Researching children's linguistic repertoires in globalized classrooms

This paper considers new spatial methodologies for researching children’s linguistic repertoires in complex multicultural classrooms shaped by increasing global mobilities. It is based on the analysis of a small data set from a larger study that involved 5 classes in 2 primary schools and 2 high schools in which students and teachers were trained as ethnographers of their own language practices and experiences. The study site, Western Sydney, Australia displays many of the demographic characteristics of super-diversity produced within conditions of contemporary globalization, sites which require the development of innovative methodologies to address the needs of an increasingly diverse school population. The body of data composed of 29 maps of students’ linguistic practice is analysed spatially. The children’s language maps were found to generate new spatial understandings of their extensive repertoires of linguistic practice. They offer insights into how the children themselves experience and navigate the relationship between in-school and out-of-school language practices that can be used to enhance learning for all children in contemporary globalized classrooms.