Monikielisen toimijuuden tukeminen koulun toimintayhteisössä

Supporting multilingual agency in the community of practice of the school

Authors

• Heini Lehtonen University of Helsinki
• Maria Ahlholm University of Helsinki
• Salla-Maaria Suuriniemi University of Helsinki
• Anne Tiermas University of Helsinki

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30660/afinla.126750

Keywords:

multilingualism, agency, community of practice, language-aware education

Abstract

This chapter discusses multilingual agency and its construction in the school. Regarding multilingualism, we describe five discursive spaces that organize interaction in the communities of practice: monolingualism, parallel monolingualism, situational multilingualism, institutional multilingualism, and a hybrid space with new ethnicities. The teacher’s actions and the chosen pedagogical approach transform the discursive and spatial norms; transforming norms and practices go hand in hand. The teacher can facilitate individual students in becoming autonomous agents, in interaction with the community. Developing multilingual agency requires student reflection, and dynamic feedback provided by the teacher. Including pupils with different backgrounds in learning is crucial in times of transnational lives. Thus, the practices of the school communities must be grounded in social justice and equity. Translanguaging and linguistically responsive pedagogies offer inquiry-based practices for inclusive language education that supports the pupils’ multilingual selves and language ownership.