Language, Pedagogy, and Active Participant Engagement. Gaze in the Multilingual Landscape

Abstract

Drawing on a series of studies that looked at students’ interpretations of linguistic landscapes (LL) in Israel, the chapter focuses on the move from awareness to engagement in LL pedagogical work. Encouraging students to modify images (by manipulating digital images) proves valuable not only for promoting awareness, but also for instilling an activist sensibility focused on political and linguistic change. The chapter raises several important considerations for LL research and pedagogy: critical exposure to LLs is an effective tool for noticing social and linguistic injustices; noticing and awareness are highly dependent on the positionality of the viewer: what is seen in the LL varies according to the linguistic, political, racial, or ethnic gaze through which the LL is interpreted; and image modification may be a valuable way in which students can move from consciousness to activism. These considerations have implications for multilingual educational policies and LL pedagogies that engage students in social change.