LARISSA ARONIN
MULTILINGUALISM
About me
Larissa Aronin is a University Professor at VIZJA University in Warsaw, Poland. 
Distinguished scholar in multilingualism, Honorary Member Award of the International Association of Multilingualism ( IAM Groningen 2024).
In 2024 she was a DAAD Visiting professor at the University of Hamburg, Germany.
She was a Visiting Professor at University of Silesia, Institute of Linguistics (2023), a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA in 2014, Visiting Research Fellow at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland (2008-2017), and a KIVA Guest Professor at the Technical Universität Darmstadt, Germany (2016). Guest professor at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (2021). She served two terms (2010-2014) as a Secretary of the International Association of Multilingualism. Larissa Aronin is a Senior Researcher at TU Darmstadt . https://www.daf.tu-darmstadt.de/ueber_uns_1/team/Aronin.de.jsp . ,a Board Member of Language Teaching (CUP) and an Editorial Board member of a number of international peer-reviewed journals.
Larissa Aronin has published in a range of international journals on a wide array of topics connected with multilingualism and authored and co-authored several books on multilingualism.
ORCID ID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1074-8023
Fields of Interest Interdisciplinary
Multilingualism; Sociology of Language; Philosophy of Multilingualism; Cultural Studies; Multilingualism; Sociolinguistics; Intercultural, Multicultural, and Diversity Studies; Material Culture of Multilingualism; Complexity; Identity; Language Contact; Affordances; Teaching English; Multiple Language Acquisition and Teaching; Linguistics.
See the site dedicated to Dominant Language Constellations
https://www.dominant-language-constellations.com/
Email addresses: Larisa@research.haifa.ac.il l.aronin@vizja.pl
Distinguished scholar in multilingualism, Honorary Member Award of the International Association of Multilingualism ( IAM Groningen 2024). In 2024 she was a DAAD Visiting professor at the University of Hamburg, Germany.
She was a Visiting Professor at University of Silesia, Institute of Linguistics (2023), a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA in 2014, Visiting Research Fellow at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland (2008-2017), and a KIVA Guest Professor at the Technical Universität Darmstadt, Germany (2016). Guest professor at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (2021). She served two terms (2010-2014) as a Secretary of the International Association of Multilingualism. Larissa Aronin is a Senior Researcher at TU Darmstadt . https://www.daf.tu-darmstadt.de/ueber_uns_1/team/Aronin.de.jsp . ,a Board Member of Language Teaching (CUP) and an Editorial Board member of a number of international peer-reviewed journals.
Larissa Aronin has published in a range of international journals on a wide array of topics connected with multilingualism and authored and co-authored several books on multilingualism.
ORCID ID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1074-8023
Fields of Interest Interdisciplinary
Multilingualism; Sociology of Language; Philosophy of Multilingualism; Cultural Studies; Multilingualism; Sociolinguistics; Intercultural, Multicultural, and Diversity Studies; Material Culture of Multilingualism; Complexity; Identity; Language Contact; Affordances; Teaching English; Multiple Language Acquisition and Teaching; Linguistics.
See the site dedicated to Dominant Language Constellations
https://www.dominant-language-constellations.com/
Email addresses: Larisa@research.haifa.ac.il l.aronin@vizja.pl
Festschrift
MODERN APPROACHES TO RESEARCHING MULTILINGUALISM: Studies in Honour of Larissa Aronin
Herausgegeben:Gabrys-Barker, Danuta; Vetter, Eva Gebunden, 1st ed. 2024, Springer, Berlin Series Second Language Learning and Teaching
The volume offers a collection of the most recent research coming from scholars and practitioners in the field of multilingualism research in various contexts of natural/immersion environments, school/formal instruction, grounded in multilingual societies and individual multilinguality of semimonolingual countries. The studies included in the book constitute an exemplification of new methods of research used (e.g., narratives, visualizations, metaphors) as well as new approaches to multilingualism (affordances, dominant language constellations). Part One focuses on different dimensions of multilingualism, Part Two zooms in on the concept of affordances and their role in the development of multilingual competence, Part Three concentrates on dominant language constellations in different contexts and, finally, Part Four shifts the focus to instructional practices in teaching multiple languages..
Herausgegeben:Gabrys-Barker, Danuta; Vetter, Eva Gebunden, 1st ed. 2024, Springer, Berlin Series Second Language Learning and Teaching
The volume offers a collection of the most recent research coming from scholars and practitioners in the field of multilingualism research in various contexts of natural/immersion environments, school/formal instruction, grounded in multilingual societies and individual multilinguality of semimonolingual countries. The studies included in the book constitute an exemplification of new methods of research used (e.g., narratives, visualizations, metaphors) as well as new approaches to multilingualism (affordances, dominant language constellations). Part One focuses on different dimensions of multilingualism, Part Two zooms in on the concept of affordances and their role in the development of multilingual competence, Part Three concentrates on dominant language constellations in different contexts and, finally, Part Four shifts the focus to instructional practices in teaching multiple languages..
Festschrift book launch
Video https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mVK8O01E75JFDFpTFqxUB29bIloPGWWW/view?usp=sharing
Contributors: Foreword- Joseph Lo Bianco; Alfred Nordmann; Hanna Komorowska; David Sibgleton and Colin Flynn; Constanze Bradlaw, Britta Hufeisen, Stefanie, Nölle-Becker;Svetlana Karpava ; Nicole Marx; Pilar Safont;Barbara Hofer; Stela Letica Krevelj, Nives Kovačić; Laura Portolés Falomir, Lauren Basgall;Mikaela Björklund and Siv Björklund; Yaqiong (Sue) Xu, Anna Krulatz; Richard Nightingale; Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer, Lisa Marie Brinkmann, Franziska Gerwers ;Maria Nayr de Pinho Correia Ibrahim; Ulrike Jessner, Susan Coetzee-Van Rooy ; Ada Bier and David Lasagabaster;Sarasi Kannangara; Antonio Oštaric´Danuta Gabry´s-Barker and Eva Vetter
what is multilingualism?
Multilingualism, in very general terms, can be defined as the use and acquisition of three or more languages. It is the social and individual language practice that has come to the forefront in today’s human society. Its various aspects relate to spheres as diverse as human physiology, cognition, communities with their traditions and material objects, and, of course, languages. Multilingualism concerns education, engineering and commerce, policymaking, family life, and entertainment, to name only some of its dimensions. The field of multilingualism studies the way various languages are acquired, used, and treated today.
It is hard to imagine an aspect of modern life unaffected by multilingualism. The majority of the world’s population is bi- and multilingual, and those who are not, are still influenced by the mostly multilingual world they live in. Multilingualism is not about languages as such; rather it is about how people use multiple languages. Researchers study how, by whom, and in what conditions languages are acquired, spoken, and dealt with; how many and which language varieties are used or not used and why, and what are the implications of this on individuals and society as a whole.
Multilingualism has a bearing on all of us, as we have to contend with it through all the stages of life while acquiring language, pursuing a career, socializing, and getting older, as we live out our lives in the roles of language speakers, family members, citizens, and professionals. Researchers of multilingualism examine the way various languages are acquired, used, and treated today and discuss questions that arise daily in all parts of the world. For example, what is an optimal age to start teaching English as a third language? Which kinds of schools – monolingual, bilingual, or multilingual are appropriate for urban centers? Is it normal that grandchildren and grandparents do not understand each other because they speak different languages? Are there more and less economically beneficial languages? How are languages selected for work and international meetings? Why is everyone not a polyglot as Cardinal Mezzofanti was?
It is hard to imagine an aspect of modern life unaffected by multilingualism. The majority of the world’s population is bi- and multilingual, and those who are not, are still influenced by the mostly multilingual world they live in. Multilingualism is not about languages as such; rather it is about how people use multiple languages. Researchers study how, by whom, and in what conditions languages are acquired, spoken, and dealt with; how many and which language varieties are used or not used and why, and what are the implications of this on individuals and society as a whole.
Multilingualism has a bearing on all of us, as we have to contend with it through all the stages of life while acquiring language, pursuing a career, socializing, and getting older, as we live out our lives in the roles of language speakers, family members, citizens, and professionals. Researchers of multilingualism examine the way various languages are acquired, used, and treated today and discuss questions that arise daily in all parts of the world. For example, what is an optimal age to start teaching English as a third language? Which kinds of schools – monolingual, bilingual, or multilingual are appropriate for urban centers? Is it normal that grandchildren and grandparents do not understand each other because they speak different languages? Are there more and less economically beneficial languages? How are languages selected for work and international meetings? Why is everyone not a polyglot as Cardinal Mezzofanti was?
new and forthcoming publications
Aronin, Larissa (forthcoming 2025). The Material Culture of Multilingualism. In Carol A. Chapelle (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. tba). Second edition Wiley-Blackwell.
Aronin, Larissa (forthcoming 2025). The philosophy of multilingualism. In Carol A. Chapelle (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. tba). Second edition Wiley-Blackwell.
Aronin, Larissa and Vetter, Eva (Eds.) (2025) Dominant Language Constellations for Teachers: A practical dimension. Springer.
Aronin, Larissa and Danuta Gabryś-Barker (2025) A New Perspective on Multilingualism and Multilingual Practices. In M.A. Christison and A. Krulatz (Eds.). Promoting Multilingual Practices for Linguistically Diverse Learners in Global Contexts. (pp.3-27). Routledge.
Melo-Pfeifer, Silvia and Larissa Aronin. (2025) Language Teachers thinging through Dominant Language Constellations: The Materialization of Beliefs about Languages and Multilingualism. In: Aronin Larissa and Eva Vetter (Eds.), Dominant Language Constellations for Teachers: A practical dimension. (pp. TBA) Springer.
Aronin, Larissa and Eva Vetter (2025) Introduction: A practical dimension of the Dominant Language Constellation approach in education In: Aronin Larissa and Eva Vetter (Eds.), Dominant Language Constellations for Teachers: A practical dimension. (pp. TBA) Springer.
Aronin, Larissa and Silvia Melo-Pfeifer (eds.) (2023) Language Awareness and Identity: Insights via Dominant Language Constellation approach Cham, Springer. Book series: Multilingual Education (MULT, volume 45).
Aronin, Larissa (2022). An Advanced Guide to Multilingualism Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-an-advanced-guide-to-multilingualism.html A textbook.
Aronin, Larissa (2023). A journey to a new home: language, identity and material culture. In Protassova, E. and Yelenevskaya, M (eds.) Material Culture of the Russian-speaking Diaspora: The Semiotics of Home. Pp.209-229. Edinburgh: EUP.
Aronin, Larissa and Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer (2023) Introduction: Understanding Identity and Language(s) Awareness by Dint of DLC. In Aronin, Larissa and Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer (eds.) Language Awareness and Identity: Insights via Dominant Language Constellation approach. (pp. 1-17). Cham, Springer.
Aronin, Larissa and Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer (2023) DLC, Identity, and Awareness: a posse ad esse. In Aronin, Larissa and Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer (eds.) Language Awareness and Identity: Insights via Dominant Language Constellation approach. (pp. 285-291). Cham, Springer.
Aronin, Larissa and Danuta Gabryś-Barker (forthcoming) A New Perspective on Multilingualism and Multilingual Practices. In M.A. Christison and A. Krulatz (eds) Research on Multilingual Practices with Linguistically Diverse Learners in Diverse Contexts. Routledge.
Aronin, Larissa, Bylieva Daria, and Victoria Lobatiuk (2023). Material culture inside and beyond multilingual classroom: theoretical and pedagogical perspectives. In Melo-Pfeifer, Silvia (ed.) Linguistic Landscapes in (Teacher) education – Multilingual teaching and learning inside and beyond the classroom. (pp. 259-280).Springer.
Aronin, Larissa & Susan Coetze van Rooy (2022). Emerging trends in multilingual learning and teaching: Beyond edges and borders. AILA Review. pp.152-168.
Laurent Moccozet, Nicolas Boeckh, Larissa Aronin (2021) Modelling socio-linguistic profiles in multilingual Higher Education Institutions (HEI)
Aronin, Larissa and Moccozet Laurent (2021) Dominant Language Constellations: Towards Online Computer-Assisted Modelling. International Journal of Multilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2021.1941975
Aronin, Larissa, and Yelenevskaya, Maria (2021). Teaching English in multilingual Israel: Who teaches whom and how: A review of recent research 2014-2020 Language Teaching (CUP). https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S0261444821000215
Aronin, Larissa (2021) Dominant Language Constellations: Teaching and learning languages in a multilingual world. In Raza, K., Coombe, C., & Reynolds, D. Policy development in TESOL and multilingualism: Past, present and the way forward. (pp. 287-300). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Aronin, Larissa (2021) Dominant Language Constellations in Education: Patterns and Visualisations. In Larissa Aronin and Eva Vetter (eds.) Dominant Language Constellations Approach in Education and Language Acquisition (pp. 19-41). Springer.
Aronin, Larissa, Bylieva Daria and Victoria Lobatiuk (2023). Material culture inside and beyond multilingual classroom: theoretical and pedagogical perspectives. In Melo-Pfeifer, Silvia, et al (eds.) Linguistic Landscapes in (Teacher) education – Multilingual teaching and learning inside and beyond the classroom. Springer.
books Multilingualism
Aronin, Larissa An Advanced Guide to Multilingualism. Edinburgh: EUP
2022
https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-an-advanced-guide-to-multilingualism.html
Twelve Lectures on Multilingualism (2019) edited by D. Singleton & L.Aronin
Textbook offering a state-of-the-art, authoritative introduction to multilingualism, written by experts from various subdisciplines This major new textbook offers an accessible introduction to the most interesting areas in the study of multilingualism. It consists of twelve lectures, written by leading researchers, each dedicated to a particular topic of importance and accompanied by questions for student reflection and suggestions for further reading.
Multilingualism (2012) by Aronin, L. & D. Singleton. John Benjamins
Current Multilingualism A New Linguistic Dispensation 2013
Edited by: David Singleton, Joshua A. Fishman, Larissa Aronin and Muiris Ó Laoire Volume 102 in the series Contributions to the Sociology of Language [CSL] https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614512813
Contributors Larissa Aronin; Joshua Fishman; David Singleton; Muiris Ó Laoire; Vivian Cook; Sandro Caruana and David Lasagabaster; John Harris and Jim Cummins; Ofelia García ; Lorna Carson; Guus Extra; Jelena Mihaljević Djigunović; Norbert Dittmar and Paul Steckbauer; Moha Ennaji; Tjeerd de Graaf; Renate Kärchner-Ober; Vasiliki Georgiou; Kathleen Heugh
The Exploration of Multilingualism: Development of Research on L3, Multilingualism and Multiple Language Acquisition. (2009). Aronin, Larissa, and Hufeisen, Britta (eds.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 2009
https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.6
books on dominant language constellation (dlc)
Dominant Language Constellations A New Perspective on Multilingualism (2020) Editors: Lo Bianco, Joseph, Aronin, Larissa (Eds.)
Introduces the concept of Dominant Language Constellations Offers an additional and novel perspective on the use of languages in a multilingual world Suggests ways of dealing with real-life multilingual situations across the world in educational and social contexts Links Dominant Language Constellations to timely issues in multilingualism, sociolinguistics, sociology of language and applied linguistics
Dominant Language Constellation Approach in Education and Language Acquisition. (2021) eds. Larissa Aronin and Eva Vetter. Springer
Adopts a Dominant Language Constellations approach to multilingualism Explores novel perspectives on language policy and language teaching Touches on the issues of identity and immigration from an up-to-date perspective
Language Awareness and Identity: Insights via Dominant Language Constellation approach. Larissa Aronin and Silvia Melo-Pfeifer (Eds.) (2023). Cham, Springer.
Dominant Language Constellations for Teachers: A practical dimension. Aronin Larissa and Eva Vetter (Eds.), (2025)Springer.
https://link.springer.com/book/9783032033031
books on dominant language constellation (dlc)
Dominant Language Constellations A New Perspective on Multilingualism (2020) Editors: Lo Bianco, Joseph, Aronin, Larissa (Eds.)
Introduces the concept of Dominant Language Constellations Offers an additional and novel perspective on the use of languages in a multilingual world Suggests ways of dealing with real-life multilingual situations across the world in educational and social contexts Links Dominant Language Constellations to timely issues in multilingualism, sociolinguistics, sociology of language and applied linguistics
Dominant Language Constellation Approach in Education and Language Acquisition. (2021) eds. Larissa Aronin and Eva Vetter. Springer
Adopts a Dominant Language Constellations approach to multilingualism Explores novel perspectives on language policy and language teaching Touches on the issues of identity and immigration from an up-to-date perspective
Language Awareness and Identity: Insights via Dominant Language Constellation approach. Larissa Aronin and Silvia Melo-Pfeifer (Eds.) (2023). Cham, Springer.
Dominant Language Constellations for Teachers: A practical dimension. Aronin Larissa and Eva Vetter (Eds.), (2025)Springer.
https://link.springer.com/book/9783032033031
Multilingualism articles and chapters
Aronin, Larissa (in press). English in Israel. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of World Englishes. (pp. TBA). The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of World Englishes. Oxford, UK/Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Aronin, Larissa and Moccozet Laurent (2021) Dominant Language Constellations: Towards Online Computer-Assisted Modelling. International Journal of Multilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2021.1941975
Aronin, Larissa, and Yelenevskaya, Maria (2021). Teaching English in multilingual Israel: Who teaches whom and how: A review of recent research 2014-2020 Language Teaching (CUP). https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S0261444821000215
Laurent Moccozet, Nicolas Boeckh, Larissa Aronin (2021) Modelling socio-linguistic profiles in multilingual Higher Education Institutions (HEI)
Aronin, Larissa (2020). Dominant Language Constellation as an approach for studying multilingual practices. In Joe Lo Bianco and Larissa Aronin (eds.) Dominant Language Constellations: A New Perspective on Multilingualism. (pp.19-33). Springer.
Aronin, Larissa (2019). What is Multilingualism? In David Singleton and Larissa Aronin (eds.), Twelve Lectures in Multilingualism. (pp. 3-34). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Aronin, Larissa and Singleton, David (2019). Introduction. In David Singleton and Larissa Aronin (eds.), Twelve Lectures in Multilingualism. (pp.xxiii-xxvi).Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Aronin, Larissa (2019). Challenges of multilingual education: Streamlining affordances
through Dominant Language Constellations. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, Vol. 58, 235-256. doi: 10.5842/58-0-845
Aronin, Larissa (2017). Conceptualizations of Multilingualism: An Affordances Perspective. Critical Multilingualism Studies. 5:1 (2017): pp 7-42. http://cms.arizona.edu/index.php/multilingual/article/view/109/163
Aronin, Larissa, and Vasilis, Politis (2015). Multilingualism as an Edge. Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition (Wydawnictwo Unwierstetu Śląskiego), (1), 27-49.
Aronin, Larissa, and Jessner, Ulrike (2015). Understanding current multilingualism: what can the butterfly tell us? In Claire Kramsch and Ulrike Jessner (Eds.), (271-291).The Multilingual Challenge. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Aronin, Larissa (2015). Current Multilingualism and New Developments in Multilingual Research. In Pilar Safont-Jordà and Laura Portoles (eds.), Multilingual Development in the Classroom: Current Findings from Research. (pp.1-27). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Aronin, Larissa, and Jessner, Ulrike (2014). Methodology in bi- and multilingual studies: from simplification to complexity. AILA Review 27: Research Methods and approaches in Applied Linguistics: Looking back and moving forward. 27, 56-79.
Aronin, Larissa, and Singleton, David (2008). Multilingualism as a New Linguistic Dispensation. International Journal of Multilingualism, 5(1), 1-16.
Aronin, Larissa, Ó Laoire, Muiris, and Singleton, David (2011). The Multiple Faces of Multilingualism: Language Nominations. In Applied Linguistics Review, 169–190. Berlin-New York: Mouton De Gruyter.
Aronin, Larissa, and Singleton, David (guest eds.). (2010). Special Issue, The Diversity of Multilingualism. International Journal of the Sociology of Language (Mouton de Gruyter). Issue 205.
Aronin, Larissa, and Singleton, David (2010). Introduction. The diversity of multilingualism. In Larissa Aronin, and David Singleton (guest eds.) (September 2010), Special Issue: The Diversity of Multilingualism. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 1-5. Mouton de Gruyter.
Romy-Masliah, Daphne, and Aronin, Larissa (guest eds.). (2007). Issue «L’anglais et les cultures». Droit et Cultures : Revue semestrielle d’anthropologie et d’histoire, 54(2).
Aronin, Larissa, and Singleton, David (2008). The complexity of multilingual contact and language use in times of globalization. Conversarii. Studi Linguistici, 2, 33-47.
Gallery Dominant Language constellations
Language teaching
Aronin, Larissa, and Yelenevky, Maria (2021) Teaching English in multilingual Israel: Who teaches whom and how: A review of recent research 2014-2020 Language Teaching (CUP). https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S0261444821000215
Aronin, Larissa, and Spolsky, Bernard (2010). State-of-the-art article. Selected Research on English Teaching/Learning Published in Israel (2004–2008). Language Teaching, 43(3), 297-319. Cambridge University Press.
Aronin, Larissa (2005). Theoretical perspectives of trilingual education. The International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 171, 7-22.
Aronin, Larissa, and Jessner, Ulrike (2014). Methodology in bi- and multilingual studies: from simplification to complexity. AILA Review 27: Research Methods and approaches in Applied Linguistics: Looking back and moving forward. 27, 56-79.
Aronin, Larissa (2019). Challenges of multilingual education: Streamlining affordances
through Dominant Language Constellations. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, Vol. 58, 235-256. doi: 10.5842/58-0-845
Aronin, Larissa (2004). Multilinguality and emotions: Emotional and attitudinal experiences of trilingual immigrant students towards themselves and languages in multilingual settings. Estudios de Sociolinguistica [Now Sociolinguistic studies], 5(1), 59-81.
Aronin, Larissa, and Ó Laoire, Muiris (2003). Multilingual students’ awareness of their language teacher’s other languages. Language Awareness, 12(3/4), 204-219.
Aronin, Larissa, and Toubkin, Lynne (2002). Language interference and language learning techniques transfer in L2 and L3 immersion programmes, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 5(5), 267-278.
Aronin, Larissa (2001). Teaching English reading comprehension at the University of Haifa: Effect of listening comprehension reinforcement on different L3 student populations. In Jasone Cenoz, Britta Hufeisen and Ulrike Jessner (eds.), Looking Beyond Second Language Acquisition: Studies in Tri- and Multilingualism (pp. 111-119). Tübingen, Stauffenburg.
Pawlak, Mirosław, and Aronin, Larissa (eds.). (2013). Essential Topics in Applied Linguistics
and Multilingualism. Springer.
tHE MATERIAL CULTURE OF MULTILINGUALISM
Editors: Aronin, Larissa, Hornsby, Michael, Kiliańska-Przybyło, Grażyna (Eds.) Springer https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319911038
- Provides cutting-edge research in multilingualism
- The first book on the emerging strand 'the material culture of multilingualism'
- Gives an original interface of social studies and applied linguistics
- Contributions include classroom research and teaching methodology
This volume provides a unique interface between the material and linguistic aspects of communication, education and language use, and cuts across traditional disciplinary boundaries, drawing on fields as varied as applied linguistics, ethnology, sociology, history and philosophy.
Taking texts, images and objects as their starting points, the authors discuss how cultural context is envisioned in particular materialities and in a variety of contexts and localities. The volume, divided into three sections, aims to deal with material culture not only in the daily language practices of the past and the present, but also language teaching in a number of settings. The main thrust of the volume, then, is the exposure of natural ties between language, cognition, identity and the material world.
Aimed at undergraduates, postgraduates and scholars in fields as varied as education, applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, semiotics and other related disciplines, this volume documents and analyses a wide range of case studies. It provides a unique take on multilingualism and expands our understanding of how materialities permit us new and unexpected insights into multilingual practices.
Articles and chapters on the Material Culture of Multilingualism
Aronin, Larissa (2018). Theoretical underpinnings of the material culture of multilingualism. In Larissa Aronin, Michael Hornsby and Grażyna Kiliańska-Przybyło (eds.), The Material Culture of Multilingualism. (pp. 21-45).Springer.
Aronin, Larissa, and Ó Laoire, Muiris (2013). The material culture of multilingualism: moving beyond the linguistic landscape. International Journal of Multilingualism, 10(3), 225- 235.
Aronin, Larissa and Michael Hornsby (2018). Introduction. In L. Aronin, M. Hornsby and G. Kiliańska-Przybyło (eds.), The Material culture of Multilingualism. (pp. 1- 17) Springer.
Aronin, Larissa (2012). Material culture of multilingualism and affectivity. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, Vol. 2, No. 2, 179-191.
Aronin, Larissa (2014). The concept of affordances in applied linguistics and multilingualism. In Mirosław Pawlak and Larissa Aronin (eds.), Essential Topics in Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism (pp. 157-173). Springer.
the philosophy of multilingualism
The Philosophy of Multilingualism
Aronin, Larissa, and Singleton, David (2013). Multilingualism and Philosophy. In Carol A. Chapelle (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. 3951-3954). Wiley-Blackwell.
It might have been imagined that a philosophy of multilingualism could draw copiously on the long-established concepts and procedures of the philosophy of language. However, much of the work undertaken by philosophers of language is of minimal relevance to current multilingualism—a phenomenon sometimes labeled a new world order (Fishman, 1998). Among the new realities one can cite the changed role of multilingualism in our present world, where so much now depends on multilingual arrangements and individuals. Complexity is also a salient feature of contemporary multilingualism—a concomitant of the dramatic rise in the number and significance of multilingual migrants and multilingual communities, which has enormously extended the scope of current multilingualism. Finally, at both individual and community levels, constellations of languages often fulfill the communicative, cognitive, and identificational requirements once met by single languages.
Aronin, Larissa, and Vasilis, Politis (2015). Multilingualism as an Edge. Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition (Wydawnictwo Unwierstetu Śląskiego), (1), 27-49.
The article presents a philosophical conceptualization of multilingualism. Philosophy’s general task is to subject human experience to reflective scrutiny and the experience of present day society has changed drastically. Multilingualism, as the vehicle of a new linguistic dispensation, plays a central role in it. We apply the metaphor ‘edge’ to explore the way multiple languages are deployed in, and intensively shape, the postmodern world. We also demonstrate how multilingualism is an edge, not only metaphorically, but involving true and real boundaries of various kinds, and all of them are essential for its nature.
K e y w o r d s: philosophy, multilingualism, boundaries, edge
Aronin, Larissa, and Jessner, Ulrike (2016). Spacetimes of Multilingualism. In: Researching Second Language Learning and Teaching from a Psycholinguistic Perspective. (23-35). Berlin: Springer.
Multilingual speakers, bilingual and more often multilingual, are diverse in many ways. They undergo different kinds of experiences in a variety of social spaces, in particular when undergoing changes in their linguistic environments. This article suggests a conceptual tool to examine the various contexts in which multilingual speakers emerge and re-establish their identity: the concept of spacetime. The concept of spacetime allows analytical vision of the circumstances and actors. It can be instrumental in teasing out the mechanisms by which new linguistic practices appear both in local settings and globally. From the complexity perspective, each spacetime of multilingualism is an emergent, dynamic and self-organizing system that cannot be understood simply by understanding its separate parts, but by exploring their interaction in complex and non-linear ways. It is the interaction between the many elements of each spacetime that makes it unique. The spacetime approach takes into consideration both space and time. Thus the understanding of multilingualism becomes more realistic and more attuned to the diversity and unpredictability of each particular sociolinguistic situation
Aronin, Larissa, and Jessner, Ulrike (2015). Understanding current multilingualism: what can the butterfly tell us? In Claire Kramsch and Ulrike Jessner (Eds.), (271-291).The Multilingual Challenge. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Understanding multilingualism has always been a challenge. The reasons are several. Firstly, manifestations of multilingualism at first sight are similar to those of bilingualism, so that often the impression is that it is “just learning an additional language.” Secondly, researchers admit it is much too complicated to study compared to bilingualism. In this chapter we will consider the phenomenon of current multilingualism on the background of a significant pool of data collected in multilingualism studies up to now. We will discuss whether there is a need to distinguish between bilingualism and multilingualism, and explain the challenges multilingualism poses to researchers and practitioners by showing how its very nature is complex. Finally we will examine the implications of seeing multilingualism as a complex phenomenon, different from bilingualism in many important ways.
Aronin, Larissa, and Singleton, David (2013). Multilingualism and Philosophy. In Carol A. Chapelle (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. 3951-3954). Wiley-Blackwell.
It might have been imagined that a philosophy of multilingualism could draw copiously on the long-established concepts and procedures of the philosophy of language. However, much of the work undertaken by philosophers of language is of minimal relevance to current multilingualism—a phenomenon sometimes labeled a new world order (Fishman, 1998). Among the new realities one can cite the changed role of multilingualism in our present world, where so much now depends on multilingual arrangements and individuals. Complexity is also a salient feature of contemporary multilingualism—a concomitant of the dramatic rise in the number and significance of multilingual migrants and multilingual communities, which has enormously extended the scope of current multilingualism. Finally, at both individual and community levels, constellations of languages often fulfill the communicative, cognitive, and identificational requirements once met by single languages.
Aronin, Larissa, and Vasilis, Politis (2015). Multilingualism as an Edge. Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition (Wydawnictwo Unwierstetu Śląskiego), (1), 27-49.
The article presents a philosophical conceptualization of multilingualism. Philosophy’s general task is to subject human experience to reflective scrutiny and the experience of present day society has changed drastically. Multilingualism, as the vehicle of a new linguistic dispensation, plays a central role in it. We apply the metaphor ‘edge’ to explore the way multiple languages are deployed in, and intensively shape, the postmodern world. We also demonstrate how multilingualism is an edge, not only metaphorically, but involving true and real boundaries of various kinds, and all of them are essential for its nature.
K e y w o r d s: philosophy, multilingualism, boundaries, edge
Aronin, Larissa, and Jessner, Ulrike (2016). Spacetimes of Multilingualism. In: Researching Second Language Learning and Teaching from a Psycholinguistic Perspective. (23-35). Berlin: Springer.
Multilingual speakers, bilingual and more often multilingual, are diverse in many ways. They undergo different kinds of experiences in a variety of social spaces, in particular when undergoing changes in their linguistic environments. This article suggests a conceptual tool to examine the various contexts in which multilingual speakers emerge and re-establish their identity: the concept of spacetime. The concept of spacetime allows analytical vision of the circumstances and actors. It can be instrumental in teasing out the mechanisms by which new linguistic practices appear both in local settings and globally. From the complexity perspective, each spacetime of multilingualism is an emergent, dynamic and self-organizing system that cannot be understood simply by understanding its separate parts, but by exploring their interaction in complex and non-linear ways. It is the interaction between the many elements of each spacetime that makes it unique. The spacetime approach takes into consideration both space and time. Thus the understanding of multilingualism becomes more realistic and more attuned to the diversity and unpredictability of each particular sociolinguistic situation
Aronin, Larissa, and Jessner, Ulrike (2015). Understanding current multilingualism: what can the butterfly tell us? In Claire Kramsch and Ulrike Jessner (Eds.), (271-291).The Multilingual Challenge. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Understanding multilingualism has always been a challenge. The reasons are several. Firstly, manifestations of multilingualism at first sight are similar to those of bilingualism, so that often the impression is that it is “just learning an additional language.” Secondly, researchers admit it is much too complicated to study compared to bilingualism. In this chapter we will consider the phenomenon of current multilingualism on the background of a significant pool of data collected in multilingualism studies up to now. We will discuss whether there is a need to distinguish between bilingualism and multilingualism, and explain the challenges multilingualism poses to researchers and practitioners by showing how its very nature is complex. Finally we will examine the implications of seeing multilingualism as a complex phenomenon, different from bilingualism in many important ways.
Affordances
through Dominant Language Constellations. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, Vol. 58, 235-256.
doi: 10.5842/58-0-845
Aronin, Larissa (2017). Conceptualizations of Multilingualism: An Affordances Perspective. Critical Multilingualism Studies. 5:1 (2017): pp 7-42. http://cms.arizona.edu/index.php/multilingual/article/view/109/163
Aronin, Larissa (2014). The concept of affordances in applied linguistics and multilingualism. In Mirosław Pawlak and Larissa Aronin (eds.), Essential Topics in Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism (pp. 157-173). Springer.
Aronin, Larissa, and Singleton, David (2012). Affordances Theory in Multilingualism Studies. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, Vol. 2, No. 3, 311-331.
Aronin, Larissa, and Singleton, David (2010). Affordances and the diversity of multilingualism. In L. Aronin, and D. Singleton (guest eds.) (September 2010), Special Issue: The Diversity of Multilingualism. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 105-129. Mouton de Gruyter.
Singleton, David, and Aronin, Larissa (2009). Multilingual language learners’ use of affordances: theoretical perspectives and some evidence. In Janusz Arabski (ed.), Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Learning (pp. 170-182). Katowice: University of Silesia Press.
Singleton, David, and Aronin, Larissa (2007). Multiple language learning in the light of the theory of affordances. Innovation in Language Teaching and Learning, 1(1), 83-96.
DLC articles and chapters
Aronin, Larissa (2021) Dominant Language Constellations: Teaching and learning languages in a multilingual world. In Raza, K., Coombe, C., & Reynolds, D. Policy development in TESOL and multilingualism: Past, present and the way forward. (pp. tba) Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Aronin, Larissa (2016). Multicompetence and Dominant Language Constellation. In Vivian Cook and Li Wei (eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Multicompetence. pp. 142- 163. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Aronin, Larissa (2021) Dominant Language Constellations in Education: Patterns and Visualisations. In Larissa Aronin and Eva Vetter (eds.) Dominant Language Constellations Approach in Education and Language Acquisition (pp. 19-41). Springer.
Aronin, Larissa (2020). Dominant Language Constellation as an approach for studying multilingual practices. In Joe Lo Bianco and Larissa Aronin (eds.) Dominant Language Constellations: A New Perspective on Multilingualism. (pp.19-33). Springer.
Aronin, Larissa (2019). Challenges of multilingual education: Streamlining affordances through Dominant Language Constellations. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, Vol. 58, 235-256. doi: 10.5842/58-0-845
Aronin, Larissa (2019) Dominant Language Constellation as a Method of Research. In Eva Vetter and Ulrike Jessner (eds.) International Research on Multilingualism Breaking with the Monolingual Perspective. (pp.13-26) Springer.
Aronin, Larissa (2006). Dominant language constellations: An approach to multilingualism studies. In Muiris Ó Laoire (ed.), Multilingualism in Educational Settings (pp. 140-159). Hohengehren: Schneider Publications.
Aronin, Larissa (2001). Teaching English reading comprehension at the University of Haifa: Effect of listening comprehension reinforcement on different L3 student populations. In Jasone Cenoz, Britta Hufeisen and Ulrike Jessner (eds.), Looking Beyond Second Language Acquisition: Studies in Tri- and Multilingualism (pp. 111-119). Tübingen, Stauffenburg.
Events
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Raising Multilinguals LIVE plans to go live. https://www.facebook.com/RaisingMultilingualsLive/ We know that multilinguals are not multiple monolinguals in one. Multilinguals have the advantage to always have the repertoire of their languages at their disposal. What kind of language repertoire do our children acquire or learn? What part of this repertoire do we use in our day-to-day life? How do our different languages work together in a particular context? Do our languages dominate one another or do they follow a pattern? On Tuesday 5 October 2021, Prof. Dr. Larissa Aronin from the Oranim Academic College of Education in Israel, will talk about How to see, feel and connect our languages. She will share with us a tool for multilingual socialization and for developing multilingual awareness that allows parents and educators to get more information about language use and acquisition. Please join us on Tuesday 5 October 2021 at 1pm New York / 6pm London / 7pm Paris. Larissa Aronin is an Associate Professor at the Oranin Academic College of Education, Israel. She was Visiting Scholar in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, Visiting Research Fellow at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, and KIVA Guest Professor at the Technical Universität Darmstadt, Germany. She is currently Guest Professor at the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, and is Board Member of Language Teaching (CUP) and Editorial Board member of a number of international peer-reviewed journals. https://www.larissa-aronin.com/ Rita (@MultilingualParenting.com) Ute (@Ute's International Lounge) Tetsu (@AskTetsu)Read More
- Date:05/10/2021 03:01 PM
- Location Online Event
Plenary talks at scholarly conferences and invited lectures
| Date | Conference | Place | Title |
| 19-21st May 2022 | 33rd International Conference on Foreign / Second Language Acquisition (Modern Technologies in foreign language teaching, learning and research) | Szczyrk, University of Silesia | Plenary talk DOMINANT LANGUAGE CONSTELLATIONS: representations and computer modelling |
| April, 22-23, 2021 online | «Современные языки: прагматика и семантика» / «Взаимодействие языков и культур» на базе Череповецкого государственного университета. | Cherepovets State University, Russia | Plenary " The way we treat languages – Language Nominations |
| March, 25-27, 2020 | International and Interregional Integration in the Field of Engineering Education Scientific conference “Integration of Engineering Education and Humanities: Global Intercultural Perspectives” | St- Petersburg, Russia Peter the Great St-Petersburg Polytechnic University | Keynote "Multilingual education for engineering students" |
| November 28-29, 2019 | XIX International Conference «Professional culture of the specialist of the future» | St- Petersburg, Russia Peter the Great St-Petersburg Polytechnic University | Plenary "Navigating Multilingual Environments" |
| May 17-19, 2018 | Conference " Identity in SLA" | Szczyrk, Poland | Plenary "Joining the dots: identity and language teaching in a multilingual world" |
| September 22-23, 2017 | Dialog in Language and Literature | the Institute of English Studies in Humanities University, Sosnowiec, Poland | Plenary Dialogue from multilingual and multicultural perspective |
| April 26-30, 2017. | VI International conference “Contacts of languages and cultures” | Cherepovets State University, Russia | Plenary “Dominant Language Constellations” |
| October 19-20, 2015 | Workshop on Linguistic and Sociolinguistic Perspectives on Mew Speakers in a multilingual Europe | University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), Larnaca, Cyprus. | Key-note “ Multilinguality and discursive competence in current multilingualism” |
| May 22-24, 2014 | 26th International Conference on Foreign/Second Language Acquisition and learning. Topic Material Culture in studying Foreign/Second Language Acquisition | Szczyrk, Poland | Key-note Speaker: “ Material culture and language learning and use” |
| March 27, 2014 | Symposium “Mehrsprachigkeit als Chance. Theorie & Praxis” | Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck University, Austria | Plenary speaker: “ New vistas on multilingualism: Material Culture of Multilingualism “ |
| June 17, 2013 | 5th AILA-Europe Junior Researcher conference | Trinity College, Dublin Ireland | Invited talk: “Novel directions in multilingualism research: material culture” |
| May 23-25, 2013 | 25th International Conference on Foreign/ Second Language Acquisition | Szczyrk, Poland | Invited talk: “Investigating multilingualism through material culture” |
| September 13-15, 2012 | 8th International Conference on Third Language Acquisition and Multilingualism | Castelló, Spain University Jaume I | Key-note: “Current multilingualism and new developments in multilingual research” |
| April 19-21, 2007 | 16th PASE (Polish Association for the Study of English) conference | University of Silesia, Szczyrk, Poland | Key-note: “The role of English in a multilingual world” (with prof. D. Singleton) |
2020, November 27. (online) XIX International Conference Professional Culture of the Specialist of the Future. Roundtable "Technology and Language" invited speaker, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU).
2020, June 10. (online) Invited talk Webinar (Erasmus+)(Germany-Netherlands). Google Classroom Training Week. "The material culture of multilingualism in language teaching classroom."
2019, June 18. Darmstadt, Germany "Language situation in Israel" Lecture for the " Evenary Forum". Technische Universität Darmstadt.
2018, September 26. Darmstadt, Germany. Invited presentation " Dominant Language Constellations in Education, Language Teaching and Multilingualism " at 2018 ECSPM Symposium, Paradigm Shift in Language Education for the Development of Multiliterate and Plurilingual Agencies.
2018, June 7-8. St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Herzen State Pedagogical University. 10th conference Russia's Ethnic Cultures. Invited presentation "Multilingualism and Russian Culture in the Post-Soviet World".
2016, June 15. University of Cologne, Germany, invited talk “Dominant Language Constellations with the German Language in Israel”.
2015, June. Invited discussions in the framework of gemeinsamen Aktivitäten zwischen Israeli Embassy und der Technischen Universität Darmstadt anlässlich des 50-Jahr-Feier diplomatischer Beziehungen zwischen Israel und Deutschland.
2015, June 22. Public lecture Öffentlicher Vortrag zu, Deutsch, Deutschen und Deutschstämmigen in Israel Technischen Universität Darmstadt, Germany.
2015, February 23. Invited lecture ‘Dominant Language Constellations” for the MA program students at University Jaume I Castelló, Spain.
2014, July 10. Public Talk “Bilinguals and multilinguals” CLCS, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
2014, May 26. Public Talk “Bilingualism and Multilingualism – the same or worlds apart?” Long Room Hub, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
2013, June 23. CLCS, Trinity College, Dublin Ireland lecture for PH.D students and staff.
2013, June 17. Invited talk for the 5th AILA-Europe Junior Researcher conference 2013, Trinity College, Dublin Ireland.
2013, May 23-25. Invited talk on Multilingualism (ReN) at 25th International Conference on Foreign/ Second Language Acquisition Szczyrk, Poland.
2010, June 24-25. Invited paper: “The Multiple faces of Multilingualism: Language Nominations” Bloomsbury Round Table on Communication, Cognition and Culture: The multiple faces of multilingualism. London, UK University of London, Birkbeck College.
2009, July 6. Talk: “Minorities and Affordances” CLCS, Trinity College, Dublin.
2006, June 13. Lecture: “The Use of Languages in the Globalization Age. Dominant Language Constellations”. Darmstadt University, Germany.
2006, February 15. Lecture: “Multilingualism as a New Linguistic World Order”. Trinity College Dublin, Centre for Language and Communication Studies.
2006, February 23. Seminar lecture: “Languages in the Contemporary World” for Socrates Programme students, Institute of Technology, Tralee, Ireland, Business and Humanities Department.
How to see, feel and connect our languages
Encyclopedia entries
Aronin, Larissa (solicited, publication expected 2024-2025). Dominant Language Constellations. In Carol A. Chapelle (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics Second edition (pp. tba). Wiley-Blackwell.
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Aronin, Larissa (2013). Joshua Fishman. In Carol A. Chapelle (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. 2114-2120). Wiley-Blackwell.
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Aronin, Larissa, and Singleton, David (2013). Multilingualism and Philosophy. In Carol A. Chapelle (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. 3951-3954). Wiley-Blackwell.
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Aronin, Larissa (solicited, publication expected 2024-2025). The Material Culture of Multilingualism. In Carol A. Chapelle (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. tba). Second edition Wiley-Blackwell.
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Aronin, Larissa (in press 2022). English in Israel. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of World Englishes. (pp. TBA). Oxford, UK/Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
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Aronin, Larissa (solicited, publication expected 2024-2025). The philosophy of multilingualism. In Carol A. Chapelle (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. tba). Second edition Wiley-Blackwell.
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