Monolingual ideologies of Andalusian teachers in the multilingual schools’ context

Abstract

This article examines Andalusian teachers’ ideologies towards migrant students’ bilingualism and, the way teachers perceive the home language maintenance and its use in the school context. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews to two types of teachers –specialist language and regular teachers– in Andalusia (Spain). Findings revealed that were slight differences in the ideologies of these two types of teachers. In general, teachers’ beliefs towards bilingualism were relatively positive. In rhetoric, language teachers demonstrated a greater appreciation for the bilingualism of the students and viewed it as a challenge. Conversely, the regular teachers had a less positive orientation towards bilingualism, associating it with problems. Furthermore, teachers advocate assimilationist language ideologies that consider – Spanish-only– as an indispensable tool for academic achievement. Our results also highlight that participants did not seem to be aware of the importance of students’ home language-as-a right and its use as a democratic condition in a multilingual society such as Spain. The results show a need for professional development for all teachers to move away from monolingualism to advocating for multilingualism to better reflect the realities of the classrooms.