The Notion of Plurilingual and Pluricultural Competence in the Teaching of Foreign Languages in France

International audienceIn this article, we analyze the way the notions of plurilingual repertoire and Plurilingual and Pluricultural Competence (henceforth PPC) were interpreted in three foreign language teaching curricula published after 2010 (MENE1526483A, MENE1007260A and MENE1019796A). Our analysis shows that the development of the students' PPC was not as well supported as the development of their linguistic competence in a learned language and therefore the development of students' PPC was treated as a secondary goal. Being an announced but poorly defined objective, the notion of PPC remains unknown and distant to foreign language teachers. Our analysis is illustrated by empirical data collected from a Chinese as a Foreign Language teacher in a senior high school at Strasbourg. Our data demonstrated the anxiety of the teacher when she had to speak French during her Chinese courses and her constant though unwitting use of English to facilitate her teaching. The strategy of using English was interesting and efficient, but the teacher was not aware of it enough to be able to take a step back and to analyze her pedagogical practices. With the help of this example, we would like to argue that a better understanding of the meaning and possible pedagogical outcomes of the notion of PPC would help teachers to understand the cognitive benefits of acknowledging their students' previous language competence in all its diversity and to recognize the value of adopting a more ecological approach to language teaching.Dans cet article, nous avons analysé comment les notions de répertoire plurilingue et compétence plurilingue et pluriculturelle sont interprétées dans trois programmes officiels publiés après 2010 régissant l'enseignement des langues étrangères en France (MENE1526483A, MENE1007260A et MENE1019796A). Nous constatons que la notion de compétence plurilingue et pluriculturelle y a été traitée comme un objectif secondaire, ce qui est notamment manifeste dans le fait que le développement de cette compétence n'est pas autant accompagné que peut l'être le développement des compétences linguistiques. Parce qu'elle consiste en un objectif annoncé mais non étayé, la notion de compétence plurilingue et pluriculturelle reste inconnue et distante pour les praticiens de terrain

A rolling stone gathers no moss? The case of mature students in higher education and their plurilingual repertoires

This study diagnoses how the plurilingual repertoires of mature students (MS) in higher education (HE) are constructed throughout their lives. It addresses the main characteristics of MS; the contexts in which they move throughout their lives, and the situations they contact with languages. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire, mostly comprising open-ended questions. The questionnaire was emailed to 485 MS and was filled in by 195 (40.2%). The results highlight the intrinsic relationship between the MS’ life histories and the construction of their plurilingual repertoires. The findings reinforce the relevance of considering the MS’ plurilingual repertoires and life histories in the development of educational linguistic policies in HE.publishe

La dentelle d'Alençon

Hélot Valéry. La dentelle d'Alençon . In: Bulletin de la Société Nationale des Antiquaires de France, 1950-1951, 1954. p. 112

Ofelia García: A Visionary Thinker

As a tribute to Professor Ofelia García’s visionary thinking on bilingual education, this article relates the reflexive journey of a French academic whose research was profoundly influenced by her scholarly work. The notion of power is the running thread through which four main themes in Ofelia García’s approach to research are discussed in relation to their relevance in the French educational context: The power of imagination, the power of naming, the power of multilingual critical language awareness for teacher education, and the power of translanguaging. In this article, I argue in favor of thinking beyond one’s epistemological borders and illustrate how Ofelia García’s work led to put social justice at the heart of her research agenda, and to understand the need to decolonize our minds in relation to linguistic knowledge

The Notion of Plurilingual and Pluricultural Competence in the Teaching of Foreign Languages in France

In this article, we analyze the way the notions of plurilingual repertoire and Plurilingual and Pluricultural Competence (henceforth PPC) were interpreted in three foreign language teaching curricula published after 2010 (MENE1526483A, MENE1007260A and MENE1019796A). Our analysis shows that the development of the students’ PPC was not as well supported as the development of their linguistic competence in a learned language and therefore the development of students’ PPC was treated as a secondary goal. Being an announced but poorly defined objective, the notion of PPC remains unknown and distant to foreign language teachers. Our analysis is illustrated by empirical data collected from a Chinese as a Foreign Language teacher in a senior high school at Strasbourg. Our data demonstrated the anxiety of the teacher when she had to speak French during her Chinese courses and her constant though unwitting use of English to facilitate her teaching. The strategy of using English was interesting and efficient, but the teacher was not aware of it enough to be able to take a step back and to analyze her pedagogical practices. With the help of this example, we would like to argue that a better understanding of the meaning and possible pedagogical outcomes of the notion of PPC would help teachers to understand the cognitive benefits of acknowledging their students’ previous language competence in all its diversity and to recognize the value of adopting a more ecological approach to language teaching.Dans cet article, nous avons analysé comment les notions de répertoire plurilingue et compétence plurilingue et pluriculturelle sont interprétées dans trois programmes officiels publiés après 2010 régissant l’enseignement des langues étrangères en France (MENE1526483A, MENE1007260A et MENE1019796A). Nous constatons que la notion de compétence plurilingue et pluriculturelle y a été traitée comme un objectif secondaire, ce qui est notamment manifeste dans le fait que le développement de cette compétence n’est pas autant accompagné que peut l’être le développement des compétences linguistiques. Parce qu’elle consiste en un objectif annoncé mais non étayé, la notion de compétence plurilingue et pluriculturelle reste inconnue et distante pour les praticiens de terrain. Ce constat est illustré par des données empiriques provenant d’une enseignante de chinois langue étrangère dans un lycée Strasbourgeois. Nos données démontrent l’angoisse de l’enseignante quand elle parle en français dans sa classe puis son recours régulier à l’anglais dans le cadre de son enseignement. Cette utilisation de l’anglais dans la classe est une forme manifeste mais inconsciente de sollicitation du répertoire plurilingue de l’enseignante. Cette sollicitation est d’autant plus intéressante à observer qu’elle s’avère pertinente et efficace, sans pour autant que l’enseignante ait le recul suffisant pour réfléchir à cette pratique. Nous soulignons qu’une meilleure compréhension de la notion de compétence plurilingue et pluriculturelle et de ses réalisations possibles dans l’enseignement des langues étrangères peut aider les enseignants à en saisir les bénéfices cognitifs en mettant en avant le répertoire plurilingue des élèves et à en reconnaître la valeur en adoptant une approche plus écologique pour enseigner les langues

The Notion of Plurilingual and Pluricultural Competence in the Teaching of Foreign Languages in France

Dans cet article, nous avons analysé comment les notions de répertoire plurilingue et compétence plurilingue et pluriculturelle sont interprétées dans trois programmes officiels publiés après 2010 régissant l'enseignement des langues étrangères en France (MENE1526483A, MENE1007260A et MENE1019796A). Nous constatons que la notion de compétence plurilingue et pluriculturelle y a été traitée comme un objectif secondaire, ce qui est notamment manifeste dans le fait que le développement de cette compétence n'est pas autant accompagné que peut l'être le développement des compétences linguistiques. Parce qu'elle consiste en un objectif annoncé mais non étayé, la notion de compétence plurilingue et pluriculturelle reste inconnue et distante pour les praticiens de terrain.In this article, we analyze the way the notions of plurilingual repertoire and Plurilingual and Pluricultural Competence (henceforth PPC) were interpreted in three foreign language teaching curricula published after 2010 (MENE1526483A, MENE1007260A and MENE1019796A). Our analysis shows that the development of the students' PPC was not as well supported as the development of their linguistic competence in a learned language and therefore the development of students' PPC was treated as a secondary goal. Being an announced but poorly defined objective, the notion of PPC remains unknown and distant to foreign language teachers. Our analysis is illustrated by empirical data collected from a Chinese as a Foreign Language teacher in a senior high school at Strasbourg. Our data demonstrated the anxiety of the teacher when she had to speak French during her Chinese courses and her constant though unwitting use of English to facilitate her teaching. The strategy of using English was interesting and efficient, but the teacher was not aware of it enough to be able to take a step back and to analyze her pedagogical practices. With the help of this example, we would like to argue that a better understanding of the meaning and possible pedagogical outcomes of the notion of PPC would help teachers to understand the cognitive benefits of acknowledging their students' previous language competence in all its diversity and to recognize the value of adopting a more ecological approach to language teaching