Transforming teaching towards plurilingualism: contributions from reflective practice and a sociocultural approach

ABSTRACT

This article presents a theoretical and methodological approach for transforming teaching education toward plurilingualism. We analyzed data from a formative intervention, based on a sociocultural-based teacher education approach. By using the models of reflective practice and double stimulation, we supported 10 language teachers to reconceptualize their practice into more plurilingual models. Findings show how the process of transformation toward plurilingualism takes place through three cognitive moves that teachers come up with to resolve contradictions. We conclude that sociocultural-based teacher education models can play an important role in supporting teachers reconceptualize their practices and thus, allow for professional development.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the support received by the teachers of the schools which participated in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. This work was supported by the Spanish Government [Ministerio de Educación y Formación profesional] under Grant ECRELEN-EDU2010 21,056; Catalan Government [AGAUR] under Grant ARMIF 201,700,014.

2. To respect the teachers’ anonymity and privacy, all names mentioned are pseudonyms.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Spanish Government [Ministerio de Educación y Formación profesional] under Grant ECRELEN-EDU2010-21056; Catalan Government [AGAUR] under Grant ARMIF 201700014.