Biographical perspectives on language ideologies in teacher education

Abstract

Universities represent spaces where language ideologies are taken up, modified, and transformed. The monolingual orientation of most universities contributes to the (re)construction of inequalities between students perceived as “native speakers” and others labelled as “non-natives”. Therefore, language ideologies can be a challenge for linguistically minoritized students if their multilingual practices are not accepted as legitimate. Linking biographical with sociolinguistic and educational theories, this article focuses on the experiences of linguistically minoritized student teachers who aspire to work as German teachers in Austria. The research is based on biographical interviews. Through a comparison of three different cases, in which interviewees describe personal experiences with language hierarchies, the article elaborates on the following: how biographies of linguistically minoritized student teachers are shaped by language ideologies; how the processes of inclusion and exclusion in teacher education are linked to multilingual practices; and how linguistically minoritized student teachers position themselves against and make sense of language ideologies in their educational biographies. In the concluding section, the article makes an argument for the relevance of biographical theory and methodology to research on multilingual practices in educational institutions.