The MLRC School Network serves as a global research–practice partnership for schools committed to improving outcomes for multilingual learners. MLRC School Network members have opportunities to engage in dialogue and collaborative research to explore common problems of practice in teaching multilingual learners. Many MLRC School Network member schools engage in action research through first attending a MLRC Research Symposium. In the upcoming months, we will feature some of our partner schools who are currently engaged in action research projects focused on the teaching of multilingual learners.
The American International School of Bucharest (AISB) embraces multicultural and multilingual diversity with 68 nationalities and nearly 900 students speaking 34 languages. They celebrate the evolving nature of language and promote an inclusive and adaptable approach to language education.
In November 2023, a team from AISB participated in the first MLRC Research Symposium in Barcelona, Spain. Over two days the team was able to connect with like-minded educators from around the world and take part in an action research crash course. One of the participants from the symposium noted:
We left feeling invigorated and with a fairly well-developed research question, as well as a plan for how to begin collecting data. Having access to world-class educational researchers for support, advice, and trouble-shooting was a game-changer in our understanding of the how and why of action research and helped us understand that it is absolutely possible to do this kind of work regardless of our experience, context, or intended audience.
The AISB Elementary English as an Additional Language (EAL) team is currently working on an action research project to gain a clearer understanding of what translanguaging practices our multilingual students are already using on a daily basis. Using a survey and small focus groups (all voluntary and anonymous), the team is gathering information on student awareness of how they use languages other than English to help them learn. They are also interested in finding out how students feel about using (or not using) those languages at school.
The AISB team hopes this data will help them craft a translanguaging pedagogy specific to their unique context. Starting from this authentic investigation into their identity as a multilingual community will enable them to continue along in their journey as a school toward more equitable and inclusive language teaching and learning!
Thank you to AISB team members, Adriana Rewald and Dan Metzger, for their contributions to this article.
