Plurilingualism and using languages to learn languages: a sequential approach to deal effectively with language diversity

Abstract

After years of controversy and terminological debate, the plurilingual approach is now well accepted by language teaching communities. Still, doubts concerning how the plurilingual approach can shape the way we teach languages remain. The aim of this article is to describe a pedagogical and sequential approach that can be followed by teachers who wish to deal effectively with language diversity in their classrooms. The sequential approach is based on a humanistic and sociocultural teaching perspective, which takes into account the enhancement of learners’ identities, the flexibility in language teaching and the visibility of learning. It includes three stages that are described and exemplified in the article: Making languages visible, Using languages effectively and Establishing (explicit) connections among languages. Examples of activities are suggested for each one of the stages and they are followed by a list of issues that may be discussed with learners after doing the activities.