Bezemer, J. al.: Language Teaching and Learning

Jeff Bezemer, Sjaak Kroon, Lutine de Wal Pastoor, Else Ryen, Astri Heen WoldOne of the most challenging developments European education is facing is the increased intake of pupils from language minorities. From practice andresearch it is well known that these pupils often run a risk of educational under-achievement. Different kinds of efforts are made to improve the children?s participation in classroom interaction and their performance in school. Even so, relatively little is known about what goes on in multicultural classrooms. How do teachers and pupils deal with multilingualism? Which opportunities for language learning are being created?This book offers illuminating portrayals of two multicultural classrooms in the Netherlands and Norway. Drawing on observations, interviews, and documents, it presents in-depth analyses of episodes capturing concrete interactions in various classroom settings, including the regular class and special classes for languageminority pupils. Adopting a cross-national perspective, it sheds light on the discursive realities of teaching and learning language in multicultural classrooms and explores their relations to national andlocal policies and theories. In doing so, the book provides important insights into the education of language minoritypupils.