From English-only to only English: exploring children’s linguistic and cultural identities in a primary school classroom

Abstract

Children’s languages are often rendered invisible in Australian primary school classrooms where monolingual norms govern interaction. For heritage language learners this can be reinforced by parental and social expectations and their language use subsequently relegated to specific sites. In our critical participatory action research (CPAR) project, using culturally and linguistically responsive teaching (CLRT), we investigated how children in a multilingual primary school classroom setting framed their cultural and linguistic identities and utilised their linguistic repertoires in their daily activities. Arts-based research methodologies were used to gather rich data in the form of artifacts, recorded classroom interactions and observations, with these critically analysed from a ‘listening to voices’ perspective. Findings revealed that many children framed their language stories with a desire to know more about their cultural and linguistic identity. Instead, English dominated almost every aspect of children’s lives. We conclude that more needs to be done to counter the ‘English-only’ ethos or only English will prevail.