Twenty-fifth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

The design of the material is based on the argument that language learning is closely interwoven with identity investment and educators need to provide enough space for the identities of their learners to unfold (Cummins, 2001). Apart from the theory, the research also draws upon specific findings that emerged from the analysis of the interviews, such as that the student is bilingual in Georgian and Greek, having received formal education in both languages, but refuses to speak in Georgian with her classmates and is reluctant to declare her origins. The designed worksheet combines linguistic elements with cultural and historical facts, in a creative and engaging way. It is structured on a micro – student and macro - classroom level; the first aims to enhance the student’s identity investment, focusing not only on her bilingual competences but on aspects of her social and cultural identifications and the second aims to educate the whole classroom in multicultural understanding, openness and acceptance. The essay calls for the adoption of multilingual practices within the Greek educational system in order to move away from strictly monolingual and mono-cultural curriculum, towards a multi-lingualized and multi-culturized classroom.