Preparing Teachers to Work with Multilingual Learners

Tobias Schroedler editor Svenja Hammer editor Meike Wernicke editor Antje Hansen editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Multilingual Matters

Published:15th Apr '21

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

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Preparing Teachers to Work with Multilingual Learners cover

Provides a much-needed overview of different international approaches to multilingual teacher preparation

This book examines a diverse range of approaches to multilingualism in teacher education programmes across Europe and North America. It studies how pre-service teachers are being prepared to work in multilingual contexts and the key features of current initiatives that address the linguistic and cultural diversity of their respective countries.

This collection examines a diverse range of approaches to multilingualism in teacher education programmes across Europe and North America. The authors investigate how pre-service teachers are being prepared to work in multilingual contexts and discuss the key features of current pre-service teacher education initiatives that address the increasing linguistic and cultural diversity evident in classrooms in their respective countries. The focus is not only on migrant-background learners but includes students from Indigenous, autochthonous and heritage language backgrounds, and speakers of minoritised regional varieties. The chapters contextualise, both historically and ideologically, the specific initiatives and measures taken in the participating countries. They also reveal the complexity of each educational context and the role that history, language policies and institutional and programmatic priorities play in the development and implementation of a multilingual focus in teacher education. In exploring how pre-service teachers are being prepared to work in multilingual contexts, the authors take a critical view of how multilingualism itself is conceptualised within and across contexts. The book highlights the valuable impact that explicit instruction on theories of multilingualism, pedagogies in multilingual classrooms and lived realities of multilingual children can have on the beliefs and practices of pre-service teachers.

This collection makes a useful contribution to the growing research base on teacher education for multilingual learners in linguistically diverse contexts. The international scope of the volume allows for richer – and more historically informed – definitions of multilingualism, and provides insightful comparative analysis of how teacher-education policies and curricula interact in shaping the preparation of future teachers to support multilingual learners. * Jeff Bale, University of Toronto, Canada *

This book is a long awaited deeper look into the ways teacher education responds to the multilingual reality of today's classrooms. The selection of countries elucidates the vital importance of understanding multilingualism in the context of each country's institutional structures and sociopolitical processes. It will help to push forward the agenda in many other countries' teacher education as well!

* Barbara Herzog-Punzenberger, University of Innsbruck, Austria *

This much-needed volume deepens our understanding of the commonalities and complexities of preparing teachers to address linguistic and cultural diversity. The authors from nine countries have forged an international alliance that accounts for the unique historical context of each setting. This important work sets the stage for future research on the equitable education of multilingual learners across their nations and around the world.

* Nancy L. Commins, University of Colorado Denver, USA *

The studies [in this book] uncover that more effort is needed to develop knowledge, skills, experiences, and awareness in the teacher candidates to teach CLD students. One of the contributions of this volume for those who are interested in multilingual education is that it reports how pre-service teachers are prepared in Europe and North America to teach multilingual learners. The chapters also unveil that the education policies and practices are informed by monolingual ideology and focus on developing literacy skills and content knowledge in the official and/or English language.

-- Tirtha Karki, Purdue University, USA * Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 2022 *

This volume is an important contribution to the research on multilingualism and teacher education [It] is essential reading for students of applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, sociology, psychology, language acquisition and education, researchers, practitioners, teachers, educators, and members of the general public who would like to know more about the recent developments in the areas of multilingualism and teacher education.

-- Sviatlana Karpava, University of Cyprus, Cyprus * LINGUIST List 32.2737 *

ISBN: 9781788926102

Dimensions: 234mm x 156mm x 17mm

Weight: 528g

256 pages