Page 223 - Ana Kozina and Nora Wiium, eds. ▪︎ Positive Youth Development in Contexts. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2021. Digital Library, Dissertationes (Scientific Monographs), 42.
P. 223
mobilising the potential held by one’s entire linguistic repertoire ...
has not been explicitly addressed within its models and approaches (see, for
example, Benson et al., 2006; Shek et al., 2019). The significance of the lan-
guage(es) can be found in studies on thriving among immigrant youth.
In these studies, bilingualism is seen as part of a trans/-bicultural and in-
tegrated identity without emphasis on the specifics of the language used
in acculturation processes (Lerner et al., 2012). Moreover, some interven-
tion programmes in the USA focus on refugees and immigrants, express-
ly mentioning the category of language and conceptual bases that seem to
originate in translanguaging. Working with youth in these programmes is
based on a conceptualisation of the four unique adolescent immigrant as-
sets, which involve: 1) the protective strengths of values of the family’s cul-
ture of origin; 2) bilingualism as an asset in an increasingly global world;
3) migration-related struggles of the family as a means of adolescents’ em-
powerment due to their quicker language adaptation; and 4) balancing the
two cultures as a source for developing resiliency, flexibility and skills to as-
sess human interactions (Morland et al., 2006/2009; Easter & Refki, 2004).
However, the holistic view of the languages, which embodies the the-
oretical study of multilingualism, has not been included in the theory, re-
search and applications of the PYD perspectives. This would mean includ-
ing in the PYD model the multilingual perspective of language context,
where multilingualism results in individuals’ multi-competence with
broader effects than knowledge of the language itself (Dewaele, 2016).
According to Cenoz (2013a), such a perspective has three main dimensions:
1) the multilingual speaker (the use of all languages at the individual’s dis-
posal as a resource with dynamic proficiency according to their communi-
cation needs); 2) the whole linguistic repertoire (i.e., the hybridity of com-
munication with soft boundaries between linguistic resources); and 3) the
social context (i.e., the interaction between multilingual speakers and the
communicative context).
This article does not aim to theoretically and empirically place multi-
lingualism in PYD, but to trigger interest in the study of PYD from the mul-
tilingual perspective w ith possible investigations of the language context’s
relevance relying on concepts of the individual’s language repertoire and
self-perceived language multi-competence (i.e., plurilingual competence)
and perceptions of languages for the empirical study of positive youth de-
velopment, and the connection between how the languages are perceived
and different PYD contexts (e.g. school, immigrations).
223
has not been explicitly addressed within its models and approaches (see, for
example, Benson et al., 2006; Shek et al., 2019). The significance of the lan-
guage(es) can be found in studies on thriving among immigrant youth.
In these studies, bilingualism is seen as part of a trans/-bicultural and in-
tegrated identity without emphasis on the specifics of the language used
in acculturation processes (Lerner et al., 2012). Moreover, some interven-
tion programmes in the USA focus on refugees and immigrants, express-
ly mentioning the category of language and conceptual bases that seem to
originate in translanguaging. Working with youth in these programmes is
based on a conceptualisation of the four unique adolescent immigrant as-
sets, which involve: 1) the protective strengths of values of the family’s cul-
ture of origin; 2) bilingualism as an asset in an increasingly global world;
3) migration-related struggles of the family as a means of adolescents’ em-
powerment due to their quicker language adaptation; and 4) balancing the
two cultures as a source for developing resiliency, flexibility and skills to as-
sess human interactions (Morland et al., 2006/2009; Easter & Refki, 2004).
However, the holistic view of the languages, which embodies the the-
oretical study of multilingualism, has not been included in the theory, re-
search and applications of the PYD perspectives. This would mean includ-
ing in the PYD model the multilingual perspective of language context,
where multilingualism results in individuals’ multi-competence with
broader effects than knowledge of the language itself (Dewaele, 2016).
According to Cenoz (2013a), such a perspective has three main dimensions:
1) the multilingual speaker (the use of all languages at the individual’s dis-
posal as a resource with dynamic proficiency according to their communi-
cation needs); 2) the whole linguistic repertoire (i.e., the hybridity of com-
munication with soft boundaries between linguistic resources); and 3) the
social context (i.e., the interaction between multilingual speakers and the
communicative context).
This article does not aim to theoretically and empirically place multi-
lingualism in PYD, but to trigger interest in the study of PYD from the mul-
tilingual perspective w ith possible investigations of the language context’s
relevance relying on concepts of the individual’s language repertoire and
self-perceived language multi-competence (i.e., plurilingual competence)
and perceptions of languages for the empirical study of positive youth de-
velopment, and the connection between how the languages are perceived
and different PYD contexts (e.g. school, immigrations).
223
