The teaching of languages at university in the context of super-diversity

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper, I explore the impact of linguistic super-diversity on the teaching of languages at tertiary level. Through a small-scale study of university-based language teachers in Australia and the United Kingdom, I examine to what extent these teachers have become aware of the changed language profiles that their students are bringing to the classroom and how they have accommodated their teaching approaches to reflect these changes. The results of the study reveal a rather limited level of engagement with the consequences of linguistic super-diversity. I provide some explanations and suggestions for how this could be changed.Keywords: super-diversityuniversity language learningmultilingualism Notes1. Examples include the statement by the Modern Language Association of America (Citation2007) on Foreign Languages and Higher Education (http://www.mla.org/flreport) and the Citation2009 Worton Report.2. In order to maintain confidentiality of the teachers it is not possible to provide either the specific names of these languages or the teachers' profiles by language. In most cases there were only one or two interviewees representing less widely taught languages.3. If no answer was forthcoming from the participant, I asked some additional questions to obtain a response. As the main focus of the project was on establishing the teachers' awareness, providing too much 'leading' information would have defeated the purpose.