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Sociolinguistics Symposium 19: Language and the City

Sociolinguistics Symposium 19

Freie Universität Berlin | August 21-24, 2012

Programme: accepted abstracts

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Abstract ID: 444

Part of Session 105: Language and Superdiversity (Other abstracts in this session)

Heritage language education and the challenge of superdiversity

Authors: Willoughby, Louisa
Submitted by: Willoughby, Louisa (Monash University, Australia)

Global migration flows are causing our cities to become more and more heterogeneous, not only in the variety of countries that migrant come from, but also in the different reasons for migration, migration trajectories, education levels and social networks found within each migrant group (Vertovec 2007). Linguistically, this superdiversity means that even within the one migrant group we will find individuals with very different language repertoires as well as quiet different levels of investment in maintaining or reshaping their repertoires in the new society.

This paper explores some of the practical and theoretical challenges superdiversity poses for heritage language education programs through a case study of one highly multiethnic Australian suburban High School. The school shows an admirable commitment to fostering heritage language learning among its pupils, but has struggled to develop sustainable programs that suit the interests and needs of its superdiverse student body. Drawing on interviews with staff and 20 senior students, the paper reviews the approaches the school has trailed over the years and the merits and pitfalls of each. From this it identifies 3 key elements necessary for successful programs:

  1. Certification as a subject that can count towards the final school leaving certificate
  2. Curriculum and assessment that is tailored to the context in which students live
  3. Coordination and pooling of resources across schools

A key point of concern to emerge from the research was the issue of which language variety is taught in the classroom. The paper thus closes by reflecting on how Blommaert’s (2010) view of language varieties as repertoires might productively be integrated into the historically normative heritage language classroom.

 

REFERENCES

Blommaert, Jan (2010) The sociolinguistics of globalisation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Steven Vertovec (2007) Super-diversity and its implications. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 30:1024-54.

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