Language Portraits

Appreciating Linguistic Diversity through Language Portraits

DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIT:

This unit explores the linguistic diversity in our classrooms by using autobiographical

portraits of language experiences and practices. It aims at familiarising students and teachers with the linguistic wealth and diversity present in our classrooms. By using language portraits, teachers and pupils can understand the importance of languages in a person’s life better and embrace the linguistic diversity as a valuable learning resource for all classmates.

OBJECTIVES:

Discover one's own linguistic diversity
Reflect on one's own linguistic diversity by identifying which role different languages play in different situations and with different people
Get to know the linguistic diversity of fellow students
Become aware of the importance of diverse languages for oneself
Get information about the diverse language backgrounds of learners
Recognise and value the diverse linguistic resources the pupils bring to the classroom
Experience multilingualism as an added value
Experience respect and appreciation for one's mother tongue
Create a classroom climate that affirms linguistic diversity

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of this unit the learners will have…

… become aware of and reflected on their own multilingualism
… gained knowledge of the diverse language backgrounds of their classmates
… experienced the importance of knowing or being interested in different languages by learning that the richness of linguistic plurality constitutes an added value
… developed a sense of how to use their languages in different settings, with different people and on different subjects
… experienced respect and appreciation for their mother tongues by making its uniqueness and importance visible
… gained insight into the importance of different languages in their life

APPLIED METHODOLOGIES:

Personal reflections based on participants’ linguistic diversity
Language portrait silhouette – Students paint the languages they speak in different colours on a silhouette sketch of a body. Information can be given on…
- … how well they speak the language,
- … who they use the language with,
- … how frequently they speak it
- … in which settings they speak it
- … why they are interested in a certain language
- … which language they prefer and why
- … which languages they would like to learn later
Group work – In groups of four, students present their language portraits to each other by explaining their choice of colour, the use of shapes and symbols (e.g. flags) and placement in the body
Visualisation – All language portraits are then displayed for everyone to see by hanging them on the walls of the classroom

REFERENCES:

Gogolin, Ingrid and Ursula Neumann (1991). Sprachliches Handeln in der Grundschule. Die Grundschulzeitschrift 43: 6-13.
Krumm, Hans-Jürgen (2001). Kinder und ihre Sprachen - lebendige Mehrsprachigkeit. Wien: Eviva.
Sprachliche Bildung in der Schuleingangsphase: Bildungssprache Deutsch, Minderheitensprachen, Erstsprachen, Fremdsprachen fest im Griff. (2017) Kiesel neu. Heft 3. Graz: Österreichisches Sprachenkompetenzzentrum. Retrieved from http://www.oesz.at/OESZNEU/document2.php?Submit=&pub_ID=186