Page 19 - Linguistically Diverse Educational Contexts

formulated in the ad hoc MLA committee report in 2007 that is the key element of change (MLA Ad Hoc Committee Report). This undoubtedly marks a shift away from the structuralism that dominated linguistics in the 20th century. The current move is for a change in the approach to language education and the development of competencies moving towards translingualism13. The prefix "trans-" means "over" and points to the notion of fluidity between languages, where language and meanings are always in the process of creation rather than located in grammatical structures (Canagarajah, 2015, p. 419). In translingualism, diversity is the norm, as minority languages are also translingual, and the distinction between bilingual or multilingual people in today's world no longer seems valid (Blackledge & Creese, 2017): because languages influence one another, people do not have separate competences for separately named languages, therefore giving them labels to distinguish them from one another is only an ideological act (Blackledge & Creese, 2017, p. 33). Nowadays, we have to consider the phenomenon of bilingualism and multilingualism as something relative14. As Baker (2006, p. 16) argues, a definitive definition of who is bilingual is essentially elusive and ultimately impossible15. Therefore, in translingualism the focus is shifted from belonging to diversity, from grammar to practice and from knowing to enacting (Blackledge & Creese, 2017, p. 420). Translingualism means fluidity between languages. In the United States, O. García (2009) and K. Gutiérrez (2008) have developed the concept of "parallel literacy" (2009) using English and Spanish as examples, showing that one language can complement another and sometimes both languages can even be combined in the same text. The pluriliteracies approach16 and translanguaging17 therefore seem to be conducive to translingualism, as it is important to understand the relationship between language, literacy, and the social environment (Pahl, 2008).
Therefore, it can be assumed that the role of the foreign or second language teacher should not only be to teach the language but also, and more importantly, to act as a mentor in the process of developing the students' critical language awareness, but in order for the teacher to be able to take on this role, he or she needs to develop critical language awareness and sensitivity to language issues (Fairclough, 2001; Reagan & Osborn, 2002). Teachers who are not reflective generally do not provide opportunities for students to reflect on issues of language diversity or critical language awareness (Reagan & Osborn, 2002, p. 84). The way we think about knowledge and what it means to know something seems crucial, as it directly affects all aspects of our work as teachers. Every decision that is made or taken by a teacher or by someone who decides on the whole education system (no matter how neutral we think it is) reflects not only that person's worldview, but also their political ideology,
13 This term was introduced in the article: Horner et al., 2010.
14 Weir, 2000.
15 This approach differs significantly from Bloomfield's 1933 definition of bilingualism, which refers to mastering two languages equally.
16 Described in Chapter 2. Pluriliteracy is an approach that may be an answer to the current issues in language education because it is based on a changed understanding of language and its role in learning, especially where language is seen as a means of knowing the world and learning as a process of meaning-making.
Pluriliteracy occurs when learners engage in subject-specific ways of constructing knowledge and expressing their understanding using appropriate language (Meyer & Coyle, 2017, p. 199), as language use is the primary evidence that learning processes are taking place (Mohan, 2010).
17 Described in Chapter 1. Translanguaging is the natural and intuitive use of different languages in complex, multilingual, and intercultural situations. The use of different languages by learners promotes the clarification of new content or ideas that arise during the course of the activity. See García, 2009; Lewis et al., 2012, pp. 655– 670.
In translingualism, the notion of code-switching is rejected because the idea of linguistic codes existing separately is rejected.
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