Challenges of multilingual education:Streamlining affordances through Dominant Language Constellations

Abstract

This contribution to the special volume is written in tune with Prof Marianna Visser’s seeing linguistic diversity in Africa as an asset rather than a complicating factor (2012, 2013). Multilingualism is without a doubt an advantage. With that said, multilingual education is a truly challenging enterprise. In particular, the realisation of appropriate educational affordances is a daunting task. In view of this, the aim of this chapter is to highlight the necessity of systematic managing of affordances in multilingual education and introduce the idea of affordances streamlining as an additional way for bettering the practice of multilingual teaching and learning.

Keywords

• multilingual education
• affordances
• dominant language constellation