Naslov
What do we talk about when we talk about bilingualism? Exploring Croatian pre-service teachers’ beliefs.
(What do we talk about when we talk about bilingualism? Exploring Croatian pre-service teachers’ beliefs)

Autori
Smiljanić, Siniša ; Bratulić, Ana

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Poglavlja u knjigama, znanstveni

Knjiga
Language in Research and Teaching

Urednik/ci
Brala-Vukanović, Marija ; Memišević, Anita

Izdavač
Peter Lang ; Hrvatsko društvo za primijenjenu lingvistiku (HDPL)

Grad
Rijeka

Godina
2018

Raspon stranica
57-72

ISBN
978-3-631-73394-3

Ključne riječi
bilingualism, teacher's beliefs

Sažetak
Multilingualism is an important prerequisite for participation in contemporary European society and taking advantage of the educational and economic opportunities it provides. In addition, numerous studies have shown that knowing more languages confers various linguistic and cognitive advantages (e.g. Barac & Bialystok, 2012). Consequently, the development of individual and societal multilingualism is an important educational goal of the European Union (Council of Europe, 2008), as well as Croatia (Nacionalni okvirni kurikulum, 2011). The successful implementation of the above-mentioned education policy is to a large extent dependant on teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism, which directly influence their teaching practices and indirectly affect students’ and parents’ attitudes (Lasagabaster & Huguet, 2007). Previous research suggests that teachers’ knowledge about multilingualism is incomplete and that their awareness of this phenomenon needs to be raised through formal education and professional development programmes (see Griva, Dinas & Stamou, 2013). However, this issue has been under- researched both in the European and Croatian contexts. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore Croatian pre-service teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism in order to indirectly gain an insight into their willingness to encourage and promote the linguistic potential of their pupils. The sample will consist of graduate students of different study programmes from the Faculty of Teacher Education in Rijeka and teaching track graduate students from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka. With a specifically designed questionnaire we will examine our participants’ understanding of multilingualism and its different forms. We will also explore their views on some of the most common misconceptions about multilingualism and their awareness of the linguistic, cognitive and social advantages it entails. The results will be analysed in the context of research findings about multilingualism and current education policies. Finally, possible directions for future research and advancement of teacher education programmes will be outlined.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Filologija

POVEZANOST RADA