Renata's slides for academic writing course University of iceland April 2018

1. The linguistic repertoire: Plurilingual
students´ tool to achieve
communicative and academic goals
Renata Emilsson Peskova
University of Iceland, rep1@hi.is
hi unconference
11.4.2018

2. What you will hear
Answer to the research question:
How do plurilingual students report on their use of
their linguistic repertoire?
&
 Introductory remarks
 Concepts about language
 A story of a plurilingual student
 Hints for educators

3. Methodology and method
Qualitative research
Social constructivism
Case study
• Purposeful selection (Móðurmál – the Association on
Bilingualism)
Semi-structured face-to-face in-depth interviews,
• Taken in Icelandic and English
• Transcribed verbatim
Thematic analysis
Language portraits
Insider and outsider view of the researcher

4. Plurilingualism and multilingualism in
Iceland
10%

5. German
standar
d
German
dialect
French
Icelandi
c
English
Danish
Arabic
Thai

6. Concepts
 School experience
 Heritage language
 Heritage language schools
 Linguistic repertoire
 Linguistic identity

7. A case study: Erag
Actors in the picture
• Students (HL and school language, foreign languages)
• Students´ peers and friends (school language, less HL)
• Parents and siblings (HL, less language of the society)
• Families in Iceland, in the country of origin of
parents, and abroad (HL, less language of the society)
• Class teachers (school language)
• HL teachers (HL)

8. Albanian: Heritage language
You know I think it (Albanian – REP) helps him . open
mind for him . build more love . for for our families there.
We have big family there (Valon – Erag´s father)
I don´t know we are trying everything we are trying to
keep them . you know just playing, trying to learn them
history, trying to learn them language, heritage ...
tradition, music, arts and WHAT THEY WANT we have
to we just . PLAY in Albanian, we just talk together in
Albanian. (Valon – HL teacher)

9. Albanian – cont.
• R: OK. An are you in touch with the family abroad?
• E: Yes (overlap). We are going to visit them in summer...
• R: Mhm (overlap)
• E: ... and we talk a lot with them on skype and ...
• R: OK. Are you then mostly in touch with grandmoms and
granddads? E: Yes, also cousins
• R: Wonderful. Now .. Are they many, is there a big family
abroad?
• E: Yes, this is a big family.
(Erag and researcher)

10. Icelandic: School and majority
language
Yes I think academically he wil make it, he has so many strengths, he is
hardworking and diligent and he wants to finish, he turns in homework
on time and you know he is just conscientious and that helps a lot and
then when he has this because of course it happens that has has
difficulties with something but well but I think that he wil overcome it.
Now it would be great to be able to follow with him at the lower
secondary level then everything gets more difficult (Birna – Erag´s class
teacher)
V: Much better in Icelandic yes. Because he does more in Icelandic of
course. He is much longer in the school and with friends after school, he
reads and reads and reads in Icelandic all the time but very little in
Albanian (Valon – father)

11. Icelandic – cont.
• R: Mhm mhm mhm mhm. Now is there a subject in which you
get particularly good grades? Something that is REALLY easy
for you?
• E: Yes. English and Icelandic. I am just very good at spelling in
Icelandic ... I got 9,5 in English (on the scale 1-10 – REP)
...
• E: Do you find it important to learn Icelandic?
• E: Yes.
• R: Why?
E: I always have to use it. In the school, when I go to town for
example. Yes. (Erag)

12. English: foreign language, global
language
Danish: foreign language
• R: But languages, Danish and English, how does it
go in them?
• E: Very very well in English. Danish . Very well,
too.
• E: I mean I can use English best in the future
because it is an international language (...) if I go
somewhere then I need to use English.
(Erag and researcher)

13. Linguistic repertoire
in social and academic settings: Erag
Language Current use Expected future use
Albanian social social
Icelandic social
academic
social,
academic
professional
English academic social
academic
professional
Danish academic academic

14. Hints for educators
Interconnectedness of languages
 Learning (common underlying proficiency;
transfer)
 Communication (translanguaging)
 Linguistic identity

15. References
Aberdeen, C.G. (2016). Understanding community heritage language schools in Alberta. University of Alberta: Edmonton.
Unpublished manuscript.
Banks, J. A. (2009). Multicultural education: Dimensions and paradigms. New York: Routledge.
Bilash, O. (2010). Developing Heritage Language Literacy: Cracking the code vs reading with understanding. The
International and Heritage Language Association (IHLA) newsletter, 8(2), 1-11.
Bilash, O. (2016). Why invest in heritage language programming. Presentation given at the
Department of Education and Youth on 18. 11. 2016 in Reykjavík.
Boeren, E. (2011). Gender Differences in Formal, Non- Formal and Informal Adult Learning Studies in Continuing
Education (3), 333–346. doi:10.1080/0158037X.2011.610301
Cummins, J. (2014). Mainstreaming plurilingualism: Restructuring Heritage Language in Schools. In P. P. Trifonas & T.
Aravossitas (Eds.), Rethinking Heritage Language Education (1 ed., pp. 1-19). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
García, O. & Kleifgen, J.A. (2010). Educating Emergent Bilinguals. Teacher College Press: New York.
García, O. & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
Gay, G. (2000). Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Ragnarsdóttir, H. (Ed.). (2015). Learning spaces for inclusion and social justice: Success stories from immigrant students
and school communities in four Nordic countries. Report on main findings from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Retrieved from http://lsp2015.hi.is/final_report
Trân, A.D.K. (2015). Untapped resources or deficient 'foreigners': Students of Vietnamese background in Icelandic upper
secondary schools. Reykjavík: University of Iceland, Faculty of Educational Studies
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