Multilingual realities/monolingual ideologies

Connecting the dots between schools’ language practices and international student well-being

Bibliographic Data

ID6173777
AuthorsJessica Terruhn (0000-0001-5567-8431, Massey University, corresponding author), Paul Spoonley (0000-0001-8487-5717, Massey University)
Year2020
Volume4
Issue2
Pages183-201
Publication date2020-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTransitions Journal of Transient Migration (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2397-7159 • E-ISSN: 2397-7140
PublisherIntellect (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1386/tjtm_00021_1
OpenAlexW3108563622
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited21

The globalization of the knowledge economy and a concomitant increase in educational mobility have seen greater numbers of international students take up studies in Aotearoa/New Zealand’s education system. As a result of increased educational mobility, alongside other types of migration, ethno-cultural and linguistic diversity has become more common in New Zealand schools. This internationalization of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s education sector has been met with government policies and strategies to ensure the well-being of international students. In these strategies, well-being is indicated by economic security, health and safety, as well as high-quality education and a welcoming and inclusive experience in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Drawing on data from a research project that examined how school policies and practices shape international English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) students’ sense of belonging, inclusion and well-being at a New Zealand secondary school, this article illuminates how school language practices impact on international students’ well-being. Specifically, the article highlights a profound mismatch between the diversification of the student body and the privileging of monolingual English-only practices in the classroom as well as the disparity between intentions and effects of the school’s pull-out ESOL class programme, in which ESOL-designated students are taught separately from ‘mainstream’ students. The discussion highlights the detrimental and discriminatory impacts such language practices had on international students. Based on this analysis, we argue that strategies that are designed to ensure international student well-being need to put greater emphasis on the instructional needs of culturally and linguistically diverse learners by advocating for linguistically responsive practices and that schools need to normalize multilingual practices to ensure international student well-being and to work towards equitable and just education

Aotearoa · Business · Government (linguistics · Inclusion (mineral · Internationalization · Mainstream · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Gender Studies · Multilingual Education and Policy · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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