Mikel Gartziarena named 2024 Alan R. King Professor in Residence

The Etxepare Basque Institute and University of Wales Trinity Saint David named Mikel Gartziarena San Policarpo as the 2024 for the Alan R. King researcher in residence. Gartziarena will develop his research and academic activities over the course of six weeks focusing on  Basque sociolinguistics applied to education at the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (CAWCS).

In Wales Gartziarena will develop his research project entitled "Educational Paradigm of the Basque Country: linguistic attitudes and methodological approaches to language teaching for present, future and university teachers".

The primary aim is to discern and understand teachers´ beliefs about plurilingualism and teaching methodologies and to identify the most significant patterns. Current theories on plurilingualism advocate a more interconnected view of languages, assuming looser boundaries between languages and keeping the focus on Euskara.

This research is based on an integrative approach to languages, departing from the traditional view of languages (Grosjean, 2010) and aligns with communicative and multilingual approaches by viewing the characteristics of multilingualism as opportunities for language learning.

Gartziarena will teach several classes and lecture on his line of research at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David during his Alan R. King residence.