: A review. The International Journal of Bilingualism 7, 71-89. Cenoz, J. (2009). Towards multilingual education. Basque educational research from an international perspective. Toronto: Multilingual Matters. Council of Europe (2002) Common European Framework of Reference for Languages De Bot, K (2004). The multilingual lexicon: Modelling selection and control. International Journal of Multilingualism 1.1, 17-32 De Bot, K, W. Lowie & M. Verapoor (2007). A dynamic system theory to 2L acquisition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 10.1, 7-21. Edwards, V. (2009) Learning to Be Literate. Multilingual Perspectives. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Hoffman, Ch. (2000) The spread of English and the growth of multilingualism with English in Europe. In Cenoz & Jessner (eds), 1-21. Hoffman, Ch. - Ytsma, J. (Eds.) (2004) Trilingualism in Family, School and Community. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters (Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 43) Hufeisen, B. & Marx, N. (2007) How can DaFnE and EuroComGerm contribute to the concept of receptive multilingualism? In Ten Thije, J.D and Zeevaert, L. (Eds.) Receptive Multilingualism. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Jenkins, J. (2000). The phonology of English as an international language. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jessner, U. (2006) Linguistic Awareness in Multilinguals: English as a Third Language. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Jessner, J. (2008) Teaching third languages: Findings, trends and challenges. Language Teaching, 41: 15-56. Kachru, B.B. (1992a) The other side of English and the 1990s. In B.B. Kachru (ed.) The Other Tongue: English across Cultures (pp 1-18) Urbana / Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Kachru, B.B. (1992b) Models for non-native Englishes. In B.B. Kachru (ed.) The Other Tongue: English across Cultures (pp 48-74) Urbana / Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Klein, E. (1995). Second versus third language acquisition: is there a difference? Language Learning 45,3: 419-465. Lasagabaster, D. (1998). The threshold hypothesis applied to three languages in contact at school. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 4:310-328. Laura Becerra Calabria Page 12

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Muoz, C. (2000). Bilingualism and Trilingualism in school students in Catalonia. In Cenoz, J. and Jessner, U. (Eds.) English in Europe. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Safont Jord, M.P. (2005) Third Language Learners. Pragmatic Production and Awareness: Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Safont Jord, M. P. (2003) Metapragmatic awareness and pragmatic production of third language learners of English: a focus on request acts modifiers. International Journal of Bilingualism, 7: 43-69. Safont Jord, M.P. (2006) Pragmatic production of third language learners of English: A focus on request acts modifiers. International Journal of Multilingualism, 2: 84-104. Safont Jord, M. P. Pragmatic Competence in Multilingual Contexts. In C. Chappelle (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Sagasta, M. (2003) Acquiring writing skills in a third language: The positive effects of bilingualism. The International Journal of Bilingualism, 7: 27-42. Skuttnab-Kangas, T. (1984). Bilingualism or not. Clevedon: Multilingial Matters. Thomas, J. (1988). The Role played by metalinguistic awareness in second and third language learning. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 9: 235-246. Williams and Hammarberg (1998) Language switches in L3 production: Implications for a polyglot speaking model . Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 295-333.

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