EUNoM symposium on
Higher Education and Research on Multilingualism:
Challenge or Opportunity?
Social Representations of Plurilingualism
in Language Policy
and Academic Teacher Discourse
at University Level.
Cecilia Serra
Universities of Geneva and Lausanne
main issues
1.
linguistic analysis of social representations
2.
a qualitative study
–
universities, contexts, languages
–
universities, social representations in language policy
–
universities, social representations in academic
teachers’ discourse
3.
examples
4.
effects on bi-plurilingual teaching / learning
practices
linguistic analysis of social representations
in the study
• investigates the link between the social representations of
institutions (values & models proceeding from language policies)
and those of individuals (beliefs, opinions and attitudes);
• an interplay of possible conflicting elements
• linguistic elements taken into accounts:
– polyphonie (Bakhtine, 1978; Ducrot, 1984); pronominalisation («I»
vs «one» vs «we» vs «they»), mood and modality, qualifiers &
connectives, etc.; (Serra & Py 1997, Serra 2000)
– schematizing and categorization devices (Grize 1990; Kleiber 1990;
Sacks 1992; Mondada 1999)
– stereotyping
– conversational use of discourse types (debating, explaining,
justifying, narrating, etc.) (Serra 2000)
a qualitative field study:
universities, contexts, languages
•
USI Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano (1966)
– Italian = minority language = 6.5%
(German, 63%; French, 20.4%; Rumantsch, 0.5% ((Federal Census, 2000))
– Students: 2’707: Tessin, 29.5%; Swiss others, 8.6%; Italy, 36.9%; Foreign
others 25% (University census, 2010)
•
UNIZHR Universität Zürich (1525)
– German = majority language = 63%
– Students: 25’815: Swiss, 83.1%; Foreign others 12.3%; domestic foreign
others, 4.6% (Federal office of Statistics, 2009)
•
HESBE Haute Ecole Spécialisée Bernoise, Biel/Bienne (1873/1998)
– German/French = Bilingual Canton (3 Swiss Bilingual Cantons: Bern /
Fribourg / Wallis: German/French = Language territoriality)
– Biel/Bienne = Bilingual city : German, 53%; French, 30.7%; Italian, 7.6%;
Foreign others, 8.7% (City census, 1990)
a qualitative field study:
universities, social representations in language policy
University
Target of
plurilingualism
USI
University:
internationalisation
innovation(methods)
students
interculturality
mobility
Italian/English
Dual System
(+German L3)
(+ French L3)
(multilingualism
in charge of
students
at Sprachzentrum)
German
(+ English)
(German/French
optional)
bilingualism
German/
French
vs
Canton of
Tessin
UNIZHR
(Zürich)
HESB-TI
+
(Biel/
Bienne
Berne/
Bern)
students internal
mobility
stereotypes’ change
equal access to
knowledge for both
linguistic groups
(German & French)
Language of
teaching
Representations
USI: a «bridge between cultures»
Switzerland-USI-Lombardy-Italy
English = innovation
French + German = European
languages
Italian = L1+ regional culture
Europe of Regions
no language policy
(12 Nobel Prize??)
bilingualism as a learning
process vs
reciprocal
bilingualism as a
immersion +
norm
3 degrees of L1/L2
((+ Swiss practice of
alternation in class
multilingual discourse))
a qualitative field study:
social representations in academic teachers’ discourse
University
Faculty,Teaching
targeted contexts
USI
Economics
(Tessin)
Language of
teaching
English only
(+Swiss Bankers
Association)
Master in Finance
international
UNIZHR
(Zürich)
HESB-TI
(Biel/
Bienne
Representations
Globalisation = excellence +
English + finance vs
Isolationism = old Swiss-German
people + German
Good tradition of Swiss banking =
German
Technical language (subject) vs
vehicular language (English)
Law
Arrêtés fédéraux
French/German
Bilingualism & Language
(+Italian, English, alternation as a tool to cross
national/internationa Spanish)
subject borders
l
Modification of stereotypes
Engineering
Mathematics
national, contextbound
German&French
+ reformulations
in the other
language
Language alternation to
access knowledge
Bilingualism to cross
domestic language borders
when representations clash
an example from HESB-TI language policy
• Why are students shy when it comes to talking in L2?
in multilingual Switzerland:
changing the
representation of
bilingualism:
it is an instable process of
language learning
it is not a perfect balance
of 2 languages
when representations are in bloom
an example from teacher’s discourse at USI
Globalisation
+ English
+ banking
+ professional
vs
Isolation
+ (Swiss-)German
+ Swiss
elderly people
economist
Technical language
vs
English (poor)
simplification
use of Italian
or French
in students’
oral and written
records
teacher
German
+ banking
+ Swiss quality
+tradition
+ Students (elite)
Italian
+ University
+ identity
+ Switzerland
planner
effects on bi-plurilingual teaching / learning
practices
• Language choice
– bachelor official Swiss languages
– master official Swiss languages + English
(cf. Federal census 2000, Lüdi & Werlen 2005)
• Models of bi-multilingual teaching
– immersion (USI), English L2:
 vs USI dual teaching and intercultural program
 low command in English accepted and not improved
• idealisation of bilingualism?
effects on bi-plurilingual teaching / learning
practices (2)
– reciprocal immersion (HESB-TI), French & German L2
• good understanding of bilingual teaching (representations,
teaching steps & goals)
 low understanding of the role of conversation in language
acquisition
 focus on language (university) vs focus on subject (teacher)
– bi-multilingual teaching (UNIZHR), German L1, French L2
•
•
•
•

Italian/English/Spanish L3
excellent understanding of bi-multilingualism practices
focus on the subject
use of languages to process meaning, and access
transversal knowledge
use of bilingual conversational routines
optional course: poor support from the institution
references
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•
•
•
•
•
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Bakhtine, M. (1984). Esthétique et théorie du roman. Paris: Gallimard
Ducrot, O. (1980). Le dire et le dit. Paris: Minuit
Grize, J.B. (1990). Logique et langage. Paris: Ophrys
Kleiber, G. (1990). La sémantique du prototype. Paris: PUF
Mondada, L. (1999). L’accomplissement de l’étrangéit’dans et par
línteraction: procédures de catégorisation des locuteurs. Langages
134, 20-34
Sacks, H. (1992). Lectures in conversation. Oxford: Basil Blackwell
Serra, C. (2000). Traitement discursif et conversationnel des
représentations sociales. TRANEL 32, 77-90
Serra, C. & Py, B. (1997). Le crépuscule des lieux communs, ou les
stérótypes entre consensus, certitude et doute. TRANEL 27, 29-49