“Nobody told me they didn’t speak English!”: Teacher language views and student linguistic repertoires in Hutterite colony schools in Canada

Date
2016
Authors
Sterzuk, Andrea
Nelson, Cindy
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Abstract

This paper presents a qualitative study of five monolingual teachers’ understandings of the linguistic repertoires of their multilingual students. These teachers deliver the Saskatchewan provincial curricula in English to Hutterite colony students who are users of three languages: (a) spoken Hutterisch as a home and community language; (b) written High German as a language for religious worship and (c) spoken and written English for school and for communication outside the colony. Findings from this study demonstrate that the teachers report having had limited or inaccurate understandings of their students' linguistic repertoires prior to beginning their teaching positions. Secondly, the teacher participants’ awareness of the students’ language resources was, and is, an ongoing process. Finally, the willingness and ability to cultivate hybrid language use of Hutterisch and English varies from teacher to teacher. The paper concludes with discussion of considerations for teacher education and in-service teachers working in Hutterite communities.

Description
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the Journal of Language, Identity & Education on October 19, 2016, available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15348458.2016.1233066 .
Keywords
Multilingualism, linguistic repertoires, teacher language beliefs, pedagogy, Hutterites
Citation
Sterzuk, A. & Nelson, C. (2016). “Nobody told me they didn’t speak English!”: Teacher language views and student linguistic repertoires in Hutterite colony schools in Canada. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 15(6), 376-388. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2016.1233066
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