Visual and Artefactual Approaches in Engaging Teachers with Multilingualism: Creating DLCs in Pre-Service Teacher Education

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This is an engaging, reader-friendly and informative paper. The Introduction identifies a knowledge gap, sets the context for the study and outlines the focus of the paper. The need for the study is well-motivated, and recent developments in the field are reported. The innovative focus and approach of the study is highlighted, and its goal clearly stated. The exposition flows smoothly. The method is appropriately presented. The discussion of the data is supported by numerous examples and duly discussed. In the attached file, suggestions are made regarding the resequencing and relabelling of parts of Section 1, "Introduction", and Section 2, "Materials and method". Minor typos are found here and there.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer

Thank you for your positive comments on my paper. I have taken into account the comments on the restructuring and relabelling of the the Introduction and Material and Methods sections. I have moved all sections that pertained more to a theoretical background to the Introduction section, thus creating different sections to accommodate the focus on arts-based approaches and DLCs, with the methods section being dedicated to the methodology of the study. I believe that makes the paper more readable and coherent.

Best wishes,

The author

Reviewer 2 Report

I really enjoyed reading this paper. It was mostly well written and presented some really interesting insight into the use of DLCs.

I did feel that the introduction section was somewhat short and it felt abrupt in its ending. My concern as a reader was that by the end of it I didn't really know much about DLCs, or even what the specific aims of the study were. As it then turned out, both of these were outlined in the methodology (sections 2.1 to 2.4) - and I do question whether this is the most suitable space for that? I don't think these sections really address your specific study's methodology, and as a reader who is perhaps not so familiar with the concept of DLCs it would be more useful to know about it before reaching your specific study. At the most, addressing this would just require some minor reorganising or relabelling of sections.

There was the occasional grammatical sentence error, so please do check.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Thank you for your very useful feedback and comments.

I have taken into account your suggestions about moving the focus on arts-based approaches and DLCs, which pertain more to a theoretical background, forward in order for the reader to be better acquainted with this approach. This has been added to the Introduction section, which I have restructured and relabelled. The Materials and Methods sections now focuses on the aims of the study, the participants, the data collection and the data analysis. I believe that makes the paper more readable and coherent.

Best wishes,

The author