Connecting Educators, Families and Communities Through PASTEL (Plurilingualism, Art, Science, Technology and Literacies) Approaches in and Around French Immersion

Abstract

This chapter explores how plurilingual pedagogies, and more specifically PASTEL approaches (Plurilingualism, Art, Science, Technology and Literacies) can foster connections between educators, families and communities, and benefit children’s learning in our increasingly complex classrooms. Plurilingual pedagogies encourage to disrupt the boundaries between languages in the classroom and promote an asset-oriented perspective in terms of the plurality of the experiences, skills, and competencies that learners possess. They focus on the linkages across languages and cultural experiences and support the idea that learners’ multiple linguistic resources and knowledge should be used to nurture learning. Using examples from case studies with young learners and practitioners engaged in reflective inquiries and research action in various educative environments, this chapter highlights how educators engage with rich linguistic resources present in and beyond multicultural and multilingual classrooms, children’s imagination, and funds of knowledge in the home as vital resources for learning, notably in and around French immersion. The chapter should trigger a discussion on the importance of plurilingual education in pre- and in-service teacher training to foster learning bridges across languages, literacies, and the disciplines and facilitate families’ engagement to create new and transformative learning spaces for all learners.

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