Session Information
31 ONLINE 21 A, Linguistic Landscapes for Language Awareness: Teacher Perspectives from across Europe
Symposium
MeetingID: 884 5312 4501 Code: 8n5e0T
Contribution
With growing interest in the field of linguistic landscapes (LLs), numerous studies highlight their relevance for developing pupils’ competences at different levels. Research conducted with teachers is somewhat scarcer, but it shows that exploring LLs helps them realise its potential as an instrument for (language) teaching and learning (Shang & Xie, 2020), to become more aware of linguistic diversity (Hancock, 2012), and to link language to issues of power, equity and sustainable human development (Szabó, 2018). Traditional ways of exploring LLs have included taking and analysing photographs, reading maps, and interpreting geographic coordinates (Dagenais et al., 2009). Digital tools can support these activities with benefits for student and teacher motivation. However, research bridging LLs with digital tools is slim and mostly focused on the use of mobile devices to document LLs (Gaiser & Matras, 2021), rather than on their benefits for learning. We conducted a qualitative case study (Yin, 2009) with seven Portuguese teachers from different subject areas, who developed an interdisciplinary project on LLs with a class of 20 pupils, aged 11-13. An app was specially designed and used in the project to encourage pupils and teachers to document and critically reflect upon LLs, while both co-creating and playing quiz games in the app. Teachers’ prior knowledge and understanding of LLs as well as their perceptions regarding the project’s contribution for their professional development was examined. Data was collected through a semi-structured group interview with the teachers after the project, which was analysed using inductive content analysis (Schreier, 2012). Results show that, prior to the project, teachers were unaware of the concept of LL but came to understand it as a resource with pedagogical potential to develop students’, and their own, critical thinking and language awareness, while also fostering respect for linguistic and cultural diversity. The interdisciplinary nature of the project was stressed as beneficial for collaborative work, helping teachers discover links between LLs and the subjects they teach and articulate different learning spaces (classroom, home, outdoors). Teachers also mentioned the relevance of the specially designed app in updating their pedagogical knowledge, promoting student engagement and motivation, and fostering subject and world knowledge. These findings are relevant for practitioners, who may also use the app in their teaching practice, and for researchers, who may investigate further the links between LLs, mobile learning and teacher professional development.
References
Dagenais, D., Moore, D., Sabatier, C., Lamarre, P. & Armand, F. (2009). Linguistic landscape and language awareness. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (eds.), Linguistic Landscape: Expanding the Scenery (pp. 253-269). Routledge. Gaiser, E. G. & Matras, Y. (2021). Using Smartphones to Document Linguistic Landscapes: The LinguaSnapp Mobile App. Linguistic Vanguard 2021 7: 1-18. Hancock, A. (2012). Capturing the Linguistic Landscape of Edinburgh: A Pedagogical Tool to Investigate Student Teachers’ Understandings of Cultural and Linguistic Diversity. In C. Hélot, M. Barni, R. Janssens & C. Bagna (eds.), Linguistic landscapes, Multilingualism and Social Change (pp. 249 266). Peter Lang. Schreier, M. (2012). Qualitative Content Analysis. Sage. Shang, G. & Xie, F. (2020). Is "Poor" English in Linguistic Landscape Useful for EFL Teaching and Learning? Perspectives of EFL teachers in China. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 30(1): 35-49. Szabó, T. P. (2018). Reflections on the Schoolscape: Teachers on Linguistic Diversity in Hungary and Finland. In M. Palander, V. Koivisto & H. Riionheimo (eds.), On the Border of Language and Dialect (pp. 156-190). SKS Finnish Literature Society. Yin, R. K. (2009). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (4th ed.). Sage.
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