CACTI: Co-developing awareness of bi/multilingual classroom practices with a professional development survey instrument

Abstract

This paper introduces an instrument, the Classroom Approaches to CLIL and Translanguaging Inventory (CACTI), to help primary and secondary teachers and academic researchers collaboratively develop awareness of bi/multilingual practices when academic subjects are taught in English. While teachers can develop explicit awareness of their language policies and practices, and of critical gaps that require action toward more equitable and productive learning spaces, researchers can learn what different bi/multilingual practices mean to teachers, and what concerns are salient for teachers regarding these practices. The practices may include (1) teaching for knowledge transfer across languages, (2) cultivating linguistic analysis skills, (3) raising critical awareness of the value placed on different languages in society, (4) developing bi/multilingualism and bi/multiliteracies, and (5) involving ALL students’ languages in the social and academic life of the class, even if they are not the official medium of instruction. Besides explaining what brought us to develop the CACTI, we illustrate two ways it can be used for collaborative reflection, one with pre-service teachers and one with in-service teachers. For each application, we discuss how our understanding was challenged by teachers, and what insights we offer for teachers on theirs.