Multilingualism in the Social Ecology of French Polynesia: Bridging the gap between additional language learning research and classroom practices
Abstract
This work provides an overview of research activities carried out on English as an additional language (EAL) and content and language integrated learning (CLIL) teaching practices in the French Polynesian elementary school context. Transdisciplinary research on EAL was conducted in the framework of the plurilingual landscape in French Polynesian social ecology. Extended classroom corpora were gathered on EAL teaching across the five archipelagos of French Polynesia (2012-2018), aimed at bridging the gap between language-learning research and teaching practice and thereby contributing to the improvement of existing language pedagogy. These studies primarily used discourse analysis methodologies focused on both the learner and the teacher. Research outcomes were communicated during teacher education sessions to build awareness of EAL pedagogies in novice, pre-service and practising teachers in the French Polynesian context. Areas addressed in these studies included learner involvement, classroom interaction types, and teacher and peer mediation strategies.