Teachers' view on the elements that enhance and hamper Basque and Occitan teaching in southern France: an exploratory approach

• Published in: Diaspora, indigenous and minority education indigenous and minority education, 2021-07, Vol.15 (3), p.151-165
• Main Authors: Pérez-Izaguirre, Elizabeth, Châteaureynaud, Marie-Anne, Amiama, José F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Advocacy; Barriers; Basque people; Collaboration; Context Effect; Educational Legislation; Foreign Countries; Foreign language instruction; Instructional Innovation; Language acquisition; Language Attitudes; Language Minorities; Language Teachers; Languages; Learning; Learning Processes; Minority languages; Motivation; Occitan language; Romance Languages; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Secondary School Teachers; Secondary schools; Student Motivation; Student Needs; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Role; Teachers; Teaching; Teaching Methods
• ISSN: 1559-5692; 1559-5706
• DOI: 10.1080/15595692.2021.1929154

This study focuses on Basque and Occitan teaching in southern France, where both are minority languages. More precisely, it aims to analyze teachers' view on the elements that enhance and hamper Basque and Occitan teaching. It considers the concept of phronesis or teacher effect to refer to the diverse strategies used by teachers to constantly adapt to students' needs and context. This study presents an exploratory collaborative participatory approach based on a sequential explanatory design used with Basque and Occitan secondary school teachers. The results indicate that teachers tend to highlight the role that their implication plays in learning the target language. Teachers also mention that contextual elements hamper target language learning. The study concludes that teacher implication to promote student motivation is much based on the emotional bond created with the teacher. It also relates the concept of phronesis to that of teacher implication to promote student motivation.