Building on heteroglossia and heterogeneity: The experience of a multilingual classroom

Abstract

This chapter draws on empirical research carried out in a primary school located in a multilingual neighbourhood in Vienna where learning has been taking place in pilot multigrade classrooms for more than 10 years. The multigrade approach follows an open learning strategy inspired by Freinet pedagogics understanding heterogeneity as a resource and not as a drawback. The chapter will present examples from a research project which focusses on how learners perceive their heteroglossic linguistic repertoires and how they draw on multiple resources—modes, codes, discourses—to produce creative and meaningful texts. These texts, a multimodal classroom diary and a classroom library consisting of single as well as co-authored printed ‘mini-books’, form a core element in the open learning environment of the school.