Part 1: Critical communicative repertoire awareness ("CCRA")
According to Hélot and her colleagues:
We need to clarify what we mean by “language.”
When we say “language,” do we mean “the standard language,” “the language of the school,” “the native language,” “the spoken language,” “the written language,” “grammar,” or something else? What color is this unicorn’s mane?
A critical and informed approach to teaching promotes inclusion and authentic language use.
We must not limit ourselves to education policies or pedagogical theories; we must also examine teaching practices and language teaching methods.
We can only engage students in a critical exploration of languages, linguistic systems, and monolingualism and multilingualism after we have clarified what we think about them and why.
We’ve all had different experiences with languages. While some of our colleagues may speak three or four languages fluently, others may have taught or worked abroad, and still others consider themselves “hopeless” when it comes to languages. These personal experiences intertwine with our ethical, moral, political, and religious beliefs to significantly influence our work at school and with our students.
Let’s review a few key concepts
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False. The communicative repertoire is a concept that takes absolutely no account of either proficiency or the power of a language. On the contrary, the communicative repertoire is a concept that allows us to consider all the communicative skills a person possesses, WITHOUT thinking in terms of proficiency.
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True. In most cases, teachers who wish to foster critical awareness of multilingualism will need to rethink certain aspects of their language teaching training. Like all sociocultural phenomena, teaching approaches are subject to trends, respond to the needs of a particular historical moment, and are shaped by the traditions and values of a specific context. In Italy, we have yet to find the right way to embrace multilingualism, and we must be ready to make creative choices.
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García, O. (2016). Critical Multilingual Language Awareness and Teacher Education. In J. Cenoz, D. Gorter, & S. May (Eds.), Language Awareness and Multilingualism (pp. 1–17). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02325-0_30-1
Hélot, C., Frijns, C., Sierens, S., & Gorp, K. (2018). Language Awareness in Multilingual Classrooms in Europe: From Theory to Practice. De Gruyter, Inc.
See also:
Leone-Pizzighella, A. R. (2023). Cultivating communicative repertoire awareness via participatory engagement with middle school teachers. MOSAIC - The Journal for Language Teachers, 14(1), 379–388. https://doi.org/10.69117/MOSAIC.14.1.23.032
The concept of the communicative repertoire allows us to view all linguistic and communicative practices in a holistic and non-hierarchical way. Thus, it gives us the opportunity to look beyond the concepts of ‘mastery’ and ‘competence’ that often dominate the way we talk about languages and language use in school.
With this shift in our focus, we take the first step toward a critical awareness—a careful look—at the role of languages and language use in our students’ lives both inside and outside of school.
Professors Ofelia García (New York City) and Christine Hélot (Strasbourg) were the first scholars of multilingual critical awareness. Their research has played an important role in promoting critical and conscious multilingual teaching .
Prof. Ofelia García on the scope of ‘translanguaging’ and on her interpretation of the concept of ‘repertoire’.
García served as Principal Investigator for the “CUNY-NYSIEB” project in New York City. To explore the resources they’ve developed for teachers (such as this video), click here.
Prof. Christine Hélot on the importance of combating educational inequality by promoting bilingualism among all students.