Performing critical resistance through language play

This study explores language play in the language classroom as a form of interactional student repositioning and an expression of critical LA. The study focuses on the playful multilingual practices of two linguistically minoritised students in Danish secondary schools, considering the performative functionality of these practices in interaction. Through positioning analysis, we explore how these playful episodes contribute to student positioning, and whether they can be considered to count as linguistic performances. We move on to consider how these playful performances challenge classroom power dynamics, drawing on critical LA theory in general and the concept of critical resistance in particular. The refinement of critical LA in off-task language play revealed by our analysis suggests that increased attention should be paid to this type of language practices, since it demonstrates how students’ LA may manifest itself in unexpected ways and potentially be overlooked by both teachers and researchers. The study draws on data from the larger Plurilingual Education (PE-LAL) research project.