Language Teaching and Teacher Training in Catalonia in the 21st Century: Plurilingualism in Practice

Abstract

The current chapter begins with an overview of societal changes in Catalonia that have had an impact in the Catalan sociolinguistic landscape and, more specifically, in language teaching at universities and schools. After a brief introduction to the language model of schools in Catalonia and some challenges faced in language teaching, three projects related to teacher training degrees at the University of Vic are presented. The first project takes place in the first year and is a writing project in which students write their own language autobiography and reflect upon issues such as linguistic prejudice and their own dynamic views of multilingualism. The second project is an interdisciplinary experience in which university teachers and students collaborate with primary schools in the preparation of a rap show with student performances in English. The third project focuses on a university teacher program to implement courses following the EMI approach. The three projects can be considered examples of a holistic approach to teacher training that puts plurilingualism at its center, with the goal ofimproving teacher quality at all levels and language quality in different languages in a plurilingual society such as the Catalan one. Keywords: language teaching, teacher training, plurilingual society.