A Parents' and Teachers' Guide to Bilingualism

Colin Baker

• Publisher: Multilingual Matters
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781783091621
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

In this accessible guide to bilingualism in the family and the classroom, Colin Baker delivers a realistic picture of the joys and difficulties of raising bilingual children. The Q&A format of this book makes it the natural choice for the busy parent or teacher who needs an easy reference guide to the most frequently asked questions. This revised edition includes more information on bilingualism in the digital age, and incorporates the latest research in areas such as neonatal language experience, multilingualism, language mixing and the effect that siblings have on family language choice.

Education Questions

BASIC EDUCATION QUESTIONS

E1: How can a pre-school playgroup or nursery school support children's bilingualism?

The answer to this question will only centre on the language aspects of nursery schools. It will not discuss the possible benefits of nursery education in general. It is initially important to highlight situations where it may not be wise to send a child to a nursery school. If the family is attempting to raise the child in the minority language, and the nursery school runs through the medium of the majority language, parents need to make a careful decision about when to introduce the majority language. Many parents in minority language situations prefer to send their children to minority language nursery schools. If the minority language is threatened and in need of maintenance in the community, parents may wish their children to develop in the minority language before introducing the majority language.

Most children in minority language situations have little difficulty in acquiring the majority language. The majority language surrounds them in the mass media, as the common denominator in the street and playground, and as the dominant cultural medium in the teenage years. It is therefore quite usual for parents to wish to send their children to nursery schools using that minority language. Such nursery schools reinforce and extend the language development of the home.

If education through the minority language is not available, there is a danger in sending the child to a majority language nursery school. Exposure to the majority language at an early age may decrease the chances of the minority language retaining a strong place in the child's language life. Deferring entry to such a majority language nursery school needs to be considered, although pragmatically this is often impossible. Alternatives that will ensure the minority language is experienced fully in these formative years include: keeping the child at home, registered childminders, mother and toddler playgroups, and a group of carers meeting on an ad hoc basis. If a minority language speaking child is to attend a majority language nursery school, a quality school is one that respects and values home and heritage languages. You may be able tell this from whether they have signs in a variety of languages on display as well as from conversations with the staff and their leaflets and literature.

A different situation occurs when a majority language parent wants the nursery school to help a child learn a second language. For example, there may be pre-school playgroups, mother and toddler groups, and nursery schools where children from English-language backgrounds attend (alongside Welsh speakers) and acquire the Welsh language. Apart from in Wales, there are experienced and expert pre-school systems in New Zealand, Ireland and Scandinavia. Similarly, the Dual Language Montessori approach provides immersion for the very young child in a second language (e.g. English and Spanish in the US).

Through playing with other children, organized games and activities, children in a nursery school situation can easily and successfully pick up the basics of a second language. Depending on how many hours are spent in the nursery school, a child is likely to develop a good understanding of a second language. Speaking the second language fluently will come later than understanding.

An ability to understand a second language achieved at nursery school is an invaluable foundation for later blossoming in primary school. Sometimes parents find the nursery school seems to achieve little second language development success. They expect fluent speakers too soon. If such schools enable children to understand a second language, parents will find that primary education transforms passive understanding into active speaking quite quickly.

In an effective nursery school where children spend much of the day, and where adult language stimulation is well planned and delivered, fluency in a second language is possible. Such an immersion language situation is advantageous in producing a bilingual child.

In such a situation, the majority language of the home is not at risk. There will be sufficient exposure to the majority language in the home, in the outside environment, and later in formal schooling. Acquiring a second language in a well-organized and purposeful nursery school is usually straightforward and enjoyable. An early and valuable foundation is laid for bilingualism. Pre-school playgroups and nursery schools that are relaxed, yet purposeful, provide a context where children acquire a second language in a thorough manner.

E2: What are the language features of an effective pre-school or nursery school to support my child's bilingualism?

At its best, bilingual pre-school education helps a child talk competently, confidently and clearly in two languages, using those skills to interact with adults and other children. Children will be helped to communicate thoughts, ideas and feelings to leaders and other children. Plenty of time and learning opportunities are planned to develop spoken language through conversations between children and adults, both one-to-one and in small groups.

Effective pre-school provision emphasizes communication, language and literacy that integrate with all the other important aspects of learning (e.g. personal, social and emotional development, mathematical development, knowledge and understanding of the world, physical development and creative development). Dual language development is encouraged through virtually every pre-school activity (e.g. when playing, role playing, eating, arriving and leaving).

An effective nursery or pre-school institution will be sensitive to the language levels of all children in their two languages and seek to encourage individual development. Sensitivity to personal needs and plans to linguistically develop each child are highly desirable. For example, giving instructions that each child understands, and using a level of language that sequentially enhances that child's language skills are important.

Equally valuable is giving the child plenty of opportunity and encouragement to practice their dual language skills. That is, each child needs the opportunity to be an active speaker and not a passive listener. This can be individual conversations, but also plenty of variety in singing, saying rhymes, collaborative play, group games and creative tasks, for example, allows language development across situations and activities, and in both languages. Young children enjoy stories, songs and short poems, and such oral experiences can soon be linked to literacy. A library of children's books in both languages, as well as DVDs, CDs and specialist computer programs will support early years’ language learning. The wall displays and themes for each week or month can include two or more languages.

Thus an effective pre-school is a language-rich environment, in terms of teachers’ communication and planned activities, material resources and stimulating play, and the encouragement of dual language use that provides a bilingual foundation not only for school but for life.

E3: Should my child go to a bilingual school?

Where parents have a choice of schooling, and this is not always the case, a variety of factors need considering when choosing an appropriate school for a child. The language (or languages) used in the school is an important part of that decision. Language should not be the only factor. Schools which support chil dren's bilingualism range from the excellent, to the good, to the tolerable, and include the bad. A bilingual school is no guarantee of an effective or successful school. The ethos of the school, the commitment of the teachers, the success of the school in achieving literacy and numeracy, creativity in the expressive arts, a sound scientific foundation, moral and spiritual development, a well-integrated and harmonious relationship between pupils, and effective cooperation with parents are just some of the factors that parents need to consider in deciding upon a suitable school.

In enquiring about the language policy of the school, it is important to hunt down the real language goals of the school. Schools are increasingly good at self-publicity, broadcasting visions and missions with regard to language and other policies. Visits to classrooms, careful questioning of the headteacher, principal, school administrator, and/or other teachers will reveal the language reality of the school, and what a school actually achieves rather than what it says it hopes to achieve. Don't rely on the stated aims and objectives (or mission statement) of the school. Seek out the actual outcomes and track record of the school. Actions speak louder than words; performance is more important than promises.

Some schools have a language policy that encourages bilingualism. Yet close inspection reveals only a token use of the second language in the classroom. Other schools create linguistic and cultural diversity with ease and success, at no cost to their other aims and objectives.

Another situation is when there is temporary bilingual support given by the teacher or bilingual teacher assistants. For example, in some schools in England, children from Asian language backgrounds use their home language for one or two years, with the help of a bilingual aide in the classroom. A similar pattern occurs with Spanish speakers in particular schools in the US. Such bilingual support staff are valuable in cushioning the move from a language minority home to a majority language school.

Such schools may have a bilingual policy and may support bilingualism. However, the reality is that such schools aim for a quick transition from the Asian or Spanish language to working solely in the school language of English. Bilingualism is only temporarily supported for the child to feel ‘at home’ in the school. Children are soon encouraged not only in their development of English, but to operate solely in the curriculum in the English language. This is called transitional bilingual education.

In a language minority situation (see Glossary), the parent is likely to be interested in the minority language being present in the primary and the secondary school where possible. Sometimes called heritage language education, the aim of the school will be to support language development in the minority language. Literacy is encouraged in the minority language first. Around six or seven years of age, the majority language is likely to be introduced in the classroom. Once literacy in the minority language is well established, literacy in the second language – a majority language – soon develops. Generally, education through the minority language for a language minority child is the best option. A language minority child tends to be more successful in the curriculum than a similar child going to the majority language school.

If the school supports the child's minority language, it is supporting the child itself, the child's home, the child's family and the child's heritage. Thereby, the school is maintaining the child's self-esteem and sense of self-confidence. If a child in a language minority situation is suddenly forced into using the majority language in school, their home, their parents and their self-image may be rejected. International research tends to show, in a variety of minority language situations, that children succeed better when educated through their home language. Such children still become fully bilingual and biliterate. A good heritage language bilingual school will ensure children can operate fluently and effectively in either language and become fully literate in both languages. Unless schools do this, they may not be giving their children an equal chance of employment, economic advancement and affluence in majority language-dominated economies.

For children in an OPOL situation (see glossary), a bilingual school, if available, can be very useful in continuing to gain input in both languages, as opposed to a rather sudden switch in exposure to one of their two languages.

When children are raised in the majority language at home, a different policy can be adopted about bilingual education. One example is Canada. In many parts of Canada, children who speak English in the home attend (from kindergarten onwards) schools that teach through the medium of French, called immersion bilingual education. Children from majority language homes appear to be successful when taught initially through a different majority language. Eventually such children are taught through both languages in the primary school. Through a gentle immersion at an early age in a second majority language, children become bilingual and biliterate with no loss to their academic performance. The essential point about such schools is that a child's home majority language is not replaced, but added to (i.e. another majority language is gained). Children in such schools tend to start from the same basis – all are beginners in French.

A similar pattern is found with majority language children taught through a minority language. One example is Wales, where increasing numbers of English-speaking parents opt to send their children to Welsh-medium primary and secondary schools. Particularly when such children start their education in Welsh at age four or five, their English language competence and curriculum performance does not suffer. Instead, they add a language and culture without cost to their home language and achievement in different school subjects.

E4: What should I look out for in choosing a school for my bilingual child?

If the school is known as a bilingual school, or as a monolingual (mainstream) school supporting bilingualism, it is important to seek out actual use of languages throughout the curriculum. Is one language only taught for half an hour per day, or used to teach one subject such as Religious Education? How are two languages allocated in teaching the curriculum? How are languages separated or combined in the school? A good bilingual school will have a detailed and thorough policy regarding the development of languages in the school and a policy about biliteracy. The school should have considered in detail the allocation of the two languages both within the school curriculum and in the playground. Do teachers support the development of both languages – or is one language in reality given little status?

Another issue that needs considering is the use and status of languages among children in the school. Do children constantly switch to a common denominator or high-status language, such that the other language is insufficiently experienced in interaction between children? Does the numerical majority of children affect which language is most used? What language dominates, including in the playground? How does the school encourage development in the child's weaker language?

Part of language learning in the classroom and in the playground is the language interaction between children themselves. In primary school, when group work, project work, cooperation and discussion are particularly evident, and formal teaching by the teacher much less obvious than in secondary schools, the informal language of the classroom needs to be considered.

In choosing a school ask to see exam results and test scores. Such results are only one dipstick to measure a school. Many valuable aspects of a school evade simple exams and tests. Nevertheless, it is important to enquire about the language performance of the school in area-wide tests and exams. Can children follow both their languages to achieve ‘passes’ or graduation? Does the school encourage or allow children to take external exams for non-school languages (e.g. in the UK, Institute of Linguists exams for non-school languages such as Finnish)?

Ask about the extracurricular activiti...

Table of contents

• Coverpage
• Titlepage
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• An Introduction to the Fourth Edition
• Introduction
• Section A: Family Questions
• Section B: Language Development Questions
• Section C: Questions About Problems
• Section D: Reading and Writing Questions
• Section E: Education Questions
• Section F: Concluding Questions
• Glossary
• Index