Article published in:
Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts
Vol. 3:2 (2017) ► pp. 184–209

The multilingual turn in FL education

Investigating L3/Ln learners’ reading-writing

| Columbia University

The study reported in this article aimed at exploring the impact of pluralistic pedagogy practices on L3/Ln learners’ reading and writing abilities in a multilingual classroom. Students attended an Intensive Elementary Italian course. The prerequisite to register for this course was knowledge of at least one other Romance Language or previous exposure to the Italian language. Specifically, the investigation examined whether and how the plurilingual system of these learners could affect the development of the language abilities mentioned above. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using questionnaires and more traditional tests: a writing test and a reading test with a gradual increase in complexity. The results showed that a plurilingual pedagogy facilitated positive interlingual transfers, and consequently the development of both language abilities, particularly writing. It also appeared that connections between reading and writing were established, that is, the improvement of students’ writing skills affected reading comprehension and not vice versa. The development of these language abilities also seemed to be affected by other variables such as the proficiency level of languages present in learners’ plurilingual repertoire. To conclude, possible implications for language teaching/learning are discussed.

Keywords: plurilingualism, L3/Ln reading comprehension, L3/Ln writing ability, pluralistic instruction, language abilities
Article outline
  • 1.The multilingual challenge in North American higher education
  • 2.Reading and writing in L2 and L3/Ln acquisition
    • 2.1Relations between reading and writing abilities in First, Second and Third Language
  • 3.Research questions
  • 4.Method
    • 4.1Setting and participants
    • 4.2Materials and instruction
    • 4.3Data collection
  • 5.Findings
  • 6.Discussion and conclusion
  • Notes
  • References


This article is currently available as a sample article.

Published online: 23 June 2017
https://doi.org/10.1075/ttmc.3.2.03spi
References
Adams, Marylin Jager
1990 Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Adloff, Susan, Charles Perfetti, and Hugh Catts
2011 “Developmental Changes in Reading Comprehension: Implication for Assessment and Instruction.” In What Research has to say about Reading Instruction, ed. by S. Jay Samuel, and Alan Frastrup, 186–214. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Alderson, J. Charles
1984 “Reading in a Foreign Language: A Reading Problem or a Language Problem?” In Reading in a Foreign Language, ed. by Sandy Urquhart, and J. Charles Alderson, 1–27. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
2000 Assessing Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ashton, Mick
2003 “The Change at the Paper Level. Paper 1 Reading 1”. In Continuity and Innovation: Revising the Cambridge Proficiency in English Examination 1913–2002, ed. by Cyril Weir, and Michael Milanovic, 121–174. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Baker, Linda, and Ann L. Brown
1984 “Metacogntive Skills and Reading.” In Handbook for Reading Research, ed. by David Pearson, 353–394. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Belanger, Jacques
1987 “Theory and Research into Reading and Writing Connections: A Critical Review.” Reading-Canada Lecture 5 (1): 10–18.Google Scholar
Bhatia, Vijai K.
1993 Analysing Genre. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Birch, Barbara M.
2007 English L2 Reading: Getting to the Bottom. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Caddéo, Sandrine, and Marie Christine Jamet
2013 L’intercompréhension: une autre approche pour l’ensegneiment des langues. Paris: Hachette.Google Scholar
Candelier, Michael, Antoinette Camilleri-Grima, Véronique Castellotti, Ildikó Lörinez, Franz Joseph Meissner, and Anna Shröder-Sura
2010 FREPA/Carap Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures. Graz: ECML publications.Google Scholar
Carlson, Robert F., J. Peter Kincaid, Sara Lance, and Thomas Hodgson
1976 “Spontaneous Use of Mnemonics and Grade Point Average.” Journal of Psychology 92 (1): 117–122. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carson, Joan Eisterhold, Patricia L. Carrell, Sandra Silberstein, Barbara Kroll, and Phyllis A. Kuhen
1990 “Reading-Writing Relationship in First and Second Language.” TESOL Quartely 241: 245–266. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carson, Joan G., and Ilona Leki
1993 Introduction. In Reading in the Composition Classroom: Second Language Perspectives, ed. by Joan. G. Carson, and Ilona Leki, 1–7. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.Google Scholar
Castagne, Éric
2011 Intercompréhension et dynamique des inférences: des languages voisines aux langues non voisines. In Proceedings of Attraverso le lingue. L’Intercomprensione in ricordo di Claire Blanche-Benveniste, ed. by Elisabetta Bonvino, Sandrine Caddéo, and Salvador Pippa, 81–93. Camuscha: Comos.Google Scholar
Cenoz, Jasone
2013 “Third Language Acquisition.” In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, ed. by Carol A. Chapelle, 1–5. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
Cohen, Andrew D., and Thomas A. Upton
2006 Strategies in Responding to the New TOEFL Reading Tasks (Monograph No. 33). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Services.Google Scholar
Cook, Vivian
1997 “The Consequences of Bilingualism for Cognitive Processing.” In Tutorials in Bilingualism, ed. by Annete M.B. De Groot, and Judith F. Kroll, 279–299. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cook, Vivian, and Benedetta Bassetti
2005 Second Language Writing Systems. Buffalo: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cope, Bill, and Mary Kalantzis
2000 “Introduction: Multiliteracies: The Beginning of an Idea.” In Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures, ed. by Bill Cope, and Mary Kalantzis, 3–8. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
2009 “Multiliteracy: New Literacies, New Learning.” Pedagogies: An International Journal 41: 164–195. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cope, Bill, and Robin Freeman
2001 Digital Rights Management and Content Development, Technology Drivers Across the Book Production Supply Chain, From the Creator to the Consumer. Melbourne: Common Ground.Google Scholar
Council of Europe
2001 The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cummins, Jim
1981 “The Role of Primary Language Development in Promoting Educational Success for Language Minority Students.” In Schooling and Language Minority Students: A Theoretical Framework, ed. by California State Department of Education, 3–49. Los Angeles: California State Department of Education.Google Scholar
Escudé, Pierre, and Pierre Janin
2010 Le point sur l’intercompréhension, clé du plurilinguisme. Paris: CLE International.Google Scholar
Ferris, Diana, and John Hedgcock
1998 Teaching ESL Composition: Purpose, Process, and Practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Flavel, John H.
1979 “Metacognition and Cognitive Monitoring: A New Area of Cognitive-developmental Inquiry.” American Psychologist 3041: 906–911. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Goodman, Kenneth. S.
1967 “A Psycholinguistic Guessing Game.” Journalist of the Reading Specialists 6 (4): 126–135. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gough, Philip B., and William E. Tunmer
1986 “Decoding, Reading and Reading Disability.” Remedial and Special Education 71: 6–10. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Grabe, William
2001 “Reading-Writing Relation: Theorical Perspectives and Instructional Practices.” In Linking Literacies: Perspectives on Reading-Writing Connections, ed. by Diane Belcher, and Alan Hirvela, 15–47. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
2009 Reading in a Second Language. 3rd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Grabe, William, and Robert B. Kaplan
1996 Theory and Practice of Writing. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Hirvela, Alan
2004 Connecting Reading and Writing in Second Language Writing Instruction. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hunt, Russel A.
1985 “Reading as Writing: Meaning-making and Sentence Combining.” In Sentence Combining: A Rhetorical Perspective, ed. by Donald A. Daiker, Andrew Kerek, and Max Morenberg, 159–174. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.Google Scholar
Hyland, Ken
2003 Second Language Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Just, Marcel A, and Patricia A. Carpenter
1987 The Psychology of Reading and Language Comprehension. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Khalifa Hannah, and Cyril Weir
2009 Examining Reading: Research and Practice in Assessing Second Languages Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kaplan, Robert B.
1996 “Cultural Thought Patterns in Intercultural Education.” Language Learning 16 (1–2): 1–20.Google Scholar
Koda, Keiko
2007 “Reading and Language Learning: Crosslinguistic Constraints on Second Language Reading Development.” Language Learning Supplement 571: 1–44. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kramsch, Claire
2012 “Autenticity and Legitimacy in Multilingual SLA.” Critical Multilingualism Studies 1 (1): 107–228.Google Scholar
Kress, Gunther
2000 “Multimodality.” In Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures, ed. by Bill Cope, and Mary Kalantzis, 182–202. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
2003 Literacy in the New Media Age. London: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
MLA Ad Hoc Committee on Foreign Languages
2007 “Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World”, 1–12. http://​www​.mla​.org​/flreport.
Nagy, William, Georgia E. Garcia, Barbara Hancing-Bhatt, and Aydin Durgunoglu
1993 “Spanish-English Bilingual Students’ Use of Cognates in English Reading.” Journal of Reading Behaviour 251: 241–259. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
New London Group
1996 “A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures.” Harvard Educational Review 66 (1): 60–92. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2000 “A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies. Designing Social Futures.” In Multiliteracies.Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures., ed. by Bill Cope, and Mary Kalantzis, 9–39. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Perfetti, Charles A.
1999 “Comprehending Written Language a Blueprint for Readers.” In The Neurocognition of Language, ed. by Colin M. Brown, and Peter Hagoort, 167–208. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
2007 “Reading Ability: Lexical Quality to Comprehension.” Scientific Studies of Reading 111: 357–383. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Peritz, Janice H.
1993 “Making a Place for Academic Writing.” College Composition and Communication 441: 380–385. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rasinski, Timothy
2004 “Creating Fluent Readers.” Educational Leadership 611: 46–51.Google Scholar
Schoonen, Rob, Bart Bosser, and Jan Hulstijn
1998 “Language Dependent and Language Independent in Native and Foreign Language Reading Comprehension. An Empirical Study among Dutch Students in Grades 6, 8, and 10.” Language Learning 481: 71–106. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Singer, Murray, and José Leon
2007 “Psycological Studies of Higher Language Processes: Behavioral and Empirical Approaches.” In Higher Level Language Processes in the Brain, ed. by Franz Schmalhofer, and Charles Perfetti, 9–25. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Spinelli, Barbara
2015 “Integrating Plurilingualism into Curriculum Design: Toward a Plurilingual Shift.” In Intercomprehension and Plurilingualism, ed. by Anthony Tamburri, and Roberto Dolci, 101–143. New York: John Calandra Italian American Institute Queens College CUNY.Google Scholar
Spinelli, Barbara, and Francesca Parizzi
2010 Profilo della lingua italiana. Firenze: La Nuova Italia.Google Scholar
Stotsky, Sandra
1983 “Research on Reading/Writing Relationships: A Synthesis and Suggested Directions.” Language Arts 601: 627–642.Google Scholar
Swales, John
1990 Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tierney, Robert J.
1992 Ongoing Research and New Directions. In Reading/Writing Connections Learning from Research, ed. by Judith W. Irwin, and Mary Anne Doyle, 246–259. Newark: International Reading Association.Google Scholar
Tierney, Robert J., and P. David Pearson
1983 “Toward a Composing Model of Reading.” Language Arts 601: 568–580.Google Scholar
Tierney, Robert J., and Thomas Shanahan
1991 “Research on the Reading-Writing Relationship: Interactions, Transactions and Outcomes.” In Handbook of Reading Research, ed. by Rebecca Barr, Michael L. Kamil, Peter B. Monsenthal, and David P. Pearson, 246–280. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
van Geldern, Amos, Rob Schoonen, Kees de Glopper, Jan Hulstijn, Patrick Snellings, Annegien Simis, and Marie Stevenson
2003 “Role of Linguistic Knowledge, Metacognitive Knowledge and Processing Speed in L3, L2, L1 Reading Comprehension. A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.” International Journal of Bilingualism 7 (1): 7–25. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Weir, Cyril, and Hannah Khalifa
2008 “A Cognitive Approach Defining Reading Comprehension.” Cambridge ESOL: 2–9.Google Scholar

Full-text

The multilingual turn in FL education
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Motlhaka, Hlavsio
2022.  In Language and Institutional Identity in the Post-Apartheid South African Higher Education [Language Policy, 27], ► pp. 53 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 25 january 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.