Page 81 - Linguistically Diverse Educational Contexts

can be reached and supported by giving them a voice and providing democratic conditions for an authentic exchange of ideas on moral, social, and cultural issues.
My research considerations became the motivation to work on and create an alternative language course/student manual for English language learning entitled Inclusive, plurilingual and pluricultural learning environment for English language learning145, published by Lower Silesia University Press146. The coursebook is compliant with WCAG 2.1 standards and can be used by students with disabilities.
This course is based on research-based pedagogical reflection on the design of learning to enrich the learning process. The aim of the course is to move from passive to active, inclusive and participatory learning by giving learners a voice and promoting equality, diversity147, a variety of choices, and social action, where language becomes a means of knowing the world and learning becomes a meaning- making process148. Therefore, this course focuses on a learner-led learning process where self- regulation, self-monitoring, and self-assessment are the main goals of learning (Hattie, 2012). Thus, by incorporating their personal, biographical, and cultural histories, students can act as designers of their own learning experiences and learning materials. In today's world of the Web 2.0 media era, users have the tools at their disposal to actively engage in constructing their experiences rather than passively absorbing existing content149. Due to the fact that most teachers and learners have not experienced the application of critical pedagogy, pluriliteracies, or translingualism in language education, it seems reasonable to prepare the basic issues to be implemented in the course, as exemplified by the above-mentioned book.
The pluriliteracies approach is at the core of the course because it facilitates deeper learning by helping learners understand how language contributes to thinking in and learning a foreign language, and how to make meaning, solve problems, and be creative in more than one language. Pluriliteracies increase the potential for communication, knowledge, and understanding between learners. Because the approach that is used in this course is Pluriliteracies Teaching for Deeper Learning (PTDL) (see Coyle & Meyer, 2021), the major genres in academic writing, with particular emphasis on empathy writing, are introduced for social purposes. The purpose of such an activity is to demonstrate and develop an understanding of academic ideas and translate them into non-academic language in order to communicate with a non-specialist reading group (Nesi & Gardner, 2012, p. 42). This therefore contributes to the development of plurilingualism and translingualism and works to deepen social, local, and global self-awareness. Each learning module is based on an authentic text as a starting point
145 The course is available for download at https://rozwoj.dsw.edu.pl/?page_id=802
Scan the code to enter the website or type the website address into your browser.
146 The course was created as part of the project "Accessible University. Studying? No obstacles! A university friendly to people with disabilities".
147 We should pay more attention to the diversity of learners because it manifests itself in who we are, not in what we do.
148 This course and its content are suitable for students from a variety of backgrounds.
149 Crookes, 2010, pp. 333–348.
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