Category Archives: Education

by monzo

The impact of COVID-19 on deaf students and accessibility in higher education

Mette Sommer Lindsay, Rachel England & Chijioke Obasi

Previous research has revealed institutional issues for both disabled and deaf students in higher education (Hendry et al. 2020, Kermit et al. 2018, Lang 2002, Dolmage 2017). In pre-pandemic times, deaf students experienced several challenges and barriers concerning communication and accessibility. For example, universities changing teaching schedules with minimal notice led to difficulties in guaranteed interpreter availability and ensuring interpreters were appropriately matched to students’ needs. As well as this, the use of incredibly poor automatic captions for videos or films shown in lectures affected deaf students. Additionally, studies have shown that the level of lecturers’ ‘deaf awareness’ impacts deaf students’ experiences during higher education (Lang 2002; Kermit et al. 2018; Hendry et al. 2020).

The recent pandemic has highlighted new and complex experiences and issues regarding accessibility for disabled students, including deaf students in higher education (DSUK 2020). The presentation will be based on our research project: “Unmasking inequalities: the impact of COVID on deaf students”. The research empirically investigates the impact of COVID on deaf students through data interviews with 60 deaf/HoH students, 40 academics/managers, 15 access and inclusion staff members based at universities, disability advisors and self-employed interpreters, notetakers and speech to text reporters.

Initial findings from our study have shown that the pandemic exposed complexities regarding accessibility and competing accessibility needs. An example of this was that many interview persons reported the issue of students having their camera off. Some deaf students had asked the other students in their class to turn their cameras on, but often their peers were not comfortable with this. However, refusing to turn the camera on might be about other accessibility issues, for example poverty.

Our study also identifies the difficulties faced when challenging this. One example shown was when some interpreters asked the lecturer to ask hearing peers to be in a less noisy environment while participating in online learning. However, this request would limit the hearing students’ mobility in an already exhausting situation such as that of the pandemic.

Another finding was that the transition from online teaching during lockdown to face to face teaching presented novel issues for signing deaf students. As reported by both students and disability advisors, it is challenging to find interpreters for entirely face-to-face lectures at short notice. Nevertheless, online interpreting was available. One disability advisor resorted to asking the lecturer to teach online, to ensure accessibility for deaf students (due to the interpreter only being available online).

However, there were some positive examples of accessibility identified, such as captions being provided during online or pre-recorded lectures. Students, academics, and disability advisors have reported that some universities are recommending captions for pre-recorded lectures, not only for deaf students, but also for those who use English as a second language. This highlights some positive examples of how the pandemic has changed opportunities for accessibility.

We will discuss the meaning of accessibility and how making access requests can be a sensitive issue. In addition, we will highlight discussions of differing perspectives on linguistic injustices and accessibility, as well as issues of race and diversity that occurred within our mixed research team of deaf, hearing, black and white individuals.

References:
Lang (2002): Higher Education for Deaf Students: Research Priorities in the New Millenium. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 7(4), 267–280.

Kermit, P & Holiman, S (2018): Inclusion in Norwegian Higher Education: Deaf Students’ Experiences with Lecturers. Social Inclusion 6(4), 158-167

Hendry, G; Hendry, A; Ige, H; McGrath, N (2020): “I was isolated and this was difficult”: Investigating the communication barriers to inclusive further/higher education for deaf Scottish students, Deafness & Education International, 1-28

Dolmage 2017: Academic ableism: disability and higher education. University of Michigan Press

DSUK 2020: Impact of the pandemic on disabled students and recommended measures. Disabled Students Union UK.

by monzo

The UNITA project on Intercomprehension: inclusive multilingualism in educational settings

Sandra Garbarino

UNITA, Universitas Montium, EU

Panel: Language as a means of inclusion in educational and institutional settings

Chair: Maria Margherita Mattioda, Università di Torino, Italy

In order to be inclusive, multilingual language education must embrace all the levels of the vertical curriculum, also – and above all – the highest one: that of the university and its actors.

Training current and future protagonists of the research world in multilingual communication through intercomprehension (IC) also means allowing for and encouraging a more complete and holistic dialogue between disciplines, in a perspective that considers diversity not only a controversial issue but an epistemological, political and ontological principle (Castellotti et al., 2016: 49). Disciplines often convey complex knowledge through specific terminology, which is sometimes difficult to translate into other languages even when they come from the same Latin matrix. The IC approach will enrich disciplinary understanding and communication.

Within the UNITA alliance, the benefits of an IC approach are already beginning to emerge after a year of experimentation, in both quantitative and qualitative terms. The preliminary results tell us that, to date, several syllabi have already been implemented for the IC training of students at the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature and Modern Cultures; of students who are about to participate in the Erasmus exchange programme; of language teachers who are training in IC teaching; and of content teachers who welcome foreign students into their classrooms. 

This paper will illustrate initial qualitative results obtained within the project, stressing the inclusive value of the activities, which fostered the enhancement of personal linguistic profiles and the creation of a global and international communicative environment.

References:

Bonvino, E., Jamet, M.C. (2016). Intercomprensione: lingue, processi e percorsi, Venezia : Edizioni Ca’ Foscari.

Capucho, F. (2012). L’Intercompréhension – un nouvel atout dans le monde professionnel [online]. Degache, Ch., Garbarino, S. (éds.) Intercompréhension: compétences plurielles, corpus, intégration, Actes du colloque IC2012 (Grenoble, 21-23 juin 2012). http://ic2012.u-grenoble3.fr/OpenConf/papers/67.pdf (2013-11-11).

Carrasco Perea, E.,  De Carlo, M. (2019).  «¿Cómo implementar una educación plurilingüe y evaluarla? El ejemplo de la Intercomprensión». Lenguaje y Textos, 50 (28 diciembre 2019), 75–85. https://doi.org/10.4995/lyt.2019.12004.

Garbarino, S. (2019). Sviluppare competenze in intercomprensione di livello avanzato. Il contributo dei descrittori del REFIC. EL.LE, 1, Vol. 8/2019.

by monzo

Exploring the Intersectionality of Personal Identities in Interpreting Education and Training: Empowering Interpreters toward Social Justice and Equity

Michelle M Pinzl

Recent social movements like Black Lives Matter, current events related to immigration crises around the world, and politics that have racialized the global COVID-19 pandemic have brought to light historic racial and class disparities in the United States, while calling to action communities across the nation. The role of interpreters and translators as both cultural brokers and facilitators of language access, is intrinsically linked to action for racial and social equality in our society. Interpreters and translators themselves, often members of minority groups, are not only negatively affected by racial policies in their workplaces, they also bear witness to racial injustices of Limited English Proficient individuals within medical, social, judicial and community contexts. 

On the other hand, many interpreters in the US have the power to become instruments of cultural, ideological and political change because they are able to leverage their lived experience of marginalized identities as a direct contribution to linguistic justice. This presentation highlights the benefits of interpreters exploring their own intersecting identities in the interpreting classroom and other training spaces. Examining how privilege works to normalize some identities and cultural practices over others, may ultimately encourage community and empathy within interpreting and translation circles. Furthermore, it may help interpreters and translators identify instances where privilege manifests as racist behavior or has been established in racist policies, reproducing or perpetuating privileged and oppressive frameworks. Based on data collected from surveys and focus groups from T&I classrooms and workshops, this presentation outlines how identity building exercises, personal reflection and facilitated group discussion in T&I education may encourage interpreters to gain a deeper understanding of identity politics and privilege as they manifest. These techniques not only empower interpreters to continue advancing the profession, but also have the potential to mitigate the intersectional failures of language policy, while centering minoritized voices. 

Michelle Pinzl (she/her/ella) is the Coordinator of the Community Interpreting Certificate and Assistant Professor at Viterbo University where she teaches Spanish, French and Interpreting Studies. She earned her Master’s degree in Foreign Languages and Intercultural Management from the Université de Limoges in France and is currently a PhD candidate at the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, in Spain. She is a certified Spanish<>English Court Interpreter for the State of Wisconsin and a certified Medical Interpreter through the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI). Michelle has been interpreting for social service agencies, schools, businesses, as well as various sectors of the farming industry in Wisconsin since 2006.

by monzo

From theory to practice: school education in regional and minority languages

Michael Forbes

Thirty years after the signing of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, access to schooling in these languages remains difficult for many children and their families. This paper looks at the challenges faced by parents in accessing education in the language spoken at home in Europe, with a specific focus on languages that are recognised as regional or minority languages by individual nation states.

Legal issues relating to regional and minority education are also explored, particularly the difficulties and barriers that parents face in enforcing the legal right for their children to receive education in their native language.

The paper additionally discusses the problems in finding and retaining suitably qualified teachers of minority and regional languages, particularly in countries where speakers of a given language are not concentrated in a specific area.

Issues relating to the denial of access to education in a student’s first language are explored, with particular emphasis on comparing the linguistic policies of devolved political administrations such as those found in Spain or in the United Kingdom with the policies of centralised administrations such as in Croatia or Poland. Finally, potential solutions are presented with respect to the problem of access to education with a particular emphasis on information and communications technology as a key equaliser in respects to broadening and strengthening access to high quality tuition in the student’s own language.

Keywords: minority language, education, tuition, teaching.

by monzo

El marc legal del català a l’escola a la cruïlla

Taula rodona: Antoni Llabrés Fuster (Illes Balears), Vicenta Tasa (País Valencià) i Daniel Escribano (Catalunya)

Antoni Llabrés Fuster

La situació del català en el sistema educatiu és en aquests moments d’una fragilitat extrema. En el cas de Catalunya, cal buscar-ne l’origen en la sentència 31/2010 del Tribunal Constitucional, sobre l’Estatut de 2006, a on es va establir que el castellà, com a llengua oficial de l’Estat, té necessàriament la condició de vehicular. Actualment, es viu un període d’incertesa després de la STSJ de desembre de 2020, que imposa l’ús del castellà com a llengua vehicular en un 25% de l’horari lectiu amb caràcter general per a tots els centres (a diferència del reguitzell de resolucions que afecten casos individuals, que es van multiplicant), l’execució de la qual ha generat una gran controvèrsia. Per a fer-hi front, la Generalitat prepara un decret, del qual només es coneix algun esborrany, que deixaria en mans dels centres educatius, en el marc de la seva autonomia, la determinació dels criteris d’ús de les dues llengües oficials. Aquesta previsió donaria entrada al castellà com a llengua vehicular de l’ensenyament en una proporció a hores d’ara indeterminada.

Al País Valencià, la Llei 4/2018, del plurilingüisme en el sistema educatiu, preveu, a través del ‘programa d’educació plurilingüe i cultural’, que el temps mínim destinat als continguts curriculars en cadascuna de les llengües oficials, en el conjunt de l’escolaritat obligatòria, ha de ser del 25 % de les hores lectives, i que entre el 15 i el 25% cal destinar-lo a la llengua estrangera. Aquest plantejament acaba amb els tradicionals programes (PIP i especialment PEL) que havien propiciat l’aplicació d’estratègies d’immersió lingüística en una percentatge considerable de centres de l’ensenyament públic, això sí, amb una distribució territorial molt desigual.

Finalment, pel que fa a les Illes Balears, la nova Llei d’educació, aprovada el proppassat 22 de febrer, pretén donar continuïtat, ara amb rang legal, al model lingüístic escolar que s’ha vingut aplicant els últims vint-i-cinc anys, i que havia estat introduït pel conegut com a ‘Decret de mínims’ (Decret 92/1997). El model s’articula a partir de la fixació d’un mínim per al català per a tots els centres, la meitat del còmput horari escolar, i permetent que els centres educatius puguin decidir, a través del seu projecte lingüístic, en quina de les dues llengües oficials vehiculen la meitat restant. Això ha permès incrementar la proporció de català per damunt del mínim permès fins arribar, si és el cas, a la totalitat de l’horari lectiu (en relació a les assignatures lingüístiques), possibilitant a la pràctica un sistema d’immersió lingüística molt generalitzat a l’ensenyament públic. A hores d’ara resta pendent de resoldre un recurs d’una associació de professors davant del TSJ, que reclama la imposició del castellà en el 25% de l’horari lectiu.

Es proposa analitzar la situació als tres territoris, posant el focus en els problemes comuns a què s’enfronta la llengua en l’actualitat.

Paraules clau: model lingüístic escolar, llengua vehicular, immersió lingüística.

Vicenta Tasa

El sistema educatiu valencià 1983-2022

El sistema educatiu valencià incorporà en valencià com a assignatura i com a llengua curricular minoritària a partir de 1983 de manera sistemàtica. Però com a llengua curricular sempre ha estat minoritari l’ús del valencià.

En 1998, el Govern Valencià introdueix el plurilingüisme incentivat i en 2012 estableix el plurilingüisme com a sistema educatiu a implantar progressivament, amb la finalitat de reduir encara més la presència del valencià a les aules.

La Llei de Plurilingüisme en el sistema educatiu s’aprovà el 2018, després que el TSJCV invalidara, sense arguments jurídics, la part nuclear del Decret de plurilingüisme de 2017 que modificava la política lingüística educativa impulsada pel govern del PP el 2012.

En termes generals, la Llei de Plurilingüisme és una norma clara, defineix bé els objectius, s’ajusta al marc legal general estatal i té una visió global i coherent de tot el territori valencià, tot posant punt final al model lingüístic educatiu de 2012.

Així i tot, cal recordar que les lleis són instruments de les polítiques públiques lingüístiques per a transformar la realitat, però el canvi real depén essencialment tant de l’actitud coherent de totes les institucions amb les normes que elles mateixes aproven, com de la voluntat de la societat valenciana, arreu del territori i dels grups socials que la componen, de fer del valencià la llengua central del seu futur.

Daniel Escribano

La “lawfare” lingüística a Catalunya

by monzo

Language as a means of inclusion in educational and institutional settings

Panel Chair: Maria Margherita Mattioda

In today’s globalised and interconnected world, managing linguistic and cultural diversity becomes increasingly complex and raises new questions and challenges at the political, economic, and sociocultural levels. Reflection on the so-called linguaspheres (Grin 2018), i.e., constellations of countries or populations sharing the same language, highlights the need for international cooperation at the above-mentioned levels to preserve sociolinguistic diversity. Such cooperation efforts have led, and continue to lead, to the development of transformative paradigms focused on social cohesion and the recognition of fundamental linguistic rights (Archibald 2009).

Language is one of the means through which inclusive policies are articulated (Gazzola 2016). However, the role of language is often underestimated. While its importance is acknowledged when it comes to gender and racial discrimination, other less evident aspects also require attention. Awareness of all the factors potentially affecting diversity is integral to policy planning and the development of inclusive strategies.

Several questions arise in this context. Which language(s) is/are best suited to promote effective communication in specific settings? What are the relationships among languages in multilingual contexts? What are the effects of language choices on social relations? How does the choice of language at institutional level, whether deliberate or imposed, affect citizen engagement and active participation? What technical means can promote, maintain and sustain inclusion?

The panel will focus on how language policies can be designed based on inclusive strategies, among which is that of active citizenry. The promotion of inclusive policies is the goal of various current European projects, some of which described in the panel, aimed at developing tools for inclusion from both educational and institutional perspectives.

Although the principle of linguistic diversity is promoted by the European Union and many international organisations (e.g., UNESCO, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, OIF), its application is often problematic, due to the practical need of using only a few, widely shared languages for international communication, thus creating a paradox whereby inclusion is achieved through exclusive practices.

No easy solution exists. However, acknowledging the variety of contexts, situations, practices, communicative and educational needs is a first step to identifying possible tools and strategies to favour inclusive policies based on the value of multilingualism (Humbley J., Raus R., Silletti A., Zollo S. forthcoming; Gaboriaux C., Raus R, Robert C., Vicari S. forthcoming)

In this regard, the panel will include four presentations on existing projects, three of which funded by the European Union, aiming at promoting inclusive language policies and related best practices. Following are some of the issues that will be discussed.

  1. How can citizen engagement and inclusiveness be promoted through integrative language planning? (James Archibald – University of Turin)
  2. How can inclusive, multilingual language education be integrated in university programmes and syllabi? (Elisa Corino, Sandra Garbarino – UNITA)
  3. How can artificial intelligence education contribute to the development of metalinguistic awareness of inclusive language use in educational contexts? (Alessandra Molino, Ilaria Cennamo, Lucia Cinato, Marita Mattioda – University of Turin)
  4. How can the widespread use of artificial intelligence tools affect multilingual communication choices in institutional settings? (Rachele Raus, University of Bologna; Tania Cerquitelli, Politecnico of Turin)
References

Archibald, J. & Chiss, J.L. (2007). La langue et l’intégration des immigrants. Sociolinguistique, politiques linguistiques, didactique. Paris: L’Harmattan.

Archibald, J. & Galligani, S. (2009). La langue, l’immigration et la cohésion sociale. In Archibald, J. & Galligani, S. dirs. (2009). Langue(s) et immigration(s) : société, école, travail, 9-15. Paris : L’Harmattan.

Busekist, A. von. (2018). The ethics of language policies. New York : Routledge.
Freeman, R.E. (2010). Strategic management: a stakeholder approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gaboriaux, C., Raus, R., Robert, C., Vicari, S. (eds) (forthcoming). Le multilinguisme dans les organisations internationales. Mots. Les langages du politique, 128/2022.

Garnier, B., Blanchet, Ph. (2020), Diversité linguistique et formation citoyenne, ELA. Etudes de linguistique appliquée, 197, 2020/1.

Gazzola, M., Wickstrom, B. (2016). The economics of Language Policy. Cambridge : MIT Press.
Grin, F. dir. (2019). Les « linguasphères » dans la gouvernance mondiale de la diversité. Neuchâtel : Délégation suisseà la langue française.

Humbley, J., Raus, R., Silletti, A., Zollo, D. (eds) (forthcoming), Multilinguisme et variétés linguistiques en Europe àl’aune de l’intelligence artificielle. De Europa, Special Issue 2022. http://www.deeuropa.unito.it.

Keywords: language, inclusion, multilingualism, education.

Fostering citizen engagement through integrative language planning

The UNITA project on Intercomprehension: inclusive multilingualism in educational settings

Promoting multilingualism and inclusiveness in educational settings in the age of AI

Artificial Intelligence at the service of inclusive language policies: the case of the E- MIMIC Project

by monzo

A Right to Language in Education and the Challenges of Distance Education

Adrien Habermacher

Professor of Law

Panel: Linguistic equality and justice in the face federal diversity: A Canadian perspective

Chair: Karine McLaren

The Canadian constitutional framework entrenches the right of official language minorities to receive school instruction in their own language. This specific right often lays at the core of language minorities’ legal battles against governments, for instance in relation to the level of funding provided by government for such services, the quality of the programs and the facilities, as well as the extent to which the official language community is able to manage and control such services. Moreover, it has long been recognized that a mere translation of the curriculum offered in another language in the majority’s education system may not be adequate as the instruction provided must reflect the values and culture of the language community in question.
Against this backdrop, we have recently witnessed the generalization of distance learning at all education level during the COVID-19 pandemic. While recourse to such methods was temporary, it inevitably leads to questions regarding the possibility that government may try to fulfil their legal requirements to provide educational services to official language minorities by way of distance education programs. This may come across as a tempting alternative to allocating significant financial resources to operating dedicated facilities, especially for governments less favorable to language minorities and in regions where the numbers of right-holders are low.
This paper explores the pitfalls and benefits of this option from the point of view of language (in)justice beyond the specifically Canadian legal framework. It questions the importance of environments, physical or virtual, in the implementation of language rights to education. Building on insights from the fields of socio-linguistic, education, and law, it also considers the intersection of socio-economic and language minority status.