This workshop draws on a research project in which bilingual language assistants (BLAs) were employed to provide first language support for adult additional language (AL) learners on the beginner path of a “Swedish for immigrants” programme. In the project, BLAs, without a teaching qualification, were engaged in extending the pedagogical range of the language teachers. What issues does this AL language education raise?
This workshop seeks to engage participants in evaluating the kind of classroom work models the teachers used with BLAs for creating accessible learning environments in which students can develop their AL proficiency. By showing some “initial practice” and “developed practice” clips of BLA-mediated classroom interaction, participants can reflect on some of the pedagogical changes the teachers made and assess the effectiveness of their strategies. Participants are invited to share and discuss their thinking about using students’ L1 in AL teaching-learning, working with BLAs as well as possible ways of working with students’ strong languages without BLAs.