Switzerland is interesting when studying plurilingualism in schools. According to educational language policies, a greater use of its multilingual potential should be made for teaching and learning (Conférence des directeurs de l’instruction publique 3). We propose to analyse the textbooks MORE! 8^e (2nd ed. 2024) used in primary schools (pupils aged 11‑12) for teaching and learning English as a foreign language in the Geneva context. Our interest lies in the presence of plurilingual activities, their distribution, coordination and content. Candelier and Valentin define integrated didactics as an integrative approach seeking to “establish links between the language the child is learning and other languages already learned or being learned (including the language of schooling), and more broadly with all the languages in the child’s developing linguistic repertoire” (7, our translation). Candelier and Manno add establishing links “with strategies developed in relation to other languages” (Didactique intégrée des langues? Une foire aux questions 18, our translation). We focus on English, French and German (and various heritage languages) to understand how the integrated approach to languages manifests itself in the textbooks, followed by examples of activities. How does integrated language didactics play out in the textbooks? What teaching and learning objects in the field of plurilingualism are proposed? We offer a literature review of the integrated approach focusing on Switzerland, followed by an analysis of textbook activities, from which we discuss implications for English teaching and learning.

Integrated Didactics and Teaching Materials

Aiming at similarities and differences between languages and adopting a comparative and inductive approach (Manno and Schröder-Sura 59‑69), incorporation of integrated didactics in materials is often discussed in the literature under the more general term “pluralistic approaches” as described in A Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures (FREPA) (Candelier et al.) (see Egli Cuenat et al. 106‑138). In German-speaking Switzerland, analysis of plurilingual activities in foreign language textbooks shows that almost half of these activities are comparisons between languages, with two-thirds identified in French textbooks and one-third in English textbooks (Kofler et al. 101‑120). The authors explain this difference by the fact that the French textbooks were probably designed for the Swiss market, with French, German and English determined as the lead languages. Before the adoption of the current Lehrplan 21 (Deutschschweizer Erziehungsdirektoren-Konferenz D-EDK 2014/2016)1, some cantons coordinated their teaching and textbooks as part of the intercantonal Passepartout project, which aimed to establish synergies between languages: the target language (L2), the languages taught in L1 and L3, and other languages, with horizontal and vertical coherence.2 Evaluation of the Passepartout pilot phase showed that in English and French, language comparisons were not made in an interconnected way but within a discipline, despite the potential existence of links at the level of vocabulary, grammar or communication strategies (Singh 2). For 2014‑15, for example, English and French teachers reported a lack of coordination from headteachers (Singh and Elmiger 54), which in some way shows that integrated didactics concerns diverse actors on a larger scale than the classroom. The development of various textbooks in German-speaking Switzerland and the incorporation of integrated didactics varied depending on the language region and the order of languages in schools: English taught before French as a first foreign language or vice versa (see Manno and Egli Cuenat 217‑243). Complementary materials such as Brücken zwischen Young World und envol - unterwegs zur Mehrsprachigkeit (Egli Cuenat and Klee) have emerged, aiming to build bridges between textbooks for coordinated language learning (see Egli Cuenat, “Création de matériaux” 22‑28). More recently, promotion of plurilingualism in language textbooks has been sought in the MEMO project3 resulting in the creation of teaching modules for French learners in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Lichtenstein. Since the introduction of Lehrplan 21 (D-EDK), with the specificities of cantonal syllabi in force, integrated didactics has been present in the didactic tips of the languages area according to which a transfer of knowledge and strategies between languages is promoted.4 In the literature, the areas of study have been varied: parallel words (lexical recognition) and learning strategies, grammatical aspects or cross-linguistic activities. Wokusch (12‑14) considered an integrated approach a prerequisite for effective learning (see her description of vertical and horizontal coherence).

Starting from the political intentions relating to plurilingualism and analysing primary and lower secondary textbooks in French-speaking Switzerland, Pogranova and Waltermann (123‑133) found that pupils’ heritage languages were included at the start of learning German, but tended to disappear at lower secondary level in English textbooks. Schröder-Sura and Melo-Pfeifer (89‑104) observed in German textbooks the presence of mediation tasks moving from an unknown to a known language, seen as a communication strategy, or translation conceived as a cognitive strategy for spotting differences between languages, detached from communication. In addition, scholars focused on how to operationalize integrated didactics. For example, with a view to creating new teaching materials, Woll and Paquet (33‑45) have proposed a model combining the communicative approach with plurilingual practices aimed at making translinguistic connections in action tasks to gain understanding and awareness of the structures of a new language. By combining teaching phases such as comprehension of input and plurilingual reflection as a learning strategy, the authors noted that it is possible to mobilize the learner’s plurilingual repertoire while developing communication in the target language. The literature has addressed integrated didactics from different angles, showing varied objects of study, definitions or operationalizations (see Candelier and Manno, Didactique intégrée des langues – Apprendre une langue 1‑210), and also the assessment of students’ skills.

Assessment of English Language Skills

The evaluation of primary pupils’ English language skills has been the subject of studies in German-speaking cantons, aiming to study vertical consistency in teaching, assess the effectiveness of lessons or compare the introduction of English earlier or later in schools. Manno and Egli Cuenat (217‑243) summarize that the 5/7H model with English as a first foreign language (introduced to students aged 8, followed by French at the age of 10) confirms the learning objectives are being met and even exceeded at primary level. At secondary 1 level, good results continue, although with differences depending on the level of requirements (Manno and Egli Cuenat 217‑243). In Aargau, 78‑93% of pupils achieved the learning objectives (A1.2‑A2.1) in all skills (listening, speaking and writing) except reading (A2.1, 44% of pupils), which can be explained by the syllabus’s higher requirements for receptive skills (Bayer and Moser 1‑95). According to the authors, the higher the level of German, the language of schooling and the better the level of English (with differences ranging from 19% in oral production to 40% in reading comprehension). Similarly, Haenni Hoti et al. (1‑32) affirm the influence of German and English skills on French as a tertiary language. In English, it is the listening, reading and interaction skills of primary school pupils that improve French language skills (see Heinzmann et al. 1‑68). Although studies examine pupils’ skills at the end of primary school, sometimes with the transition to lower secondary, and links with other languages, there is no current evidence of any effects on the learning of English from the perspective of integrated didactics in French-speaking Switzerland.

French, German and English

The integrated approach taking into account the language order French, German and then English in schools is rare in the literature. Maillat-Reymond and Wokusch (23‑25) define in the context of primary teaching the relationship between the languages in terms of complementarity: French as the foundation of skills, German for cohesion at national level, and English for leisure and international contacts. These Germanic languages are related, and there are potential gains at the lexical and structural levels (similarities of words such as “mother”, “father” and “school”), and at social and intercultural levels, such as the celebration of festivals or cognates in English understood in writing by pupils whose school language is French. In addition to this complementarity, pupils may use strategies in the top-down reading process (starting from hypotheses) and communication strategies such as paraphrasing. Brohy and Gajo (43-44) stress the importance of French within the Francophone region in knowledge construction at school in general, as well as its specific contribution to German and English as school subjects: “[it] can function as a privileged place for explicit work on linguistic structuring and constitutes the most immediate common reference in the classroom” (43). As for English after German, its learning benefits from what has been done in German (word recognition, strategies), while English “could provide a didactic impetus (integrated didactics), beneficial to both foreign languages” (Elmiger and Singh 36, our translation).

Context and Methodology

The Geneva context is particularly multilingual and multicultural. Official statistics state that the primary and secondary school population consists of up to 47% allophone students in some districts (Service de la recherche en éducation, carte B1.d). Students learn German (aged 8‑12 years) as the first foreign language and English (aged 10‑12 years) as the second. How does integrated language didactics play out in the textbooks? What teaching and learning objects in the field of plurilingualism are proposed? The corpus of textbooks retained for the analysis consisted of MORE! 8^e (2nd ed. 2024) activities, taken from the Student’s Book, the Workbook and the Language Book. Our choice was motivated by the last year of primary schooling where these textbooks are used. Our methodological approach was based on the Peyer et al. grid (1‑3) used for the study of plurilingual activities in different French and English textbooks in German-speaking Switzerland. It comprises three areas: language awareness, intercultural aspects, and learning and communication strategies, divided into criteria such as linguistic components or languages mobilized. The methodology was adapted to suit the definition of integrated didactics. The criteria related to the intercultural aspects were omitted, as well as the discovery of language diversity, as the latter belongs rather to language awakening as defined in FREPA (Candelier et al.), not having language learning as an objective. Other criteria of the grid have been considered; they could be cumulative: for example, one plurilingual activity aimed at developing a reflection on sociolinguistic aspects and included heritage languages as well.

Analysis

The presence of plurilingual activities in the textbooks shows the editors’ willingness to include plurilingualism in the syllabus and to some extent to consider teaching and learning English in multilingual environments (Table 1). The activities are distributed in all components, across all units, with a stronger presence in the Workbook, the Student’s Book and a few Worksheets, the former often used in class (or Workbook activities given as homework), the latter considered as downloadable complementary resources. The frequency of use of textbook activities is, however, unknown as no studies exist. The frequency of the plurilingual activities containing English and one or more other languages (French, German, heritage languages) varies between one and seven per unit, the majority located at the beginning of the textbooks (unit 1) and slightly declining and varying in the following units. The total of 25 identified activities indicates a relatively low number when compared to all activities proposed in the textbooks in a year. Their distribution is unequal, giving the impression of an unsystematic approach, and raising the question of how much learning progress could be made by students in English or in plurilingualism, specifically when raising cross-linguistic awareness including English. We cannot draw a more specific conclusion about the efficiency of the integrated approach from a pupil’s perspective, or any conclusion on teaching unit construction, for which an in-depth qualitative analysis would be needed.

Table 1: Distribution of plurilingual activities in MORE! 8^e textbooks

The activities containing teaching and learning objects in the field of plurilingualism can be divided into two main categories, those promoting cross-linguistic language awareness or those developing various strategies, to which are added activities including languages other than school languages (Table 2). All classified textbooks’ plurilingual activities, with a total number of 25, encourage students to establish links between languages, promoting cross-linguistic awareness. Four activities have strategies as a teaching and learning object, those linked to either language learning or use. Their development plays a minor role in the textbooks in comparison to language awareness. Language comparisons are mainly offered in the domain of vocabulary (15) and less so in grammar (5), pronunciation (3) and spelling (2). The level at which the language links are encouraged to be made is at word level (16), followed by chunks (7) and texts (2). The observed trend of vocabulary and word comparisons is evident in the textbooks and can be linked to primary students’ relatively low proficiency level (see A1 in Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment – Companion volume 2020). The languages mobilized by textbooks for cross-linguistic awareness are English, German and French (17), which reflects the integrated approach to languages or the combination of English and French, creating a special relationship between the target and the school language (8). The activities do not seem to offer reflection on sociolinguistic aspects such as prestige or the language situation in different regions. However, on various occasions (13), students are invited to reflect on borrowings and word origins. The development of strategies concerns exclusively the development of language use strategies (4) which are all linked to either reading or writing skills, in the absence of any language learning strategies linked to vocabulary or grammar (0). The textbooks consider multilingual and multicultural environments to some extent when learning English by including languages other than those taught in schools, for example African or Asian languages, which might correspond to students’ heritage languages, depending on classes. Their presence is less noticeable in the Student’s Book. Finally, the textbooks conceived on a communicative and partly task-based approach seem to avoid work on the development of oral-language-use strategies, namely those used for speaking and listening.

Table 2: Teaching and learning objects in plurilingual activities in MORE ! 8^e textbooks

(adapted from Peyer et al. 1-3, our translation)

Prospects

This study raises questions related to the integrated approach to languages in the textbooks and reflections on implications for teaching practice. The comparison of plurilingual activities in French, German and English textbooks could reveal common characteristics and the possibilities and limits of this approach, and be useful for future editions. The inclusion of plurilingualism in English textbooks implies the clarity of the theoretical background on which the activities are based, for example the dimensions of pluralistic approaches to languages such as intercomprehension or an intercultural approach (see Candelier et al. 1‑104). The coordination and coherence of teaching objects common in French, German and English textbooks is another aspect to be considered when creating or editing school textbooks or conceiving a series of activities in the perspective of integrated language didactics. The cross-linguistic comparisons contribute to the development of students’ different types of knowledge (see Candelier et al. 1‑104) or to the teaching and learning of English in multilingual environments following specific syllabi in different regions. The activities on the similarities or the differences in the teaching objects therefore have a learning purpose, and go beyond links made for their own sake. The integrated approach to languages also encompasses collaboration with teachers conceiving, implementing and giving feedback on their activities in class as well as the contribution from research. The prospects for future research in French-speaking Switzerland could be directed towards studies on students’ achievements in English language competences in receptive and productive skills (e.g. speaking). More specifically, after the implementation of the integrated didactic approach in class, studies could be conducted at the end of primary or secondary school taking into account the coordination of teaching and learning in the curricula, and going beyond the order in which languages are introduced in schools. The mutual influence of acquired skills in French on the achievement in German and English is a desideratum, similar to the studies in German-speaking Switzerland showing a particular relationship between the competences in the school language and the first foreign language. The mutual influence of German and English in the Geneva context is another area of exploitation in research, for example with the adoption of a comparative and inductive approach to plurilingualism (Manno and Schröder-Sura 59‑69). The success of integrated didactics in schools might depend on factors related to the textbooks, teaching practices and research results, their combined contribution helping to understand the teaching and learning of English in multilingual settings.