Session Information
31 SES 09 C, Negotiating Identities in Multilingual Contexts
Paper Session
Contribution
This paper focuses on language ideologies and identity in Basque secondary education. More precisely, it addresses the views held by teachers and immigrant students in relation to Basque, which is a minority language in the Basque Country. Following Leeman (2014), we will define language ideologies as the views individuals hold about a language and its social use. Language ideologies have also been related to processes of identity construction, as identities are often defined by the language(s) we speak and the ideas we hold about them (Fought, 2011). This study focuses on the views expressed by immigrant students and their teachers about Basque and its learning, as well as on the identities they relate to.
We will analyze how identity is constituted in interactions at two related yet different levels. First, we will use a subject-centered perspective which considers that linguistic interaction needs to take place for identity formation to occur (Eckert 2002, 2004; Erikson 1989, 2000). In these cases, language acts as the channel through which identity is formed at an individual level. Second, we will examine how identity is formed in social interaction in multilingual settings, as in multilingual environments languages not only act as channels for interaction, but they also index distinct identities in relation to each of the languages involved (Choi, 2017; Creese and Blackledge, 2015).
The Basque Country is located in the north of Spain and south of France, and Basque is a minority language in relation to both Spanish and French. This study took place in a region located on the Spanish side, called the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC). In most areas of the BAC, Spanish is the vehicular language in daily life. However, the current situation of Basque in the BAC must be contextualized within a broader historical and political spectrum; speaking and teaching Basque were banned until the 1970s in Spain. Since it gained legal status, the Basque administration has promoted Basque and it now has significant status in educational and political spheres (Echeverria 2003, 2010; Gorter et al. 2014; Urla, 2012). In line with these revitalization efforts, education stakeholders have promoted its teaching and use. In this complex linguistic context, the language ideologies of immigrants who do not support Basque clash with those of education practitioners.
In this paper we will examine the intersection between Basque’s status as a minority language and the challenges it presents to interactions between immigrant students and teachers, as the relationship between minority languages, ethnic minorities and majorities in a given society is an underrepresented topic in the literature. Moreover, it relates to other European contexts where the language ideologies of immigrants and locals differ in educational settings. For instance, Trenchs-Parera and Newman (2015) show how immigrant and autochthonous students in Catalonia hold distinct language ideologies towards Catalan. These language ideologies also relate to more or less supportive student attitudes towards Catalan identity.
Taking all the above mentioned into account, the research question we intend to respond to in this paper is: how do the language ideologies of teachers and immigrant students relate to identity in multi-ethnic and multilingual Basque education?
Method
The methodology for the collection of the data used in this study involved a year of ethnographic fieldwork conducted between July 2015 and June 2016 in a secondary education school, which we designate as Udabia. Udabia was chosen as it was representative of schools in the BAC that have a high immigrant studentship. In this school, 37% of students were immigrants, unequally distributed between classrooms; that is, there were classrooms with a high immigrant studentship and others with a high autochthonous attendance. Data was obtained from the classroom with the highest proportion of immigrant students. In terms of data collection, there were four phases in the fieldwork. Previous to the observation period, we focused on a historical and sociological compilation and analysis of documents to understand current aspects of immigration phenomena and the use of Basque in the city where Udabia is located. Participant observation started in September 2015. Following Woods (2012), we proposed an observation that aimed to analyze how interactions between teachers and students took place with attention to the intersection between different ethnic origins and languages. The systematic collection of such academic interactions enabled us to classify them in terms of language ideologies, which have implications for identity theory (Barley, 2014; Hammersley, 2018). Then early in 2016, interviews were carried out to answer some of the queries raised during the observation period. 20 interviews were conducted with students and 16 with teachers, which in most cases provided us with great insight into the language ideologies and attitudes of participants. The data obtained in the interviews enabled a deeper exploration of the discourse of each party involved in these academic interactions (Marvasti 2010; Woods and Hammersley 2017). Finally, in spring 2016 three focus groups were conducted, each composed of six to eight students. These were especially useful for understanding group dynamics between immigrant students and teachers. Analysis of the data collected was completed using a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software package, Atlas.ti. Data was categorized into families of codes that brought about a final classification in terms of the language ideologies involved in the academic functioning and present in interactions and discourse by students and teachers.
Expected Outcomes
Results indicate that there are two well established ideologies indexing identity: those held by teachers as Basque supporters and those by students as Basque detractors. These come into conflict during classroom interactions that involve learning Basque. Such differing views and practices regarding Basque in Udabia had important consequences for teacher-to-student relationships as well as individual parties. First, not learning Basque worked to the detriment of these students, as Basque is a reinforced language in the BAC and not investing in its learning decreased their opportunities of integrating in different social areas such as social rituals or activities. This put them in an unequal position in relation to their autochthonous counterparts, most of whom had a medium or proficient competence in Basque. Second, identities worked in relation to language: teachers held language ideologies supportive of Basque, whereas immigrant students held detractive ideologies. Hence, two well established identities could be observed: that of teachers as Basque speakers and promoters, and that of immigrant students as challengers to Basque. An idea implicit to immigrant students’ rebellion against the promotion of Basque is that they worked against the language ideology of the academic institution. Third, the clash of language ideologies between students and teachers present in classroom interaction indexed opposing identities. Such opposition was marked by the promotion of or refusal to learn Basque, which is a sensitive matter for many Basques, due to its minority status and history of repression. Finally, an extension of this study would apply its findings to research into the intersection between language ideologies and identities in relation to minority languages and teacher-to-student relations in other European multi-ethnic environments. This would enable the creation of a common framework and pedagogic guidelines for educators when hosting immigrant students learning minority languages in our education systems.
References
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