Conférence Vally Lytra
La Conférence de Madame Dr Vally Lytra, Professeur au King's College à Londres, a eu lieu le mercredi 27 mai 2009.
Résumé (en anglais)
Complementary schools (also referred to as heritage schools) are ethno-linguistic minority
spaces where heritage languages, cultures and history are being taught. Recent research on
complementary schools points to the emergence of an explicit discourse around language
and the economy where the economic value of learning a particular heritage language is
highlighted by parents, teachers, school administrators as well as the children themselves
and language is being commodified as a skill (Creese et al 2008; Francis et al forthcoming).
Drawing on field notes, interview and interactional data from two London Turkish
complementary schools, in this presentation, I explore how the discourse around language
and the economy emerges and how it intersects with other discourses around
multilingualism, integration in UK society and combating chronic underachievement among
Turkish-speaking youth. I explore these complementary discourses in circulation in the
context of the schools’ complex language ecologies, linguistic hierarchies and pedagogic
practices and trace some of the challenges and opportunities they bring to the fore for
schools and their main actors.
spaces where heritage languages, cultures and history are being taught. Recent research on
complementary schools points to the emergence of an explicit discourse around language
and the economy where the economic value of learning a particular heritage language is
highlighted by parents, teachers, school administrators as well as the children themselves
and language is being commodified as a skill (Creese et al 2008; Francis et al forthcoming).
Drawing on field notes, interview and interactional data from two London Turkish
complementary schools, in this presentation, I explore how the discourse around language
and the economy emerges and how it intersects with other discourses around
multilingualism, integration in UK society and combating chronic underachievement among
Turkish-speaking youth. I explore these complementary discourses in circulation in the
context of the schools’ complex language ecologies, linguistic hierarchies and pedagogic
practices and trace some of the challenges and opportunities they bring to the fore for
schools and their main actors.