Reading in multilingual environments

Abstract

Situations and practices that are favourable to the development of literacy and of plurilingual and intercultural competences - or what we refer to globally as pluriliteracies - are considered in this chapter. It draws on the empirical work carried out as part of the KOINOS project, as well as other experiences of a similar nature, to develop a set of principles for guiding how reading is approached in multilingual school environments, anchored in family and community realities. These principles include the need to expand the instrumental view of language, to link pluriliteracies and creativity, to embrace multimodality, to bridge languages and cultures, to establish variable geometries, to promote interaction, to facilitate collaborative formative action, and to evaluate reflexively. The experiences presented in the chapter aim to inspire others working in linguistically and culturally rich environments to develop children's reading competences creatively, critically and in socially just ways.