Li WeiUCL Institute of Education

Structure and Content

Rethinking ‘community language’ and ‘community language education’ in the global perspective

the relationships between complementary schools and the so-called mainstream schools

Translanguaging perspective on community language education

How Translanguaging challenges ‘separate multilingualism’ – post-multilingualism

Community and Community Language in Globalization and Superdiversity

Community – a set of relationships between individuals with shared cultural heritage and/or values

In 21st century, communities differ in sizes, history, demography (ethnicity, gender and sexuality, age, social class, occupation, etc), location (can be mobile or virtual), and of course language

Communities are not static; they change and move, and are connected globally

Community language is the language by and for a specific set of social relationships

A community language is often simultaneously a national language or even an international language in a different context

Most communities (especially migrant) have more than one language, because they need to have and deal with multiple sets of social relationships

Community language education in globalization and superdiversity

CLE is for enhancing different social relationships between people and peoples

Cultural heritage and cultural values are key components of CLE

CLE has to address nationalism and national values

CLE has to address global issues and intercultural communication

New ‘Global’ Thinking of CLE Traditional purposes of CLE: *family relations *community cohesion (within) *cultural heritage/identity NOT *passing exams; *getting jobs

New citizenship and national identity Community relations (outward

looking) Global outlook

In need of research evidence to demonstrate: Consequences and Benefits of CLE Learning and knowledge construction Thinking (creativity, criticality) But above all, benefits to the wider

society and the nation Economic benefits for the individuals

and the nation Citizenship and national security International connections and global

competitiveness

Links between community language schools and ‘mainstream’ schools

Not a hierarchical relationship, but partnerships

Not simply hiring premises and facilities

What the ‘mainstream’ schools can learn and benefit from community language schools

Open Door Policy – to pupils, parents and teachers, and to ‘other’ communities

Translanguaging perspective on CLE One of the key challenges of multilingualism

in the 21st century: how to protect the identity and integrity of individual languages whilst recognizing and promoting the fluidity of diversity and contact.

At the individual level, language learners/users increasingly find themselves having to deal with the question of how to express one’s cultural values through a language, or languages, that is/are traditionally associated with the Other/Others.

Post-Multilingualism

These are what might be called the Post-Multilingualism phenomena.

The traditional approaches to multilingualism where societies are encouraged to protect and individuals are encourage to learn different languages seem less than adequate for the post-multilingualism challenges

Translanguaging

A new theoretical perspective on the post-multilingualism challenge

the dynamic process whereby multilingual language users mediate complex social and cognitive activities through strategic employment of multiple semiotic resources to act, to know and to be (Garcia and Li Wei, 2014).

- The trans prefix emphasizes:- the fluid practices that go beyond

(transcend) socially constructed language systems and structures to engage diverse multiple meaning-making systems and subjectivities

- the transformative capacity of translanguaging practices not only for language systems, but also individual’s cognition and social structures

- the transdisciplinary consequences of re-conceptualizing language, language learning and language use for linguistics, psychology, sociology and education

The Translanguaging Perspective on (Community Language) Education

More than a pedagogical practice Focus on meaning making

multiple recoursesmultiple modes

Focus on transformationknowledge constructionsubjectivityrelationships

Education as a Translanguaging Space a space constituted by translanguaging and

for translanguaging a space for the multilingual user to bring

together different dimensions of their personal history, experience, and environment, their attitude, belief and ideology, their cognitive and physical capacity into one coordinated and meaningful performance

a space where subjectivities and ideologies are constituted and re-constructed.

The Translanguaging approach aims to- transcend conventional boundaries

between languages, and between language and other cognitive and semiotic systems

- highlight the individual’s potential for Creativity and Criticality (Claire Kramsch: Symbolic Competence)

- transform our way of thinking of multilingualism (and the Myth of Monolingualism) and the divides between multilingualism, multiculturalism, multicompetence etc.

Conclusion CLE has a long, complex history in the UK,

with many achievements For CLE to meet the challenges of the 21st

century, it needs to develop a new global outlook

Post-multilingualism is not about co-existence or co-use of multiple languages.

It is about the dilemma of protecting the identity and integrity of different individual languages whilst recognizing and promoting the fluidity of diversity and contact.

It is about finding ways of expressing one’s cultural values and socio-political views through a language or multiple languages that are traditionally associated with the Other/Others.

CLE needs to embrace Translanguaging, rather than aiming to maintain ‘separate multilingualisms’

Language learners and users know what they can/cannot do linguistically and make full use of their multilingual and multimodal resources (truncated, mobile, as they may be) creatively to push boundaries.

In doing so, they show their socio-political sense and sensitivities.

Through Translanguaging, their knowledge of the world, relationships with others and their own subjectivities are transformed as well.

Thank you!

li.wei@ucl.ac.uk