Responding to migration-related diversity in the classroom: a comparison of diversity-sensitive approaches to stimulate word acquisition in early FL teaching

Abstract

Although calls for responding to migration-related diversity in education are not novel, few studies have examined linguistic and affective outcomes of diversity-sensitive approaches for vocabulary teaching. This article reports on an intervention study in which beginner English-foreign-language learners (N = 51, Mage = 8.67 years) worked on one textbook unit (five 45-min lessons). Teachers supplemented the unit with translingual scaffolds and encouraged students to draw on and use their linguistic resources (plurilingual group), or stimulated appreciation of plurilingualism and positive language attitudes (motivation group). We assessed language gains through pre-, post-, and follow-up tests, and measured affect after each lesson. Both intervention groups outperformed the control group, which worked only with the textbooks, regarding productive vocabulary learning. Translingual scaffolding was beneficial for sustaining vocabulary gains. The data further indicate that motivational activities stimulate positive affect, but only the plurilingual group showed lower negative affect than the control group. Overall, the data suggest that intervention activities can augment productive vocabulary and support student well-being. We argue that future studies should pay more attention to affective outcomes when exploring ways of addressing migration-related diversity in the classroom.

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