This study looks at a group of assistant teachers' digital discourse in an online community of practice in relation to (1) the main discursive strategies displayed to characterise their teaching context – a Content and Language Integrated (CLIL) programme in the Region of Madrid – and (2) the way they position themselves for or against this context.
There is a growing body of research in the fields of applied linguistics and critical sociolinguistic ethnography on how CLIL provisions impact teachers' daily practices and explain how these teachers either support or reject educational policy measures (i.e., Codó & Patiño-Santos, 2018; Fernández-Barrera, 2017; Relaño-Pastor, 2015). More specifically, our previous research on CLIL teachers' discourse has revealed patterns of resistance towards their education context and positionings that challenge the hegemonic discourse of education authorities, ideologically shaped by power relations (Alonso-Belmonte & Fernández-Agüero, 2021). However, there is a dearth of literature on the way these professionals depict their teaching reality within the frame of digital media, how they position themselves towards it and how this influences the construction of their socio-cultural and professional identity.
This study aims at analysing a digital forum in English, administered to a non-probabilistic sample of 140 language assistants from the United States working in bilingual schools in the Region of Madrid. The data collected was explored qualitatively by using ATLAS.ti, applying the principles of the Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The analysis of the results reveals a series of patterns or codes, such as perceived lack of coordination, economic segregation, false promises and misconceptions about bilingualism (by education stakeholders). The results of this study should be of particular interest for teachers from different educational stages and could prove useful for school administrators by helping them guide and evaluate CLIL implementation in Spain. Our study also expects to provide an opportunity for scholars to delve into the nature of the public polarization of bilingual education approached from a critical discourse analytical perspective.
References
Alonso-Belmonte, I. & Fernández-Agüero, M. (2021). Teachers' narratives of resistance to Madrid's bilingual programme: An exploratory study in secondary education. Linguistics and Education 63, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2021.100925.
Codó, E. & Patiño-Santos, A. (2018). CLIL, unequal working conditions and neoliberal subjectivities in a state secondary school. Language Policy 17(4), 479–499. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-017-9451-5.
Fernández-Barrera, A. (2017). Language appropriations, ideologies and identities in bilingual schools in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). Bellaterra Journal of Teaching & Learning Language & Literature 10(2), 41–58. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/jtl3.731.
Glaser, B. & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Chicago: Aldine Press.
Relaño-Pastor, A. M. (2015). The commodification of English in 'Madrid, comunidad bilingüe': Insights from the CLIL classroom. Language Policy 14(2), 131–152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-014-9338-7.
