Flexible models of multilingual education: The withdrawal of top- down language planning? Fiona Willans

Using Vanuatu as a case study... Question: Is it possible to put in place a flexible model of multilingual education, within which teachers and learners are given the freedom to negotiate teaching and learning through all available linguistic resources? as they do outside school in everyday interaction as they tend to do anyway inside the classroom as advocated by much Sociolinguistic research ???

Moving beyond: “the development of two separate worlds where heterogeny [outside school] and homogeny [inside school] each govern language without acknowledging the presence of the other world” (Higgins, 2009, p.51) Towards: a dynamic theoretical framework of multilingualism, underpinned by a heteroglossic ideology (García, 2009, 2012) “a holistic and coherent approach” in order to “promote an integrated competence and a consciousness of learners’ existing repertoires and of their potential to develop and adapt those repertoires to changing circumstances” (Council of Europe, 2007, p.8, 41)

Language-in-education policy in Vanuatu since 1980 ANGLOPHONE STREAMFRANCOPHONE STREAM Year 1 English mediumFrench medium Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 Year 14 French as a subject (4 hours a week) English as a subject (4 hours a week)

Linguistic homogeneity within the classroom T:Pour calculer la croissance de la population. Alors pour faire le calcul sur la croissance de la population? Il s’agit plutôt ici? De deux facteurs. Donc le premier facteur était plutôt? ((3)) C’est quoi. ((2)) Oui ? S1 :Croisement T :La croisement naturelle. Et nous avons le deuxième facteur qui est plutôt le? Ss :Migration T :La migrationé. Alors qu’est ce qu’il y a ici comme la différence entre la croisement naturelle et la migrationé. Que veut dire à croisement naturelle? ((1)) Ca veut dire quoi pour vous ((2)) Comme [xx] à croisement naturelle. ((4)) A quoi ? ((2)) C’est quoi le uh la croisement naturelle ? On parle ici de quoi ici exactement dans ce? Ce que c’est la croisement naturelle. ((2)) Il s’agit de quoi. Ss :Naissances. T : Il s’agit plutôt de changement eu à ? Ss :Naissances. T :Le chiffre du plutôt au naissances et au ? Ss :Décès. T :Au décès.

Meanwhile... when no one’s listening T: The first style that Hau’ofa uses is oral story telling. And oral story telling hem i sem mak nomo olsem yumi wanem yumi kolem custom story. S: Dukuni T: Dukuni. Dukuni long lanwis blong yumi. Dukuni. Dukuni tavohi dave dam vano dam togarorongo, tomue morovo serigihi vataha revirevi dam vano dave da maturu rave ram veve na dukuni. Dukuni hi a style hi Hau’ofa mo yusum? I sem mak nomo olsem stael we yumi stap yusum long= S: = Stori T: Stori blong yumi. (2) Ale ahm dukuni ngerehi ram tangaloi ram veve stori oli stori out loud olsem ale yumi, o yumi olsem ol man we yumi stap long lesen nao ol audiences. Be Hau’ofa hem i. Uses. Hem i yusum same particular style. S: Ah audience ngwere tangaloi ram toka ram rorotagi? T: Hau’ofa nge mo. Oli kolem oral story telling from se Hau’ofa i yusum stael ia olsem oral story telling ia nao. Hem i oral oli olsem talem out loud. Okay stori ia hem i olsem se particular style we Hau’ofa i yusum ia? It’s just as if hem i stap talemaot stori out loud to= S: =Evriwan T: Yes to one audience olsem

1999 language policy: the outcome ANGLOPHONE STREAMFRANCOPHONE STREAM Year 1 English mediumFrench medium Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 Year 14 French as a subject English as a subject Vernacular medium

2010 proposals: the rhetoric “Plurilingual education” should: take into account and value the “linguistic profiles” with which children start school work to develop further linguistic resources that will in turn help “develop individual potential” view language teaching “holistically” rather than treating each language separately (Preliminary report from Education Language Policy Team 2009)

2010 proposals: the outcome K Arts / SciencesSciences / Arts Vernacular French English ← Hours per week →

The latest (2012) policy: the rhetoric Outcome-based, child-centred curriculum, aligned with assessment The new curriculum “promotes the use of many languages including our national language of Bislama and other vernacular languages and our three official languages Bislama, French and English and supports learning languages that are economically and socially important to our country’s future”

The latest (2012) policy: the outcome ANGLOPHONE STREAMFRANCOPHONE STREAM Year 1 English mediumFrench medium Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 Year 14 French as a subject English as a subject Vernacular medium (or Bislama)

Guidance for teachers Teach in either French or English in all schools. However, in the first two years of school, Bislama or a local vernacular can be used while either French or English is introduced by the second semester of Year 3. By the end of Year 3, the language of instruction should be either French or English, However, teachers will continue to use, for as long as is necessary, the agreed local vernacular languages to support children as they make the transition to English or French.

Flexible use of repertoires... Vision: A shift towards outcome-based learning – committed to finding the best way to ensure that outcomes are achieved Discourse: Language being talked about as a tool that can be used in any way that ensures learning Practice: Pragmatic use of multiple linguistic resources both inside and outside the classroom

... butting up against: Feelings about use of multiple languages Fallback strategy because the children aren’t good enough in ‘the right language’ Desire to maximise use of English & French Formal language planning concerns Corpus planning discussions Curriculum and assessment Guidelines to schools

So Is it possible to put in place a flexible model of multilingual education, within which teachers and learners are given the freedom to negotiate teaching and learning through all available linguistic resources? Requires a sideways approach Support from the ‘top’ Training and guidance at every level Genuine desire at the ‘bottom’

Council of Europe. (2007). From linguistic diversity to plurilingual education: Guide for the development of language education policies in Europe. Strasbourg: Retrieved from García, O. (2009). Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. García, O., & Flores, N. (2012). Multilingual pedagogies. In M. Martin-Jones, A. Blackledge & A. Creese (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of multilingualism (pp ). Abingdon: Routledge. Higgins, C. (2009). English as a Local Language: Post- colonial Identities and Multilingual Practices. Bristol: Multilingual Matters