“If you don’t know English, it is like there is something wrong with you.” Students’ views of language(s) in a plurilingual setting

Abstract

Based on a repertoire-oriented stance to language learning and a broad definition of language awareness, this study investigates students’ discursive representations of the languages in their repertoires in the context of a plurilingual language awareness course (Almen Sprogforståelse). The study is based on a subset of data collected in a multi-case study focusing on language awareness across educational levels. Through an inductive and iterative thematic content analysis of interview and classroom data, the authors identify six themes central to the ways in which students talk about language: (1) language learning experiences and skills, (2) gateways, (3) attractiveness, (4) family and friendship, (5) everyday presence and (6) usefulness. The study investigates the relationship between the different themes and languages, revealing how students’ personal linguistic biographies and Spracherleben interact with classroom ideologies in shaping the ways in which students perceive and describe different languages. Despite students’ display of rich repertoires and language awareness, some languages are positioned discursively as need-to-have and others as nice-to-have or even impossible-to-opt-out-of, mirroring societal discourses surrounding these languages. In this sense, the results of the study underscore the importance of the development of critical language awareness, specifically in the context of the compulsory General Language Awareness course.