L’ éveil aux langues en Belgique francophone

de la théorie à la pratique

Abstract

In the framework of the ‘Pacte pour un enseignement d'excellence’ project (pact for teaching excellence) in the Federation Wallonia-Brussels (FWB), the Awakening to Languages (AtL) has been added to the kindergarten curriculum since September 2020. According to the progression framework document (Balises de progression de l'éveil aux langues, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, 2020), the objectives of this AtL involve developing openness to linguistic and cultural diversity, strengthening interest in languages, and ensuring the development of knowledge relating to languages. AtL is one of the four pluralistic approaches to plurilingualism and involves discovering, exploring, comparing and using a variety of languages (Candelier, 2008). Significant previous research has already been carried out in Europe while, surprisingly, little research has been carried out in our country.        

In this framework, we put into perspective the aims of AtL inspired by Candelier (2008), and a series of teaching practices collected in four different kindergarten classes via two research questions: (1) Do the teaching practices meet the theoretical objectives of the progression framework? (2) What are the obstacles and difficulties encountered in the implementation of AtL in FWB ?

Two types of data are collected and allow for the analysis of the implementation of EAL: self-reported teaching practices collected during interviews and observed teaching practices in the classroom. We will try to identify categories of information (L’Ecuyer, 1990) from the individual interviews and our observations of teaching practices. The qualitative analysis will also highlight the obstacles and difficulties with a view to improving the pedagogical support of teachers.