Page 91 - Compétences plurilingues : perspectives et actions / Plurilingual competencies: perspectives and actions

Plurilingual Competence in a Child: A Case Study

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Linda Krahula Dolezı́, Katerina Mullerova ́
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Abstract

In our study we would like to contribute to our understanding of plurilingual language acquisition in children
by sharing data from our research involving spontaneous speech collection focusing on a 4-year-old plurilingual
child whose mother tongue is Hebrew and who has been acquiring Czech as a second language as well as other
foreign languages such as English, Spanish and French. We analyze the data in terms of interlanguage relations and
believe that by observing the plurilingual repertoires and competences we can contribute to understanding how
multiple languages acquisition works and apply this knowledge in all the ields related to plurilingualism including
education.

Introduction
In this study we focus on a plurilingual competence in a child and understand plurilingual-
ism¹ as “the dynamic and developing linguistic repertoire of an individual user/learner”
(Companion Volume, 2020, p. 28). Plurilingualism is a term that encompasses various other
concepts (Piccardo, 2022, p. 1) which may still be widely used depending on the ield of re-
search (for example multilingualism) including the term linguistic multi-competence. Cook
(2016, p. 2) de ines it as “the overall system of a mind or a community that uses more than
one language”. Furthermore, and similarly, Dewaele and Pavlenko (2003) state that multi-
competence is an “ever-changing and highly complex system. Parts of the system can be
in equilibrium for a while, but an unexpected change in the internal and external environ-
ment, i.e. a change in the frequency or nature of the linguistic input, or a speci ic linguistic
activity – such as the reading of a book or the watching of a ilm with an unfamiliar sociolect
– can cause widespread restructuring with some ’islands’ remaining in their original state”
(Dewaele, 2016, p. 462 in Cook, Wei, 2016). In this paper we would like to gain an insight
into such a fragile and highly dynamic system in a child who is getting familiar with ive
languages at a certain point of her life.
Methodology

In our research we had a unique opportunity to collect data in a naturalistic environment
and in spontaneous situations. The data collection was accompanied with questionnaires
that map the language acquisition that had happened before the research took place and
that try to see how the languages of the child as well as the family work generally and not
only in the situations captured by the recordings and to understand the family language
policy. We used several approaches to gain data to see the whole picture. Family language
policy and language development of the child were covered by a questionnaire that was
illed in by both parents. Naturalistic linguistic data was collected for three months, usually
twice a week for one to two hours, recorded on a mobile phone. Altogether 40 recordings

1. For a detailed terminology analysis see Piccardo (2018, 2022) and for various perspectives on terminology
use see Busch (2021).

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