Lluosieithrwydd yn y Cwricwlwm i Gymru: ymchwiliad ansoddol i gredoau athrawon uwchradd Ieithoedd Rhyngwladol yn ystod cyfnod paratoadol y cwricwlwm newydd a TGAU diwygiedig / Plurilingualism in the Curriculum for Wales: a qualitative inquiry into secondary school International Languages teachers’ beliefs during the preparatory stages of the new curriculum and reformed GCSEs

Arfon, Elin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6486-804X 2023. Lluosieithrwydd yn y Cwricwlwm i Gymru: ymchwiliad ansoddol i gredoau athrawon uwchradd Ieithoedd Rhyngwladol yn ystod cyfnod paratoadol y cwricwlwm newydd a TGAU diwygiedig / Plurilingualism in the Curriculum for Wales: a qualitative inquiry into secondary school International Languages teachers’ beliefs during the preparatory stages of the new curriculum and reformed GCSEs. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Education systems across the globe are reconceptualising what it means to learn languages, with plurilingualism now often promoted as fostering the interconnectedness of languages. In Wales, this study’s context, the Welsh-English bilingual education system is at the core of education provision. International Languages—languages beyond English and Welsh—are also taught as the third language subject. However, the introduction of the new Curriculum for Wales from 2022 has meant an explicit first introduction to language learning in Wales of the term plurilingualism and its pedagogy of establishing links between English, International Languages and Welsh. At the same time, reforms are underway for the end of compulsory secondary schooling General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations in Wales due to be first taught from 2025 and first awarded from 2027. The turn in education towards plurilingualism has brought with it a plethora of studies that have examined teachers’ beliefs about plurilingualism across the globe. The focus of many teachers’ beliefs studies regarding plurilingualism centre around an important exploration of the classroom teaching context specifically. Nevertheless, many such studies do not explore the role of different school mediums of instruction within a bilingual education system on such beliefs. There is also a dearth of research in Wales on teachers’ beliefs about plurilingualism. As those at the centre of curriculum implementation, it is crucial that we explore and understand the beliefs of teachers in Wales and internationally to inform curriculum developments going forward. An exploration of beliefs about plurilingualism in a minority language-driven bilingual education system in which English is taught as the first language subject rather than the second or third language subject renders different and interesting data for international consideration. This study is a qualitative inquiry into the beliefs of 37 in-service secondary school International Languages teachers across Wales on plurilingualism. Semi-structured remote interviews took place in 2021 during the preparatory stages of the new curriculum and consultation period for reformed GCSEs in Wales. This study considers the effect of different school mediums of instruction on the beliefs of teachers who teach International Languages in the bilingual education system in Wales. This is done through looking beyond the immediate classroom context to consider beliefs about plurilingualism as a term, as pedagogy (classroom context and language subject collaboration context), and about International Languages GCSE examinations in relation to (plurilingual) teaching. These aims are brought together in this research’s ecological approach, which offers an integrated analysis of teachers’ educational beliefs. The ecological approach also considers the relations between teachers’ beliefs and the various contexts within the education system in Wales (Bronfenbrenner 1979). Findings demonstrate that, while International Languages teachers may not have been fully aware of the term plurilingualism, they believed they established links between languages as part of their pedagogy. Conversely, they saw GCSE examinations for separate languages as a driver of their teaching. A complex set of beliefs were manifested, and differences were especially observed in relation to beliefs about plurilingual pedagogy across different school mediums of instruction. Teachers’ beliefs, overall, thus suggest their implementation to varying extents of curriculum-driven plurilingualism and how it was enabled and hindered by many factors. Indeed, research findings suggest that it is the intersection between teachers’ lack of explicit awareness of and confusion around plurilingualism, as well as a lack of clear guidance and training in using plurilingual pedagogy and the role of examinations, that is the key obstacle for teachers in not being able to fully carry out curriculum-driven plurilingualism. These findings highlight the impact of Language Education Policy, as well as a reformed examination system, on teachers’ beliefs within the education system in Wales.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Modern Languages
Funders:	ESRC Wales DTP, Welsh Government, British Council Wales
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	27 February 2024
Last Modified:	01 Mar 2024 10:51
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/166579

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