Session Information
31 ONLINE 21 A, Linguistic Landscapes for Language Awareness: Teacher Perspectives from across Europe
Symposium
MeetingID: 884 5312 4501 Code: 8n5e0T
Contribution
This presentation will discuss the role of linguistic landscapes as mediators of language attitudes in minority language education in the province of Friesland (Netherlands). Friesland presents a compelling case for such research as it is home to a complex language ecology. The majority language Dutch and the regional language Frisian are the official languages in the region, but there is also a strong presence of English as well as an increasing number of migrant languages. Improving Frisian’s societal position through education may be necessary, as students currently show rather negative attitudes towards the language, which decreases both motivation and performance. It has been suggested that language awareness approaches that connect language to society can improve language attitudes and influence language behaviour (Hélot et al., 2018; Makarova et al., 2020). One way in which language awareness may be raised is by using the surrounding linguistic landscape (LL). In a mixed-method study, combining a survey with students and interviews with teachers and policymakers, the affordances of the LL in the Frisian context of minority language education identified by these three different stakeholder groups is explored (authors, anonymised for review). Survey data showed that secondary school students indeed held negative attitudes towards Frisian, but that they were also most positive about seeing the language in the LL. Incorporating an experts’ viewpoint, interviews showed that both teachers and policymakers identified the potential of LL for the mediation of pupils’ language attitudes. All stakeholders therefore believed that, while there are some obstacles to overcome, LL interventions can be a useful way to improve minority language education and the position of the minority language itself. In combining data from all three stakeholders, this study offers an in-depth understanding of the interrelation between various stakeholders, their beliefs towards minority language education and how the LL may be useful in a minority language context.
References
Hélot, C., Gorp, K., Frijns, C. & Sierens, S. (2018). Introduction: Towards Critical Multilingual Language Awareness for 21st century schools. In C. Hélot, C. Frijns, K. Van Gorp & S. Sierens (eds.), Language Awareness in Multilingual Classrooms in Europe: From Theory to Practice (pp. 1-20). Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501501326-001 Makarova, I., Duarte, J. & Huilcán Herrera, M. (2021). Experts’ Views on the Contribution of Language Awareness and Translanguaging for Minority Language Education. Language Awareness: https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2021.1963976
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