Opening Doors to Success in Multilingual Classrooms: Bilingualism, Codeswitching and the Professional Identities of Ethnic Minority Primary Teachers

Abstract

In England, government initiatives to recruit more ethnic minority teachers into mainstream schools have met with only limited success. One important reason for this may be that the factors that contribute to their distinctive professional skills and identities, and their potential to help raise the achievements of ethnic minority pupils, are not well understood. These factors are complex and, as yet, under-researched. This paper presents evidence from interviews with bilingual primary teachers which illustrates their views on issues of bilingualism, language choices and pedagogy in multilingual classrooms and the importance of recognising community resources. An extended example of teacher–pupil interaction from a complementary classroom setting, showing codeswitching between English and Punjabi, is analysed and discussed using a sociocultural theory of learning which recognises the inseparability of language, culture and context and places emphasis on culture. This keys into broader ideas about ‘culturally responsive pedagogies’. It begins to show how codeswitching, as part of an ‘additive bilingual’ pedagogy, may have the potential to raise pupils' achievements. Finally, while the focus of the paper is on bilingual teachers, the important roles played by all teachers in their pupils' success is recognised.