Transforming English Language Teacher Education Through Arts-Based Approaches to DLCs

This chapter examines the results of engaging 40 (pre-)primary teachers enrolled in an English language teaching course at the University of Bologna (Italy) in the design of an artefact of their Dominant Language Constellations (DLCs). Many of the pre-service teachers described the process of creating a 3D representation of their DLCs as an empowering experience with strong repercussions on their personal and professional identity. However, the analysis also shows teachers’ overwhelming negative perceptions of themselves as both users and prospective teachers of English. In the artefacts, English is often associated with negative words such as “purgatory” or “monster” or represented with dimensions and colours intended to show limited/insufficient proficiency or the negative feelings associated with learning/using the language. These results are in line with other studies conducted in Italy that claim that (pre-)primary teachers often feel unprepared to teach English from both a linguistic and methodological point of view with many experiencing dissatisfaction and hopelessness. It is suggested that by using the concept of DLCs embedded in arts-based approaches it is possible to encourage teachers’ appreciation of their own multilingualism as well as help them to develop a healthier view of English within a much more connected system of languages.