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Chesney Brakhage

Mrs. Doran

Curriculum Design

23 March 2017

Article Review on Multi-language Curriculum

Piccardo, E. (2013). Plurilingualism and Curriculum Design: Toward a Synergic Vision. TESOL

Quarterly, 47(3), 600-614. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43268036.

In her article Plurilingualism and Curriculum Design: Toward a Synergic Vision,

Enrica Piccardo of the University of Toronto addresses plurilingualism, which is the idea that all

languages are connected and constantly interacting with each other through individuals. She

distinguishes this from multilingualism by explaining that multilingualism interacts with each

language separately, but plurilingualism interacts with languages cohesively. Piccardo divides

her paper into four sections that address the paradigm shift of language, the universality of

plurilingualism, examples of good practices, and recommendations for teachers. The paradigm

shift outlines the evolution of language learning and teaching from monolingualism to

bilingualism to multilingualism. Originally bilingualism was seen as detrimental to the learners

development; however, it is now believed to indicate high cognitive flexibility and capacity.

Language has also shifted from being a learned behavior to being rooted in cognition and social

constructs. Piccardo believes that every person is plurilingual. She bases this idea on the

research of M. Wandruszka who wrote an article on humanitys plurilingualism. Language

continuously moves and interacts with other languages, because they are able to change over

time. Piccardo believes that monolingualism does not actually exist, but people do not realize

that they are plurilingual even if they only speak one language.
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Piccardo gives examples of good practices found in Europe. Two of the things used are

the European Language Portfolio and the Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters. The first

allows students to assess their various language proficiencies by creating a linguistic biography

to record their progress and reflect on their abilities. The autobiography helps students process

their intercultural encounters with an emphasis on language. Other strategies that create an

atmosphere of plurilingualism include intercomprehension of related languages, tertiary language

learning, awakening to languages, intercultural approach. Recommended practices include

valuing linguistic diversity, reflect on intercultural experiences, build on competencies that

students already possess, and delegate power to students.

While this article uses many resources, the resources support the points that Piccardo

makes. She draws on the research to support her idea that plurilingualism is the future of

language learning development. Piccardos view is logical because it is based on the idea that

language consistently changes, which is demonstrated in the history of the English language.

English constantly borrows words from various languages such as German, French, and Spanish.

Piccardo focuses on the individual as the instrument of change, though, which is not accurate.

Individuals rarely have the ability to change large portions of language in society. Even

Shakespeare, who is credited with introducing many new words, gained many of his words from

society.

Piccardo attempts to end her argument with implications for teachers. However, in her

first sentence in the section on good practices, she states that there is no correct methodology.

This seems to excuse her from providing specific examples or methods to incorporate the idea of

plurilingualism into the classroom. This paper required some previous knowledge of the subject,

because Piccardo assumes that her readers know enough about plurilingualism to apply the
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concepts to their classrooms and lessons. She also seems to avoid discussing the direct roles of

the teacher and students, except that students must be incorporated into the learning process.

The title is also misleading because curriculum design was not explicitly addressed. Piccardo is

a very biased writer, because she does not address multilingualism objectively. The article also

seemed to use elevated language to the extent where the writer was not concerned with her

readers understanding, but wanted to sound intelligent. Overall, this article was disappointing

because it did not offer any clear application despite its promises to dive further into the subject

than previous writers.