Page 218 - Ana Kozina and Nora Wiium, eds. ▪︎ Positive Youth Development in Contexts. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2021. Digital Library, Dissertationes (Scientific Monographs), 42.
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positive youth development in contexts
memory); 2) the relationship between language and thought in multilinguals
(e.g. acquisition of additional languages and different factors that affect a
person’s thinking, perceptions, inner speech, and gesturing); 3) multilin-
gual language processing (e.g., the mechanisms involved in comprehension
and the productions of two or more languages, mental representations of
the multilingual lexicon); 4) the multilingual brain (e.g., the study of char-
acteristics of bilingual processing); and 5) cross-linguistic interaction (e.g.,
the complexity of code-switching).
Societal dimensions of multilanguage use are usually described in
terms of: 1) social construction (e.g., languages as a set of resources and their
socio-political implications); 2) multilingual identities (e.g., the individual’s
language choices from among the available linguistic resources as an act of
his/her identity); 3) multilingual practices (e.g., various language practices
in different contexts, such as pre-colonial and post-colonial non-Western
contexts, language boundaries in urban contexts etc.); and 4) multilingual-
ism and multimodality (e.g., language choices in the context of multimedia
technology, communication channels, multimodal literacy).
Many areas of the contemporary study of multilingualism (on the in-
dividual and societal levels) often address multilingual phenomena in three
highly relevant socio-historical macro contexts: globalisation, migrations,
and new technology-based communication techniques. Particularly in the
last 20 years, these contexts represent the universal social conditions that
significantly influence multilinguals and their language choices while also
affecting/shaping the general (societal) attitude to languages a nd their role
in various micro contexts like education, research, media and politics as
well as everyday communication practices in various professional and pri-
vate settings.
Almost all of these perspectives bring valuable insights that can and
should be considered while addressing the context of education. Yet, results
stemming from research that combines methodologies and epistemologies
from applied linguistics and social psychology are equally (if not more)
significant for better understanding and acknowledging the role multi-
lingualism plays in the context of inclusive education in the 21st century.
Namely, a combination of diverse qualitative and quantitative approaches
(see Comanaru & Dewaele, 2015) adds to understanding of a range of as-
pects of multilingualism. It can provide ideologically less burdened, evi-
dence-based and sound arguments for going beyond the monolingual per-
spective and a solid basis for developing policies and practices that can
218
memory); 2) the relationship between language and thought in multilinguals
(e.g. acquisition of additional languages and different factors that affect a
person’s thinking, perceptions, inner speech, and gesturing); 3) multilin-
gual language processing (e.g., the mechanisms involved in comprehension
and the productions of two or more languages, mental representations of
the multilingual lexicon); 4) the multilingual brain (e.g., the study of char-
acteristics of bilingual processing); and 5) cross-linguistic interaction (e.g.,
the complexity of code-switching).
Societal dimensions of multilanguage use are usually described in
terms of: 1) social construction (e.g., languages as a set of resources and their
socio-political implications); 2) multilingual identities (e.g., the individual’s
language choices from among the available linguistic resources as an act of
his/her identity); 3) multilingual practices (e.g., various language practices
in different contexts, such as pre-colonial and post-colonial non-Western
contexts, language boundaries in urban contexts etc.); and 4) multilingual-
ism and multimodality (e.g., language choices in the context of multimedia
technology, communication channels, multimodal literacy).
Many areas of the contemporary study of multilingualism (on the in-
dividual and societal levels) often address multilingual phenomena in three
highly relevant socio-historical macro contexts: globalisation, migrations,
and new technology-based communication techniques. Particularly in the
last 20 years, these contexts represent the universal social conditions that
significantly influence multilinguals and their language choices while also
affecting/shaping the general (societal) attitude to languages a nd their role
in various micro contexts like education, research, media and politics as
well as everyday communication practices in various professional and pri-
vate settings.
Almost all of these perspectives bring valuable insights that can and
should be considered while addressing the context of education. Yet, results
stemming from research that combines methodologies and epistemologies
from applied linguistics and social psychology are equally (if not more)
significant for better understanding and acknowledging the role multi-
lingualism plays in the context of inclusive education in the 21st century.
Namely, a combination of diverse qualitative and quantitative approaches
(see Comanaru & Dewaele, 2015) adds to understanding of a range of as-
pects of multilingualism. It can provide ideologically less burdened, evi-
dence-based and sound arguments for going beyond the monolingual per-
spective and a solid basis for developing policies and practices that can
218
