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Article published In: Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 31:2 (2018) ► pp.578–604

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Understanding bilingualism in La Mancha schools

Emotional and moral stancetaking in parental narratives

 | University of Castilla-La Mancha
Published online: 27 December 2018
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https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.17002.rel
Abstract
This article discusses narratives of bilingualism told in parental group interviews conducted as part of the critical sociolinguistic ethnography carried out in public and semi-private bilingual schools of the autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). School stakeholders in this region are still adapting to the rapid implementation of bilingual programs in this region, which are transforming classroom linguistic practices and circulating discourses about bilingualism, bilingual education, and the bilingual subject. Among them, families are trying to reconcile their language desires and aspirations for English and bilingualism with the understanding of the type of bilingual education their children are receiving. By taking a social interactional approach to narrative combined with anthropological approaches to the study of conversational narrative, this article analyzes parents’ emotional and moral stancetaking in narratives of bilingualism. The narrative analysis will shed light on how families in Castilla-La Mancha are appropriating bilingualism as ideology and practice in the highly commodified global market of English.
Resumen
Este artículo analiza las narrativas sobre el bilingüismo que emergen en entrevistas grupales a padres, realizadas como parte de la etnografía sociolingüística crítica llevada a cabo en colegios públicos y concertados bilingües de la comunidad autónoma de Castilla-La Mancha. Los agentes educativos implicados están aún adaptándose a la rápida implementación de los programas bilingües en esta región, que están transformando las prácticas lingüísticas del aula, así como los discursos que circulan en torno al bilingüismo, la educación bilingüe y el sujeto bilingüe. Entre ellos, las familias intentan reconciliar sus deseos lingüísticos y aspiraciones por el inglés y el bilingüismo con el entendimiento del tipo de educación bilingüe que sus hijos están recibiendo. Tomando como punto de partida el enfoque socio-interaccional de análisis narrativo junto con el acercamiento antropológico al estudio de la narrativa conversacional, este artículo analiza los posicionamientos emocionales y morales de las familias en estas narrativas. El análisis narrativo muestra cómo las familias en Castilla-La Mancha están apropiando el bilingüismo como ideología y práctica con relación a la mercantilización del inglés en la era global.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Conversational narratives in linguistic ethnography: Emotional and moral stancetaking
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Description of school sites: Sancho’s primary and San Teo’s
      • 3.1.1Sancho’s
      • 3.1.2San Teo’s
    • 3.2Narrative data in parental group interviews
  • 4.Data analysis
    • 4.1Disputed bilingualism
    • 4.2Reported practices at home and school
    • 4.3The commodification of native teachers
  • 5.Concluding discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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