‘To be multilingual means … ’: exploring a participatory approach to multilingual identity with schoolchildren^†

ABSTRACT

This article presents an innovative way to engage schoolchildren in discussions on multilingualism and multilingual identity using research data they helped generate. Adopting an exploratory, participatory approach to research, our study uses digital data visualisations in interactive sessions aimed at engaging lower secondary students in identity formation and negotiation. The paper starts with a contextualisation of multilingualism and language learning in Norwegian education and the contributions of our study to relevant research in the field. Next, we discuss the epistemological and pedagogical implications of our participatory approach and its integration within the general mixed methods framework of the Ungspråk project, a three-year study that investigates different aspects of multilingualism in Norwegian lower secondary schools. The paper then focuses on the development of the main pedagogical tools used in the interactive sessions: digital visualisations based on data from an online questionnaire previously answered by participants. Particular attention is paid to the design of the visuals in promoting students’ engagement with the data and autonomy in interpreting research findings. The paper concludes with a discussion of the main findings from interactive sessions in which participants engaged in reflections on multilingualism and multilingual identity via interaction with the visuals, researchers and their peers.

KEYWORDS:

• Multilingualism
• multilingual identity
• data visualisations
• language learning
• participatory research
• research ethics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The coined term ‘Ungspråk’ consists of the Norwegian words ‘ung’ (young) and ‘språk’, which can be used both as the singular or plural form of the word ‘language’.

2 ‘To be multilingual means’: https://org.uib.no/multilingual/Engelsk/Betyr.html.

‘Are you multilingual?’: https://org.uib.no/multilingual/ErDu/ErDu.html.

3 In the visual used in the sessions, the textual information was in Norwegian. A version of the visual in English is presented here to facilitate comprehension.

4 Even though the participants’ answers do not specify what is meant by ‘knowing’ a language, complementary analyses of data from the questionnaire show that many participants have a flexible, ‘low threshold’ understanding of what it takes to know a language, which includes, for example, receptive knowledge of Danish and Swedish.

5 This observation was recorded in the notes taken during the sessions by one of the researchers.

6 Unless otherwise stated, all statements are translated from Norwegian by the author.

7 This statement was written originally in English.

8 The figures from the questionnaire are the following: ‘Are you multilingual?’ (n = 593): Yes = 396/Not sure = 142/No = 55.

9 This response was written originally in English.

10 This response was written originally in English.