On 13 November, professor Vasili Bachtsevanidis gave a lecture on plurilingualism, multilingualism and translanguaging. In addition, he explained their potential uses in promoting motivation and learning among secondary school students.

Vasili Bachtsevanidis is a lecturer of the Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg (Germany). He is fluent in more than seven European languages and has an extensive curriculum as a teacher of German as a second language. He is currently a member of the STELT (Strengthening Teacher Education in Lesser Taught Languages) project, funded by the Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education (Diku). In addition, he co-authored numerous books on second language teaching in German and Greek, as well as several academic articles on multilingualism and translanguaging in language teaching.

On this occasion, he gave the students of the Master’s Degree in Secondary Education Teacher Training (Language and Literature specialisation) the lecture-colloquium ‘Plurilingualism, multilingualism and translanguaging in Secondary and Bachillerato classrooms,’ which is a topic of special interest in multilingual classrooms, such as those in the Valencian Community. The aim of the event was to provide a reflective and critical approach to our linguistic context while offering formulas to encourage involvement of secondary school students in their linguistic and intercultural training.

For almost two hours, professor Bachtsevanidis explained the theoretical bases of bilingualism, multilingualism and plurilingualism, which he also defined while taking a personal reflection on plurilingualism as his starting point. In addition, he introduced the Master’s students to the concepts of translanguaging and code-switching, which are much closer to secondary and Bachillerato students than one might think. He also provided examples of translanguaging in our everyday life illustrating its individual use. 

The session ended with an interesting physical activity, which allowed students to familiarise themselves with the theoretical concepts addressed during the lecture. To conclude, he responded to the Master’s students’ questions and concerns in a constant and productive interaction.