Page 84 - Compétences plurilingues : perspectives et actions / Plurilingual competencies: perspectives and actions

A. Alchazidu: Building Presentation and Communication Skills...

The aim of the two-part survey conducted at the beginning and the end of the semester
was to explore students’ opinions about their own language repertoires and their attitudes
towards code-switching. The indings revealed interesting shifts over time.
At the beginning of the course, 55% of respondents reported being able to communicate in
three languages, 25% reported pro iciency in four languages, and 20% reported pro iciency
in two languages. At the end of the semester, a remarkable change emerged as 65% of re-
spondents declared to communicate in three languages, while 30% expressed the ability
to communicate in four languages, and only 5% remained limited to two languages. This
shift suggests that the plurilingual and pluricultural course may have stimulated growth in
language skills and contributed to the fact that students reconsidered their own view of
their knowledge of those languages they were less pro icient in. As a result, this academic
course experience may have encouraged students to expand their language repertoires and
plurilingual awareness (see Fig. 1 and Fig. 4).
As for the results concerning code-switching attitudes, the irst survey revealed a wide span
of positions. At the beginning of the course 15% of students were willing to accept code-
switching and perceived it as unproblematic, 35% of students accepted code-switching de-
pending on the situation and considered it a manageable challenge, while 50% would avoid
it whenever possible.
In contrast, the second survey conducted at the end of the semester revealed an interesting
change related to this particular question. An overwhelming 85% of respondents were now
open to code-switching without any reservation, with only 5% declaring that it depended
on the situation, and 10% continuing to resist the practice and avoiding it (see Fig. 5).
What is your attitude towards language code-switching within one communication situation?
17 answers

Figure 5: Question regarding students’ attitudes towards code-switching. Semester Start. Source:
the author, 2023
This shift in attitudes towards code-switching indicates the potential impact of the course. It
suggests that the experience with the plurilingual and pluricultural course may have played
a key role in promoting more positive attitudes towards the use of multiple languages in
a single communication context. In fact, this is in line with the course objectives, which
emphasise practical exercises and plurilingual awareness, promoting students’ linguistic
lexibility and encouraging them to make use of all the languages that form part of their
repertoires.

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