Our paper analyses current discourses, policies and practices regarding the regional language of Latgalian in Eastern Latvia. The paper analyses a. the ideological frame and discourses on multilingualism; b. current policy reactions to demands by speakers of Latgalian; and c. practical obstacles in implementing these new policies.
Our paper analyses current discourses, policies and practices regarding languages in education in Latvia, in particular regarding the regional language of Latgalian. The region of Latgale in Eastern Latvia is characterized by widespread multilingualism, where large parts of society regularly use two or more languages and varieties in private and public life. This reality is, however, not reflected in educational traditions and practices. We discuss reasons for this contrast and possibilities for new approaches to multilingualism in Latvian schools. Our investigation is based on analyses of media discourse, current policy documents, and interviews with teachers and pupils. The paper consists of three parts: The ideological frame: General societal discourses on languages in education in Latvia in the context of the current educational reform: attitudes towards multilingualism and heteroglossia as reflected in media discussions; current policy reactions to demands by speakers of Latgalian to increase acquisition and use opportunities of their variety: ways of incorporating Latgalian into the new national standards of primary and secondary schools through different models of bilingual education, including CLIL, translanguaging and others; practical obstacles in implementing these new policies: current teaching materials and teaching practices as well as beliefs about language and language learning held by teachers, pupils, and parents. As a result, we show how Latvian society is divided on the importance of multilingualism and the role of regional varieties, while the current education reform aims at respecting multilingual practices and contemporary approaches to language education, e.g. translanguaging as a pedagogical tool. Practical as well as ideological obstacles are a challenge for the implementation of adequate contemporary teaching materials and innovative practices, which may only be overcome through dialogue and cooperation.
