Intersecting identities and pedagogical mediations of a dual-language Sami-Norwegian picturebook in English language education: an indigenous, environmental and translingual perspective

Dual-language picturebooks offer teachers more socially-just, diversity-focussed and language-conscious approaches in English language education (ELT). Intermingling images with different sounds and scripts, enhances the authenticity of the intercultural experience, prompting the (un)silencing of languages and the unveiling of students’ hidden diversities. ‘Texts position us to see a version of the world’ (Janks, 2014: 11). Hence, the positioning of languages and images in picturebooks is significant for representing indigenous cultures, in this case, the Sami culture(s) in Norway and the Maori in New Zealand, and their presence, or absence, in English classrooms. The Norwegian curriculum requires that English-language texts help students gain insight into the ways of life, thinking and traditions of indigenous peoples. Embedded in critical multicultural analysis (Botelho and Rudman, 2009) and mediated by translingual activities, this paper describes a scheme of work developed with first-year student-teachers in Northern Norway in response to a call for a stronger interdisciplinary focus on indigenous cultures in Grades 1-7. The research approach includes pedagogical interactions, teachers’ reflections and questionnaire responses around the picturebook Ábiid plástihkat – Plasten i havet, chosen for its potential to: • focus on the Sami language, mediated by the Norwegian translation, • develop English language activities, mediated by translingual practices, • critically analyse gender roles and indigenous representations, mediated by visual affordances, • call for action on contemporary environmental issues. This translingual-visual perspective offers a multi-layered representation of cultural diversity and wider intersectional identities. It decenters the discourse of Sami exoticism/minority status, affording the Sami language the power to redress the balance by tackling critical issues and challenging the neutrality of ELT. Janks, H. et al. (2014). Doing Critical Literacy. London: Routledge. Sørly, R. and Piotrowska, M. (2020). Ábiid plástihkat – Plasten i havet. Tromsø: Gollegiella. Botelho, M. J. and Rudman, M. A. (2009). Theorising critical multicultural analysis of children’s literature. New York: Routledge.