Friday, 24 May 2019

Bilingual Education EDUCM 118 2015

Basic terminology Bilingual is a person who speaks two languages Multilingual is a person that speaks more than two languages fluently Linguist is someone that studies languages Polyglot is a some that speaks a lot of languages Hyper-polyglot, 6 to 11+ languages

Bilingual individuals vs communities Some communities bilingual/multilingual Jews, Africa, India, Malaysia, Indonesian, Papua New Guinea, Europe, Central/South America etc. Native English speaking communities are special case ? Some Māori communities/whānau still bilingual ?

Bilingualism basic terms 1st language/L1 1st language learnt as a child most important/prestige language (not necessarily learnt) most dominant/proficient language at a particular time Mother tongue ≈ native language ≈ heritage language

Bilingualism more terms use of 2 languages by person, group disagreement on proficiency/competency required to be considered bilingual balanced bilingual: near equal ability in 2L additive bilingualism: another L gained without effecting proficiency in 1st L subtractive bilingualism: another L gained which has aversely impact on 1st L semi-lingual, language attrition

Oral vs Written language Oral = speaking and listening Written = reading and writing New Zealand English Curriculum making meaning of ideas or information they receive (listening, reading, and viewing) creating meaning for themselves or others (speaking, writing, and presenting) Productive vs receptive language

Dimensions of bilingualism Valdes & Figueroa (1994) (1) age (simultaneous/sequential/late) (2) ability (incipient/receptive/productive) (3) balance of L (4) development (one or both ascendant or recessive) (5) contexts in which L is used (home, school, government etc.) - Elective vs. Circumstantial bilinguals

Two views of bilinguals Monolingual/fractional view i.e., a bilingual is 2 separate persons Holistic view 1 person with 2 abilities in 2 languages Bilinguals should only be compared to other bilinguals

Critical Period Hypothesis certain period (i.e., age) in which L2 learners can acquire native like competence in a second language likely to be more true with respect to pronunciation. immigrant data suggests earlier arrivals more likely to gain native like competence, but not all do.

Conversational fluency vs. Academic Language Competence BICS – basic personal inter-communication skills (conversational L) 2 years for immigrants to acquire CALP – cognitive academic language proficiency (academic L) 5 to 7 years for immigrants to acquire

Jim Cummin’s Models/Concepts BICS/CALP (or more recently academic vs. conversational L proficiency) Common Underlying Proficiency Model (iceberg analogy) – separate surface features stem from a common deep structure. Thresholds Theory – thresholds in both languages must be met before any benefits result. Interdependency Principle, CALP will transfer across languages

Individual Differences language aptitude effects of intelligence motivation attitudes personality circumstances learning styles ?

Education Is the language(s) of the school the language of home/community ? In NZ LoE@H impacts schooling

Bilingual Education Education involving the use of two languages Wide variation in types of bilingual education around and how are they run etc. Outside of NZ, immersion education is regarded as a form of bilingual education NZ immersion education regarded as different to bilingual education

Types of Bilingual Programmes Type of Program Typical Child Language of Classroom Societal & Education Aims Aim in Language outcome Mainstream/ Submersion (Structured Immersion) Language minority Majority Language Assimilation/ Subtractive Monolingualism Mainstream/ Submersion Withdrawal classes Majority Language with pull-out L2 classes Segregationist Minority Language (forced, no choice) Apartheid

Type of Program Typical Child Language of Classroom Societal & Education Aims Aim in Language outcome Transitional Language minority Moves from Minority to Majority Language Assimilation/ Subtractive Relative Monolingualism Mainstream/ with Foreign language teaching Language majority Majority Language with L2/FL classes Limited Enrichment Limited Bilingualism Separatist Minority Language (out of choice) Detached Autonomy

Types of Bilingual Programmes (Strong) Type of Program Typical Child Language of Classroom Societal & Education Aims Aim in Language outcome Immersion Language majority Bilingual with initial emphasis on L2 Pluralism, enrichment additive Bilingualism & Biliteracy Maintenance/ Heritage language Language minority Bilingual with initial emphasis on L1 Maintenance, Pluralism, enrichment additive Two way/Dual Language Mixed Language majority & minority Minority & Majority Language Mainstream bilingual Two Majority Languages, Pluralism Bilingualism

Variation in bilingual programs Early, mid or late immersion Emphasis of L2 by year levels Subjects taught by languages (maths, sciences taught in Majority L) Teachers – who teaches what, when & where Locations Policies & practices towards international languages

Core Features of Immersion Programs Johnson and Swain (1997) summarize eight core features of immersion programs as follows: The L2 is a medium of instruction The immersion curriculum parallels the local L1 curriculum Overt support exists for the L1 The program aims for additive bilingualism Exposure to the L2 is largely confined to the classroom Students enter with similar (and limited) levels of L2 proficiency The teachers are bilingual The classroom culture is that of the local L1 community

Indigenous immersion (language) education programmes Hawai’i, Navaho, Yup’ik, Inuit, Sámi (Northern Scandinavia), Māori Can involve more than 2 languages Location, homelands vs. urbanization Transition into other/mainstream programmes Issues of resources/teacher provision Issues of outcomes

Bilingual education in NZ Differences Own experiences Variation in Māori bilingual education Bilingual education at tertiary level Research Future prospects

He mihi nui ki a koutou katoa