Multilingualism in Textbooks: A Qualitative Study of Multilingual Approaches in Four Textbooks for the English Subject

Abstract

This thesis seeks to investigate how and to what extent multilingual approaches are incorporated in textbooks in elementary school in Norway. The thesis draws on theories about multilingualism, language ideologies, and multilingual approaches within the classroom. In 2020 the new national curriculum was implemented, and this demonstrates an increased focus on multilingualism. The textbooks included in this study are developed after 2020, to align with the new curriculum. When investigating the textbooks a qualitative content analysis is employed, together with aspects of multimodal- and visual analysis.

This study reveals that multilingual approaches are incorporated in textbooks for 5th grade in elementary school to a large extent. Further, the thesis identifies how these multilingual approaches are included, by organizing them into four categories: (1) recognize and value linguistic diversity, (2) facilitate translanguaging, (3) employ strategies which enhance multilingualism, and (4) pedagogical tools which support multilingualism. A fifth category was developed, however, no material was found to meet the criteria.

The discussion expands the understanding of how the multilingual approaches within the textbooks can be interpreted beyond the categories. Four main findings are identified. First, multilingualism is understood as a fragmented approach, which is added on rather than occurring naturally and integrated. Second, the textbooks are interested in contextual elements which affects what linguistic repertoire students employ. However, this area is addressed through questions instead of creative activities, such as a language portrait, and thus can affect the amount of knowledge revealed. Thirdly, this thesis finds that the textbooks do not explain the connection between multilingualism and the perceived positive outcome of knowing several languages. Lastly, the thesis argues that language ideologies which value high status languages seem to persist within the four textbooks.