Abstract

The increasing occurrence of multilingualism in the educational sphere is challenging teachers to deal with the coexistence of different languages in the classroom. The present paper presents the analysis of language portraits as a tool to make students’ multilingualism visible by using colours to represent their multilingual repertoires. Through a mixed methods design, our research analyses 570 language portraits and sociolinguistic surveys, as well as 21 semi-structured interviews with children aged 6 to 13 in order to investigate the ways in which pupils represent and reflect upon their multilingual repertoires. Using a qualitative content analysis, we have classified the most common patterns within pupils’ choices of colours and placement of languages on their portraits, later analysed through a semiotic approach. Results show three recurring patterns of colour choices: colours of national flags, associations with life experiences, and associations with feelings. As for language placement, results show two recurring patterns: structuring languages according to linguistic skills, and according to body functions. The analysis also revealed a tendency among participants of representing their languages through a “monolingual lens” (García and Flores) and draws implications for the implementation of multilingual education.

抽象的

在教育领域越来越多的语言出现正在挑战教师应对教室中不同语言共存的问题。本文提出了对语言肖像的分析，以此作为一种工具，通过使用颜色来代表他们的多语言曲目，从而使学生的多语言主义可见。通过混合方法设计，我们的研究分析了570种语言肖像和社会语言调查，以及21次针对6至13岁儿童的半结构化访谈，以调查学生表达和反思其多语种曲目的方式。通过定性内容分析，我们对学生在颜色选择和肖像上的语言位置选择中最常见的模式进行了分类，随后通过符号学方法进行了分析。结果显示了三种重复的颜色选择模式：国旗颜色，与生活经历的关联以及与情感的关联。至于语言的放置，结果显示出两种重复出现的模式：根据语言技巧和身体功能来组织语言。分析还揭示了参与者之间倾向于通过“一种语言的视角”（加西亚和弗洛雷斯）代表其语言的趋势，并对实施多语言教育产生了影响。