Inclusive foreign language Education
Convenors:
- Joanna PFINGSTHORN, University of Bremen, Germany
- Mª Elena GOMEZ PARRA, University of Córdoba, Spain
- Michele DALOISO, University of Parma, Italy
- Malgorzata BARAN-LUCARZ, University of Wroclaw, Poland
Scope:
The aim of this AILA Research Network is to bring together researchers, practitioners, teacher educators, policy makers and language learners active in various geographical, cultural, and institutional settings who would like to share their experience with and local insights into inclusive foreign language education. Our starting point is Halliday’s (1999, p.269) assertion that since all educational learning is mediated through language, either as “a medium of learning” or as “the substance of what is being learned”, language is a key-competence in all education. Therefore, learners with language learning difficulties are at risk of exclusion from education. However, educational research into inclusion tends to underestimate the pivotal role that linguistic competence plays in education. As a network, we thus wish to focus on the question how to create inclusive language learning environments, i.e., how to reduce “barriers to learning and participation” (Booth & Ainscow, 2002, p.3), seek equity, and make engagement in foreign language education accessible to all students. We adopt the broad view of inclusion, which focuses on all students, including marginalized groups, and is thus not limited to those with disabilities (Thomas, 2013). We assume that learner diversity should be viewed as an asset in the foreign language classroom and perceive it as an umbrella term that encompasses a range of differences observed at school, e.g., neurodiversity, cultural and linguistic variation, multilingualism, specific learning differences.
Highlight of 3 scientific ReN works during the previous period:
- Symposium of the ReN entitled “Inclusive Foreign Language Education: Cross-cultural and Interdisciplinary Perspectives” at the AILA Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 2024.
- Symposium of the ReN entitled “Inclusive Intersections” in Bremen, Germany in July2023
- Pfingsthorn, J. & Weltgen, J. (2022). "Inclusive and fair assessment in foreign language education: The role of fundamental attribution error in the evaluation of students’ performance". International Journal of Educational Research Open, 2022, 3, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2022.100160
Some members:
- Joanna PFINGSTHORN, University of Bremen (Germany)
- Maria Elena GOMEZ PARRA, University of Cordoba (Spain)
- Michele DALOISO, University of
- Malgorzata BARAN-LUCARZ, University of Wroclaw (Poland)
- Julia WELTGEN, University of Bremen (Germany)
- Tim GIESLER, University of Bremen (Germany)
- Lea FISCHER, University of Bremen (Germany)
- Bianca HÖPPNER, University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (Gernany)
- Joanna NIJAKOWSKA, University of Warsaw (Poland)
- Magdalena SZYSZKA, University of Opole (Poland)
- Dina TSAGARI, Oslo Metropolitan University (Norway)
- Elżbieta SZYMANSKA-CZAPLAK, University of Opole (Poland)
- Maria Jose SALINAS RANEZO, University of Cordoba (Spain)
- Heiner BÖTTGER, University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (Germany)
- Barbara MUSZYNSKA, University of Lower Silesia (Poland)
- Teresa TING, University of Calabria (Italy)
- Cigdem FIDAN, Middle East Technical University (Turkiye)
- Ana ROVAI, University of Bremen (Germany)
- Marzanna POGORZELSKA, University of Opole (Poland)