tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/bilingual-education-39659/articlesBilingual education – The Conversation2024-03-27T16:39:54Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2265572024-03-27T16:39:54Z2024-03-27T16:39:54ZHow can a baby learn two languages at the same time?<p>Language acquisition in children is one of the most fascinating features of the human species, as well as one of the most difficult problems in linguistics and cognitive science. What are the processes that enable a child to <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Understanding-Child-Language-Acquisition/Rowland/p/book/9781444152654">completely master its native language</a> in just a few years, and to a degree of competence that adult learners of a second language can almost never match?</p>
<p>Far from being a matter of consensus, this subject has in fact greatly divided the research communities in these fields: the 20th century was marked by Noam Chomsky’s influential idea that native-language acquisition might stem from a <a href="https://iep.utm.edu/chomsky-philosophy/">universal and innate grammatical faculty in humans</a>, distinguishing them from other animal species.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">What do all languages have in common?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If it’s so impressive that a baby can learn even just one language, then how do we explain that it can go on to learn two, three or even more?</p>
<h2>Half the world’s population is bilingual</h2>
<p>This question presupposes that bilingualism or multilingualism is sporadic in human societies, the exception rather than the rule. However, not only do experts estimate that almost <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674066137">half the world’s population is bilingual</a>, but also that <a href="https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/multilingualism">multilingualism</a> is actually more common than monolingualism. Just look at some of the world’s most populous countries, such as India and China.</p>
<p>It’s thus hardly surprising that a child might have multiple native languages. This is something that should be encouraged, not prevented as if it were an obstacle to the child’s development or cultural and social integration. Numerous researchers have highlighted the many cognitive and social benefits of bilingualism throughout life. These include a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23175648/">better memory</a>, a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32036490/">later onset of neurodegenerative diseases</a>, or a <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-43419-001">better adaptation to different social contexts</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The benefits of a bilingual brain.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674017641">keystone of bilingualism</a> in children seems to lie first in a set of general cognitive skills in human beings of all ages (such as analogy, abstraction and encyclopaedic memory), and secondly in a child’s astonishing cerebral plasticity, particularly between the ages of 0 and 3.</p>
<p>From birth, a child is able to retain and categorise linguistic stimuli that are extremely rich in information about their pronunciation, structure and meaning, as well as the family and social contexts in which they are used. On the basis of this information, a child can very quickly infer that one set of linguistic constructions differs from another in terms of conventions for two different languages (for example, French and English), particularly after the first year.</p>
<p>In this way, they acquire a skill known as “code-switching”, enabling them to switch easily from one language to another, for example depending on who they are speaking to, and sometimes within the same sentence (<em>code-mixing</em>).</p>
<h2>Leave time for the child</h2>
<p>Of course, just because bilingualism is easy for a child does not mean that their linguistic development is identical to that of a monolingual. Whether children are learning two languages simultaneously or a second language before the age of three, mastering two alternative grammars for specialised social contexts represents an additional cognitive load. It is not uncommon for a bilingual child to take slightly longer than a monolingual child to fully learn the language they have in common. This slight discrepancy – which sometimes manifests itself in the form of language “mixtures” – <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35399292/">quickly disappears as the child grows up</a>.</p>
<p>In order to guide children further and facilitate their bilingual acquisition, the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/studies-in-second-language-acquisition/article/abs/raising-children-bilingually-through-the-one-parentone-language-approach-a-case-study-of-japanese-mothers-in-the-australian-context-takeuchi/F34BF798A2367F3833A5DA82F0FFD9EF">“one person, one language” parental approach</a> is often cited. For example, if one parent speaks more English to the child while the other uses more French, the baby will be able to distinguish between the two linguistic systems more quickly and to summon them up in interactions with specific people, in our example, Anglophones and Francophones.</p>
<p>Moreover, a balance in the frequency of use of the two languages at home will enable the child to successfully entrench them for regular use in later years. So if you’re a couple who speak two languages and you want to pass them on to your child, there are a few habits you can get into, but you don’t have to worry too much: just speak the two languages consistently to your child, and they’ll take care of the rest.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226557/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cameron Morin ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>If you’re lucky enough to be able to teach your child several languages, don’t hesitate!Cameron Morin, Docteur en linguistique, ENS de LyonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2238672024-02-22T12:01:17Z2024-02-22T12:01:17ZLearning in two languages: lessons from francophone Africa on what works best<p>Children living in multilingual communities often learn in a language at school that does not match the language they speak at home. This mismatch makes it challenging for them to participate in classroom discussions and learn to read. In turn, this contributes to poor learning outcomes, grade repetition, and dropping out of school.</p>
<p>Bilingual education programmes that include mother tongue languages have become increasingly popular for improving learning outcomes. Bilingual education is associated with better <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728908003386">language and literacy skills</a>, reduced grade repetition and school dropout rates across the <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/10986/10331">globe</a>. Including mother tongue languages in education also places value on children’s cultural identities, improving confidence, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09500789808666737">self-esteem</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-012-9308-2">learning</a>. </p>
<p>But simply providing bilingual education does not guarantee better learning results. This is the conclusion of a recent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2023.2290482">paper</a> we published in which we reviewed bilingual programmes in six francophone west African countries: Niger, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon. </p>
<p>We found mixed results, across and within countries and programmes.</p>
<p>We identified two sets of factors that constrain or contribute to the quality of bilingual education. These were: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>implementation factors, such as teacher training and classroom resources</p></li>
<li><p>socio-cultural factors, such as perceptions of mother tongue languages in education.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Our findings emphasise the need to consider the local context when applying bilingual education programmes. </p>
<h2>Bilingual education in francophone west Africa</h2>
<p>Our research team conducted research in Côte d’Ivoire from 2016 to 2018. We measured children’s language and reading skills in both their mother tongue and in French, and compared outcomes between children attending French-only or bilingual Projet École Intégrée schools. </p>
<p>Children in French-only schools outperformed their peers from bilingual schools on the language and reading <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000723">assessments</a>. Teachers revealed they had better teaching resources and felt better prepared in French-only schools. </p>
<p>We were interested in whether bilingual education programmes in other francophone countries in the region had had similar experiences. In 2022, we searched academic databases for literature in English and French that discussed programme implementation and measured learning and schooling outcomes within bilingual education programmes. We reviewed nine programmes from six countries: Niger, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon. </p>
<p>These countries are former French colonies or territories. French is the official or working language and often the language of instruction in school. However, these countries are highly multilingual. About 23 living <a href="https://www.ethnologue.com/">languages</a> are spoken in Niger, <a href="https://www.languagesoftheworld.info/geolinguistics/linguistic-diversity-in-africa-and-europe.html">39</a> in Senegal, <a href="https://www.languagesoftheworld.info/geolinguistics/linguistic-diversity-in-africa-and-europe.html">68</a> in Mali, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1280625/number-of-living-languages-in-africa-by-country/">71</a> in Burkina Faso, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1280625/number-of-living-languages-in-africa-by-country/">78</a> in Côte d’Ivoire and <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1280625/number-of-living-languages-in-africa-by-country/">277</a> in Cameroon. </p>
<p>Our review showed that children can benefit from learning in two languages. This is true whether they are two official languages like in Cameroon’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-019-09510-7">Dual Curriculum Bilingual Education</a> (French and English) schools, or in a mother tongue and French, like in Mali’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/447544">Community Schools</a>. Children can also benefit regardless of whether they are gradually introduced to a language throughout primary school or whether both languages are introduced at the same time.</p>
<p>But a lack of resources, and a failure to take into account local conditions, affected the outcomes. The programmes that resulted in positive schooling and learning outcomes recognised and targeted common school-related and community-related challenges.</p>
<h2>Teacher training and resources</h2>
<p>One common school-related challenge was teachers not having teaching materials in all languages of instruction.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000161121">Pédagogie Convergente</a> programme in Mali, for example, ensured teachers had materials in both French and the mother tongue. Children had better French and maths scores. </p>
<p>But some teachers from the same programme did not always have teaching <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/Patterns_of_French_literacy_development.html?id=MoNnAAAAMAAJ&hl=en&redir_esc=y">materials</a> in mother tongue languages. And some children struggled with literacy and writing skills. </p>
<p>Another common challenge was teachers not feeling prepared to teach in all languages, as teacher training often occurred in an official language, like French. The <a href="https://www.adeanet.org/clearinghouse/sites/default/files/docs/interieur_11_burkina_fre.pdf">Programme d’éducation bilingue</a> in Burkina Faso, for example, made an effort to train teachers in the mother tongue language so they felt confident following the bilingual curriculum. </p>
<p>Children in bilingual Burkina Faso schools had higher than average <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050802149275">pass rates</a> on the primary certificate exam, <a href="https://www.memoireonline.com/06/22/12997/m_Le-rapport-des-enseignants-aux-langues-nationales-en-tant-que-mdiums-et-matires-den.html">repeated grades less</a>, and stayed in school more than children in traditional French schools. </p>
<p>Both examples are in contrast to the bilingual schools in Côte d’Ivoire, where teachers lacked materials and training in mother tongue languages. In turn, children demonstrated worse language and reading skills compared to their peers in French-only schools.</p>
<h2>Socio-cultural factors</h2>
<p>We identified common community-related challenges, particularly related to community buy-in and perceptions of mother tongue instruction. </p>
<p>For example, families with higher socioeconomic status were worried that Niger’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050208667760">Ecole Experimentale</a> schools would hinder children’s French proficiency and compromise their entry into secondary school. </p>
<p>Programmes such as the <a href="https://ared-edu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/DC-Senegal-Workshop-Findings_04.2019-FINAL-ENG.pdf">Support Program for Quality Education in Mother Tongues for Primary Schools</a> in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1765968">Senegal</a> worked to combat negative perceptions by educating families about the benefits of bilingual education. Children in the Senegalese programme outperformed their peers in traditional French schools in all school subjects.</p>
<p>The same programmes sometimes experienced different outcomes depending on the community. For example, although children in Burkina Faso’s bilingual schooling showed favourable outcomes, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-021-09885-y">parents</a> felt that French programmes were better suited for continuing to secondary school. </p>
<h2>What does this mean for bilingual education?</h2>
<p>Efforts to provide teachers with the resources they needed, and efforts to foster community support, were both consistently linked with positive schooling and learning outcomes in our review. </p>
<p>However, these efforts might work better in some communities compared to others, due to different resource constraints and socio-cultural differences. Studies that found poorer outcomes also found common challenges present. Therefore, bilingual education has the potential to facilitate positive learning outcomes if efforts are made to overcome common challenges based on communities’ needs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223867/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Bilingual education can improve learning outcomes but it’s important to consider local context.Kaja Jasinska, Assistant Professor, Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of TorontoMary-Claire Ball, PhD student, Developmental Psychology and Education, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1852552022-07-08T12:40:45Z2022-07-08T12:40:45ZPlurilingual parenting: why many experts think families who speak multiple languages should just go with the flow<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471390/original/file-20220628-19-cvno5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A plurilingual approach means parents celebrate their child's speech, in whichever language it occurs.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-multiethnic-family-standing-front-house-1909314025">Rawpixel.com | Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of us live not just in diverse societies, but what anthropologist Steven Vertovec terms <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-AHVnHxT38">“super-diverse” societies</a>. More and more people are moving around and bringing their languages and cultures with them. </p>
<p>In the UK, <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics">20% of school children</a> are multilingual. They speak at least one other language in addition to English. </p>
<p>Parents, of course, have a lot on their plate simply keeping their children fed, safe and educated. But if you do have more than one language <a href="https://academic.oup.com/applij/article-abstract/38/3/340/2952019?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false">in your family</a>, then decisions have to be made on how to navigate that terrain too. </p>
<p>If linguists have long paid attention to the idea of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13670050.2018.1503227">bilingual parenting</a>, a new appreciation of linguistic and cultural complexity in super-diverse societies has seen the advent of a new approach. What experts call <a href="https://rm.coe.int/common-european-framework-of-reference-for-languages-learning-teaching/16809ea0d4">plurilingualism</a> views language use as fluid and dynamic. </p>
<p>Previous theories about language-learning in homes, where several languages are present, have often advocated strict rules. The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13670050.2018.1460302">one-language-one-parent</a> policy sees each parent only speak their first language to the child to avoid confusion. Other immigrant parents, meanwhile, decide to speak only their <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0500.pub2">heritage language</a> at home, while the local language is learned at school. </p>
<p>Adopting a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310433410_Plurilingualism_amid_the_panoply_of_lingualisms_addressing_critiques_and_misconceptions_in_education">plurilingual</a> approach, by contrast, brings a measure of relief. It suggests you can simply go with the flow. You can mix things up, using different languages in different situations. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Primary school children in uniform sit on the ground looking in the same direction." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471395/original/file-20220628-25-j3rex9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471395/original/file-20220628-25-j3rex9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471395/original/file-20220628-25-j3rex9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471395/original/file-20220628-25-j3rex9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471395/original/file-20220628-25-j3rex9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471395/original/file-20220628-25-j3rex9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471395/original/file-20220628-25-j3rex9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plurilingual pedagogy seeks to build on students’ linguistic awareness and cultural knowledge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kindergarten-students-sitting-on-floor-660213634">Rawpixel.com | Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Celebrating linguisitic diversity</h2>
<p>We <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-36983-5">already know</a> how important <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-change-the-way-we-teach-english-109273">plurilingualism</a> in teaching is, in terms of both the academic achievement and the wellbeing of multilingual students. </p>
<p>In order to understand how this translates to the home domain, in 2018 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2097686">I conducted a study</a> with 20 parents who have immigrated to Canada from nine countries in Central and Eastern Europe. I found that the type of parenting they instinctively adopted is <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-ways-immigrant-parents-support-childrens-home-language-learning-165989">truly plurilingual</a>.</p>
<p>The parents I spoke to believe in the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02169/full">fluid and dynamic use</a> of languages in their family. Many send their children to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00358/full">French immersion programmes</a>, where instruction takes place both in English and French. But parents accept that their children’s French proficiency may be unlikely to match their English language skills. </p>
<p>On a daily basis, parents and children switch between languages. They might start one sentence in one language and finish in another. When grandparents visit from Europe, the children have to switch to the language they speak. But if a friend comes over for a playdate, they then opt for English.</p>
<p>Plurilingual parenting involves a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232173308_Family_language_policy_Core_issues_of_an_emerging_field">liberal language policy</a>. Many parents do not believe in punishing children for speaking in the “wrong” language at home. Even those who were strict when children were born soon realised that their children switch between languages back and forth. And parents are okay with that.</p>
<p>Finally, an important principle for plurilingual parenting is the <a href="https://rm.coe.int/168069d29b">interconnectedness</a> between language and culture. Immigrant parents move across borders and also carry their culture with them. Language is crucial for <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13670050.2017.1348463">identity and belonging</a> and immigrant parents negotiate this issue in their homes on a regular basis. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A Ukrainian mother and daughter in traditional embroidered tops with red head scarves." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471399/original/file-20220628-21-33ofq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471399/original/file-20220628-21-33ofq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471399/original/file-20220628-21-33ofq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471399/original/file-20220628-21-33ofq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471399/original/file-20220628-21-33ofq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471399/original/file-20220628-21-33ofq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471399/original/file-20220628-21-33ofq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parents value the connection between their heritage language and culture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mother-her-daughter-traditional-embroidery-clothes-2171053211">Denys Poliakov | Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Speaking Bulgarian in Canada connects children to the country of their parents even if they consider themselves Canadian. It is especially important for parents to keep up their heritage language and they communicate this importance to their children too. As one Ukrainian parent said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is our history, this is our heritage.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Being open to learning languages</h2>
<p>You might have heard that having two languages in the family confuses children, delays their language development and is bad for school achievement. These are in fact <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13670050.2016.1203858">myths</a> that researchers have spent decades debunking. </p>
<p>By contrast, research has also shown that there are <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00552/full">cognitive advantages</a> to bilingualism. However, many bilingual parenting approaches have variously <a href="https://www.raising-bilingual-children.com/basics/10-recommendations/">cautioned</a> against introducing new languages too early in the child’s life or mixing languages. Another common piece of advice is to ensure the child learns only from so-called native speakers to get a perfect accent, impeccable grammar and a rich vocabulary. </p>
<p>These kinds of self-imposed rules bring <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01434632.2020.1858302">discord to family life</a> when parents are trying to “police” the language use of their children, but are usually met with resistance. </p>
<p>Plurilingualism, by contrast, stems from a <a href="https://cms.arizona.edu/index.php/multilingual/article/view/229/322">new understanding</a> of how languages are used. Particularly, in the area of English language education, it emphasises a more fluid approach to how students can be taught. </p>
<p>This school of thought <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-change-the-way-we-teach-english-109273">values all the languages</a> any given student is able to use, even if to varying degrees. It seeks to build on their linguistic awareness, their cultural knowledge, and their openness to learning languages all the while improving their target language.</p>
<p>And in line with previous studies of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14790718.2014.967252">multilingual learners</a>, in my study all students did well academically, whether they were in English schools, bilingual French immersion schools or in the international baccalaureate. There is clearly no harm in keeping one’s heritage language and culture. And this flexible family language policy saves parents and children from so many battles.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185255/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Max Antony-Newman received funding from the Government of Ontario and the University of Toronto.</span></em></p>Increasingly, parents are realising that flexibility is key to navigating multiple languages, and cultures, within family life.Max Antony-Newman, Lecturer in Education Studies, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1460492020-11-04T20:33:47Z2020-11-04T20:33:47ZChina’s push for Mandarin education in Inner Mongolia is a tool for political repression<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367336/original/file-20201103-15-1e115vd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5455%2C3637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Changing the school instruction language to Mandarin will impact Mongolian children, their families and their communities. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In early September, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/04/china-mongolian-mother-tongue-classes-curtailed">Human Rights Watch reported widespread protests over the expansion of Mandarin Chinese teaching in Inner Mongolia’s schools</a>. This new bilingual education policy threatens the Mongolian language and represents a broader policy of active assimilation that threatens the maintenance of linguistic diversity in China, more generally.</p>
<p>Inner Mongolia is an autonomous province in the People’s Republic of China. With its integration into mainland China in the early 20th century, the province’s Han Chinese population expanded, while <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvbtzm7t">its Mongolian population dwindled</a>. Today, ethnic Mongolians form the largest minority in Inner Mongolia.</p>
<p>China’s constitution <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52526-0_8">promotes the languages of officially recognized minority communities</a>, including Mongolians, in education. Since its founding, the People’s Republic of China has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02320-5_34-1">generally supported a two-track education system</a>: one for minority students who live in autonomous regions and counties based on their recognized, written native language, and one for the majority Han Chinese students, based on the nation’s official standard language, Mandarin. </p>
<p>My own research <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED601649">with children and families from greater China investigates the widespread yet deeply personal effects of assimilationist language policies</a>. </p>
<h2>Changing educational policies</h2>
<p>This summer, the Inner Mongolian Education department announced changes to the province’s primary school curriculum. Currently, Inner Mongolia’s schools use Mongolian as the language of instruction for all subjects other than Chinese and foreign languages. The new policy will introduce Mandarin textbooks for three subjects: language and literature, morality and law (politics), and history. </p>
<p>This will significantly reduce the number of hours of Mongolian instruction each day. The new policy effectively shifts the meaning of bilingual education from Mongolian schooling that teaches Mandarin Chinese as a subject to Mandarin schooling that teaches Mongolian as a subject. </p>
<p>In the short term, local Mongolian teachers will have to adapt to using Mandarin, and face heightened job insecurity. In the long term, the change will transform students’ educational trajectories, <a href="https://madeinchinajournal.com/2020/08/30/bilingual-education-in-inner-mongolia-an-explainer/">with university-level majors and subjects that are now taught in Mongolian becoming obsolete</a>. </p>
<p>In response, communities in Inner Mongolia have engaged in active protests. Alongside demonstrations in the streets, parents are refusing to send children to school, and <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/mongolia-language-08282020105851.html">children are running away from their classrooms</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Al Jazeera reports on Mongolian students’ responses to the educational changes.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center links protests over the new policy to <a href="https://www.smhric.org/news_681.htm">at least nine suicides and thousands of arrests</a>. On Aug. 23, it reported the shutdown of <a href="http://www.smhric.org/news_672.htm">Bainnu, China’s only Mongolian-language social media site</a>, as a way of curtailing this political activism. </p>
<h2>Minority rights</h2>
<p>The news from Inner Mongolia is part of an ongoing struggle for language recognition and rights by minority communities in China. China is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X1600072X">home to 55 officially recognized minority ethnic groups and an estimated 297 languages</a>. Extensive state support for the development of <em>any</em> minority language education is relatively rare. Indigenous communities in North America, for example, are today tasked with actively revitalizing their languages after the devastations of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/9789462092181_003/">residential schooling</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500020182/">English-only curricula</a>. </p>
<p>Over the past 20 years, China has <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203804070">radically expanded the use of standard Mandarin in schools</a>. The news from Inner Mongolia seems to emanate from China’s so-called “Second Generation Ethnic Policy” that promotes national unity through cultural and linguistic assimilation. Scholars have noted that the endpoint of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/679274">Second Generation Ethnic Policy</a> has already been borne out <a href="https://jamestown.org/program/planting-the-seed-ethnic-policy-in-xi-jinpings-new-era-of-cultural-nationalism/">among Tibetans and Uighurs</a>. Any overt display of social and cultural otherness — including linguistic diversity — is often read as a threat to national unity. </p>
<h2>Colonialism and linguistic alientation</h2>
<p>Despite anxieties over the loss of the Tibetan language, Tibetan families in China often choose to send their children to Mandarin rather than Tibetan schools, to ensure their socio-economic mobility. </p>
<p>Multilingual Tibetan children often self-identify as Mandarin speakers when they begin attending Mandarin schools and form peer relationships outside of the home. This shift in linguistic identification can cause ruptures in family relationships, with young children actively avoiding Tibetan language interactions with their parents and grandparents.</p>
<p>In 1986, Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o wrote of the consequences of his own colonial English education: “<a href="https://boydellandbrewer.com/decolonising-the-mind.html">The colonial child was made to see the world and where he stands in it as seen and defined by or reflected in the culture of the language of imposition</a>.” </p>
<p>When children lack access to mother-tongue education, they lose the opportunity to create a vision of their selves through their community’s shared worldview. More than 30 years later, children continue to be faced with this same paradox: success in school means alienation from their native languages, families and communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146049/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shannon Ward receives funding from the University of British Columbia, SSHRC, and the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>In Inner Mongolia, China’s new bilingual education policy comes at the expense of Mongolian language and culture.Shannon Ward, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1443812020-09-03T09:40:49Z2020-09-03T09:40:49ZBilingual education in Wales: despite lockdown difficulties, parents should persevere<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353921/original/file-20200820-20-1gy11mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7348%2C4902&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/concentrated-schoolboy-sitting-desk-writing-exercise-674559766">LightField Studios/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bilingualism can result in changes in the brains of children, potentially offering <a href="https://www.spring.org.uk/2015/07/the-bilingual-advantage-more-gray-matter-in-key-brain-region.php">increased problem-solving skills</a>. Pupils who are competent in two or more languages may have <a href="http://www.educationalneuroscience.org.uk/resources/neuromyth-or-neurofact/learning-two-languages-gives-an-advantage-at-school/">academic advantages</a> over monolingual children. </p>
<p>In Wales, children have the opportunity to become bilingual by attending <a href="https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-02/welsh-in-education-action-plan-2017%E2%80%9321.pdf">Welsh-medium</a> primary and secondary schools, where the sole or main language of instruction is Welsh.</p>
<p>However, parents who do not speak Welsh but send their children to be educated in the language have reported <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-53171919">finding home schooling challenging</a> during the lockdown. Some may even be considering moving their children to English schools in order to be better able to support them at home – perhaps because of fears of future lockdowns or quarantines. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, where they can, parents should keep the faith. The benefits of a bilingual education are huge, and turning their backs on Welsh-medium education might be detrimental to increasing the number of young Welsh speakers.</p>
<h2>Language fluency</h2>
<p>Welsh-medium education allows pupils to achieve fluency in both Welsh and English to a greater extent than they can achieve by learning Welsh in an English-medium school. The Welsh government has a target of <a href="https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-12/cymraeg-2050-welsh-language-strategy.pdf">a million Welsh speakers</a> by 2050, and school education has an important role to play in achieving this.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/education/staff-profiles/listing/profile/dej24/">My past research</a> explored the Welsh-language competence of primary school pupils who spoke English at home and attended Welsh-medium schools. I found that aspects of their communicative competence in the Welsh language were similar to a control group of Welsh native speakers. Both groups made the same developmental grammatical “errors”, although the English-speaking group made these errors more often. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Mother helps child with homework" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354087/original/file-20200821-22-1xz48ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354087/original/file-20200821-22-1xz48ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354087/original/file-20200821-22-1xz48ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354087/original/file-20200821-22-1xz48ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354087/original/file-20200821-22-1xz48ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354087/original/file-20200821-22-1xz48ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354087/original/file-20200821-22-1xz48ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parents who do not speak Welsh, but whose children attend Welsh-medium school, have experienced difficulties in homeschooling during the coronavirus pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mother-cute-little-daughter-sitting-table-644959039">LightField Studios/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Welsh-medium schools are successful in English language examination results as well as in other academic subjects. In 2019, three out of the ten <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/education/best-state-secondary-schools-wales-16536448">top secondary schools</a> in Wales were Welsh-medium. </p>
<p>Immersion education, where lessons are taught in a minority language (such as Welsh) for pupils who speak a majority language (such as English) in the home, is more successful at creating bilingual speakers than English education with Welsh lessons alone. </p>
<p>Immersion schooling was <a href="https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/?k=9781783097203">initiated in Canada</a> in the 1960s, and research showed that children achieved higher levels of bilingualism when they were taught in a minority language. Studies on immersion education throughout the world have <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Immersion_Education.html?id=m6gagHDTsCEC&redir_esc=y">backed up</a> these results. </p>
<h2>The value of languages</h2>
<p>Increasing numbers of parents around the world are giving their children access to education not only in two languages but in three or more languages. Where a minority language exists in the community, trilingual education is gaining in popularity. Pupils receive their education in the minority language and the majority language of the region as well as taking lessons in a foreign language. </p>
<p>One example is the <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/88dd/b9d3337eeee9ce246af62aed93cb3a8b4820.pdf">Basque country</a>, where pupils receive their education in Euskara (the Basque language) and Castilian (Spanish) and also learn English as a foreign language.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Sign in Welsh and English for the Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354081/original/file-20200821-20-hga6xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354081/original/file-20200821-20-hga6xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354081/original/file-20200821-20-hga6xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354081/original/file-20200821-20-hga6xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354081/original/file-20200821-20-hga6xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354081/original/file-20200821-20-hga6xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354081/original/file-20200821-20-hga6xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Welsh government has a goal of one million Welsh speakers by 2050.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cardiff-uk-29-july-2020-sign-1786685564">Ray Morgan/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In 2012, Scotland began introducing <a href="https://www.gov.scot/publications/12-languages-implementation-findings-2019-local-authority-survey/">two additional languages</a> at primary schools, while England made teaching a foreign language part of the national curriculum <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-framework-for-key-stages-1-to-4">in primary schools</a> in 2014. </p>
<p>Wales’ new curriculum of 2022 will see a foreign language <a href="https://hwb.gov.wales/curriculum-for-wales/languages-literacy-and-communication">introduced in primary schools</a>, which will mean children at Welsh-medium primary schools will develop competence in three languages. The new curriculum emphasises the role that language learning plays in enabling pupils to learn about their own cultural identity, as well as the cultural identities of others.</p>
<p>Enabling children to become bilingual through Welsh-medium education ensures that, when they are older, they can better compete with bilingual and multilingual people from the UK and European countries. Businesses in the past have had to rely on EU nationals to fill posts where foreign language skills are required.</p>
<p>Learning an additional language <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110201110915.htm">is easier</a> for people who are bilingual as they already have two languages at their disposal. This enables bilingual children to make connections between the languages they already know and the foreign language. Further on in life, studies have shown that bilingualism may <a href="https://jeps.efpsa.org/articles/10.5334/jeps.375/">delay dementia</a> and <a href="https://www.alzheimers.net/12-11-14-bilingualism-delays-alzheimers">Alzheimer’s</a>. </p>
<p>Now is the time for parents to continue to place their faith in bilingual education for the sake of their children’s futures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144381/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Delyth Jones and researchers at 2 other universities receive funding from the Welsh government to study the impact of Covid-19 on the Welsh language skills of pupils.. </span></em></p>The benefits of a bilingual education are huge.Delyth Jones, PGCE Link Tutor for Modern Foreign Languages, Aberystwyth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1433242020-08-28T12:21:14Z2020-08-28T12:21:14Z1 in 10 US students are English learners<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354443/original/file-20200824-16-1usoku6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dual-language instruction can help children grow up to be bilingual.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/instructor-blanca-claudio-teaches-a-history-lesson-in-news-photo/691607130">Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354180/original/file-20200821-18-1qs6luh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="1 in 10 US students are learning English" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354180/original/file-20200821-18-1qs6luh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354180/original/file-20200821-18-1qs6luh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354180/original/file-20200821-18-1qs6luh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354180/original/file-20200821-18-1qs6luh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354180/original/file-20200821-18-1qs6luh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354180/original/file-20200821-18-1qs6luh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354180/original/file-20200821-18-1qs6luh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>More than 1 in 10 of the nation’s approximately 50 million public school students speak a native language other than English, according to the latest <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgf.asp#:%7E:text=The%20percentage%20of%20public%20school,%2C%20or%203.8%20million%20students">federal data</a>. Roughly 3 in 4 of these English learners speak Spanish. </p>
<p>The percentage of U.S. students who are learning how to speak English has grown significantly in recent years, rising from 8% in fall of 2000 to 10% by 2017, the data indicate.</p>
<p>The prevalence of these students <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/datastory/el-characteristics/index.html#two">varies greatly across the country</a>, ranging from 0.8% in West Virginia to 19.2% in California. The share of English learners is highest among young children, hovering around <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/25/6-facts-about-english-language-learners-in-u-s-public-schools/#:%7E:text=Looked%20at%20a%20different%20way,to%20be%20reclassified%20as%20proficient.">16% between kindergarten and second grade</a>. Typically, younger children have less exposure than older students to English because they are primarily communicating with relatives in their native languages. By the time students are nearing high school graduation, the percentage of English learners drops to 4.6%. </p>
<p>Students who remain fluent in their native language while learning to speak English become bilingual, which has many advantages. Bilingual people tend to be better at connecting with others from different ethnic backgrounds and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583091/">cultures</a>. They are also <a href="https://www.waterford.org/education/why-bilingual-students-have-a-cognitive-advantage-for-learning-to-read/">better at solving problems</a>.</p>
<p>Once they grow up, bilingual adults often have <a href="https://www.uei.edu/blog/can-speaking-two-languages-increase-your-job-prospects/">better job opportunities</a> and may earn <a href="https://work.chron.com/bilingual-people-paid-more-26139.html">higher salaries</a> than those who no longer speak their native language. Also, research indicates that being bilingual can increase creativity and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102%2F0034654310368803">heighten cognitive ability</a>.</p>
<p>Researchers have found that attending <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5324728/">dual-language programs</a>, where instructional time is split between English and another language (oftentimes Spanish), attended by both native and non-native English speakers, help children become bilingual. But only <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/01/22/schools-in-35-states-offer-dual-language-programs.html">35 states offered these programs</a>, according to the Department of Education’s latest data.</p>
<p>Without those opportunities, English learners tend to <a href="https://education.uslegal.com/bilingualism/types-of-bilingual-education/">stop being fluent in their first language</a> when they reach high school and miss out on all the benefits of becoming bilingual students.</p>
<p>[<em>Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=coronavirus-facts">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.</a>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143324/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Mata-McMahon is affiliated with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the International Association for Children’s Spirituality (IACS) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA). </span></em></p>Without the opportunity to learn in dual-language programs, children may lose out on growing up to be bilingual.Jennifer Mata-McMahon, Associate Professor of Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1203122019-07-30T13:33:56Z2019-07-30T13:33:56ZWales wants to make the Welsh language part of every lesson under new curriculum<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286033/original/file-20190729-43136-1h20c4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Under the new curriculum, Welsh will be used in every single lesson, not just language lessons.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/intelligent-group-young-school-children-all-211281496?src=3MyfUgBG62gN7RtzP8X8mg-1-4&studio=1">ESB Professional/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>All over the world, people are increasingly looking for more effective language education. In the US, for example, there are now <a href="http://webapp.cal.org/duallanguage/">more than 800</a> dual language programmes aiming to produce bilingual children with a greater social and cultural awareness. French immersion programmes in Canada have <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/181102/cg-c001-eng.htm">increased 21% over the last five years</a> too. And in countries such as Germany and Spain, integrated content and language programmes are also growing as people seek better foreign language education.</p>
<p>In Wales, bilingualism and bi-literacy (in Welsh and English) is firmly on the education agenda too. The number of pupils choosing Welsh-medium education has seen <a href="https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/statistics-and-research/2018-12/180725-school-census-results-2018-en.pdf">a steady increase of 3%</a> over the last four years. Since 1999, Welsh has also been a compulsory subject for both Welsh and English-medium learners until the age of 16. And, more recently, the Welsh government launched a <a href="https://gweddill.gov.wales/docs/dcells/publications/170711-welsh-language-strategy-eng.pdf">new language strategy</a> which aims to proactively develop Welsh-medium education, and ensure that by 2050 at least half of all English-medium learners leave school with the ability to speak Welsh. </p>
<p>English-medium schools continue to dominate in Wales, however, with <a href="https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Education-and-Skills/Schools-and-Teachers/Schools-Census/Pupil-Level-Annual-School-Census/Welsh-Language/pupils-by-localauthorityregion-welshmediumtype">76% of learners currently studying in English</a>. In these schools, Welsh is often taught as a subject only – as opposed to being the primary language in use across all subjects – and restricted to a handful of hours in the timetable per fortnight. As recently highlighted <a href="https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa50742">in my doctoral research</a>, this lack of meaningful contact with Welsh in the classroom, coupled with Welsh second language not being a core subject, and the lack of bilingual ethos and qualified teachers in schools, has made if very difficult to deliver effective Welsh second language education in English-medium schools. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286031/original/file-20190729-43114-19r1vkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286031/original/file-20190729-43114-19r1vkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286031/original/file-20190729-43114-19r1vkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286031/original/file-20190729-43114-19r1vkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286031/original/file-20190729-43114-19r1vkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286031/original/file-20190729-43114-19r1vkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286031/original/file-20190729-43114-19r1vkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wales wants to make the Welsh language a cross-curricular responsibility.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chalky-welsh-flag-painted-color-chalk-92227333?src=XC0R2HfyyUlIn9O_OZyd2Q-1-1&studio=1">vepar5/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Clearly, there is a gap between policy and practice when it comes to teaching Welsh in English-medium schools. However, the country is now undergoing a curriculum reform that offers a unique opportunity to bridge this gap.</p>
<h2>Welsh across the curriculum</h2>
<p>Wales is <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-welsh-curriculum-may-make-education-more-holistic-but-students-might-miss-out-on-subject-knowledge-111853">one of a handful of countries</a> currently reforming their education systems. The <a href="https://hwb.gov.wales/draft-curriculum-for-wales-2022/a-guide-to-curriculum-for-wales-2022">Welsh government’s vision</a> is set to overhaul the whole curriculum and assessment arrangements for compulsory education in Wales by 2022.</p>
<p>One of the most ambitious developments within this new curriculum is the creation of a “languages, literacy and communication” area of learning and experience. The government intends to develop a single continuum for teaching and learning Welsh, with greater focus to be placed on understanding and using Welsh as a means of oral communication, rather than writing and reading skills. This will also see literacy skills in both Welsh and English become a cross-curricular responsibility.</p>
<p>This is an important and crucial development for English-medium schools. The Welsh government now recognises that Welsh is not just a “subject”, and that the successful acquisition of it as a second language requires it to be taught in a meaningful manner. Indeed, international research has shown that language learning is more effective <a href="https://www.ncca.ie/media/2060/effective_language_teaching_a_synthesis_of_research.pdf">when combined with content learning</a>. However, a number of challenges must be addressed for this to work. </p>
<p>First, further investment <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-welsh-curriculum-may-make-education-more-holistic-but-students-might-miss-out-on-subject-knowledge-111853">in teacher training</a> is needed, and teachers must also be given sufficient opportunities to take advantage of said training. The Welsh government has already made large investments <a href="https://gov.wales/ps42-million-boost-teaching-welsh">in Welsh teaching and learning</a> and <a href="https://gov.wales/financial-incentives-attract-new-teachers-extended">to draw in new teachers</a>, but bilingual teaching training for English-medium secondary school teachers is not currently offered. </p>
<p>This is not a simple matter of secondary teachers being able to translate their lessons into Welsh. They will need to be trained in bilingual teaching methods, for example, “trawsieithu” or translanguaging, which sees Welsh and English being alternately used in the classroom. Training in bilingual practices like this should be treated as a matter of priority if Welsh is to be gradually integrated into English-medium secondary schools.</p>
<p>Second, it’s crucial that Welsh is not only integrated into learning, but the ethos of every school in Wales. By normalising bilingualism, schools can strive to ensure the incidental use of Welsh by staff and students. This will be key if schools are to convince students and parents of <a href="https://theconversation.com/speaking-in-tongues-the-many-benefits-of-bilingualism-49842">the benefits of bilingualism</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, English-medium primary and secondary schools will also need to work more closely to ensure continuity of learning Welsh. Given the shortage of teachers with expertise and confidence in teaching and assessing Welsh as a second language, particularly at the primary level, collaboration between the two sectors will be crucial. It’s also important that the hard work and momentum put in at the primary level is not lost by secondary.</p>
<p>The development of the new curriculum is a valuable opportunity for transforming the way in which Welsh is delivered in English-medium schools. And by giving teachers more flexibility within the new curriculum, they will be free to explore new approaches to teaching Welsh and other languages too. But English-medium schools must be fully supported in developing bilingualism and bi-literacy for their learners. </p>
<p>By embedding Welsh across learning, and fostering a bilingual ethos, pupils will benefit from more meaningful Welsh language learning and ultimately greater functional skills in the language. This will be crucial if Welsh is to be perceived by future learners not only as a living language in Wales, but a language for living in Wales.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120312/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Lovell received funding from AHRC Centre for Doctorol Training in Celtic Languages (2015-2018) and the James Pantyfedwen Foundation (2014-2015). </span></em></p>Wales’s schools mostly teach in English at present but its new curriculum will make Welsh language part of every lesson in all schools.Alexander Lovell, Welsh Lecturer, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/989192018-07-17T10:48:45Z2018-07-17T10:48:45ZMultilingual learners doing better in US schools than previously thought<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227626/original/file-20180713-27024-1gg1y4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Multilingual students have made steady progress in recent years, new research shows.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pupils-raise-hands-lesson-primary-school-503425867?src=zrvBkaWDzpvjAuBS5d-DwQ-6-78">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/los-estudiantes-multilingues-en-eeuu-logran-mejores-resultados-que-nunca-100128">Read in Spanish</a></em>.</p>
<p>Between 2003 to 2015, multilingual students showed two to three times more progress in reading and math than students who speak English only. With this progress, the achievement gaps between multilingual students and their peers have narrowed substantially. </p>
<p>This <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0013189X18777740">new analysis</a> we conducted of results from the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/">National Assessment of Education Progress</a> contradicts previous reports that academic progress has <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/five-key-trends-in-u-s-student-performance-progress-by-blacks-and-hispanics-the-takeoff-of-asians-the-stall-of-non-english-speakers-the-persistence-of-socioeconomic-gaps-and-the-damaging-effect/">stalled</a> for multilingual learners.</p>
<p>We make this observation as former teachers and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=54LPUWAAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&citft=1&citft=2&citft=3&email_for_op=shaheed360%40yahoo.com&gmla=AJsN-F74zAyz13Dw0lhXGC4SPuntH7Wlxs4SlnS6fMsUlTwWedk_0abetq6qGiuyNhooG1qBiopQS8jIxcbs3tsOxvGTd1qnlFBqfMOgztQtpOD2-Vl1Bb40KbNCXf_QKjvX-Lo8a48kwIhzZ5zK7Z2NEmmuQGo74KHqT-aMAd1y_JcIEudfmPUWGNVRMkaN56hIuWNWLKNUBRt8zJsrJZCJ4wsPyVcVbSpSgJHW1aaCZ9xv3qaTWaTbUlDOXV7w9FD-C0iQH-f8">researchers</a> who have spent more than two decades focused on <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=t028ARYAAAAJ&hl=en">understanding the experiences of multilingual students</a>.</p>
<p>Our findings not only show that multilingual students are learning more now than in the past, but they also suggest to us that schools and districts are serving these students more effectively.</p>
<h2>Who are multilingual students?</h2>
<p>Multilingual students include all students who speak a language other than English at home. About <a href="https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_5YR_S1603&prodType=table">1 in 5 children</a> in the U.S. fall into this category.</p>
<p>Among multilingual students, one subgroup is English learners, who are not yet proficient in English. About <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgf.asp">1 in 10 students</a> in the U.S. is classified as an English learner. </p>
<p>A second subgroup is former English learners, who were not proficient in English when they entered school but have since developed English proficiency. No national data about the size of the former English learner population is available, but <a href="https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/longtermel/ELAS.aspx?cds=00&agglevel=State&year=2017-18">statewide data</a> indicates that it’s slightly smaller in size than the current English learner population. </p>
<p>Finally, the third and smallest subgroup of multilingual students are those who speak a language other than English at home but who were already proficient in English when they started school. </p>
<h2>Why our findings differ</h2>
<p>Past analyses of data from the National Assessment of Education Progress – better known as NAEP – have focused only on outcomes for students currently classified as English learners. However, this produces misleading conclusions. By definition, English learners are not yet proficient in listening, speaking, reading or writing English, and their <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189x12471426">language skills impact their scores</a> on reading and math tests. Once students become proficient in English and are able to perform at higher levels on these tests, they are no longer considered English learners. In other words, as soon as a student gains mastery, she is moved out of the English learners group. This has led researchers William M. Saunders and David J. Marcelletti, among others, to <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0162373712461849">argue</a> that the achievement difference between current English learners and other students on reading and math tests is a “<a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0162373712461849">gap that can’t go away</a>.” </p>
<p>As research in <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED569344.pdf">New York City</a>, two large <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0002831214545110">California</a> <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0895904815598394">districts</a> and <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0002831216667481">other states</a> demonstrates, many English learners become proficient in English between the time they enter school and when they are given the NAEP in fourth and eighth grades. These analyses indicate that about 25 to 50 percent of students who enter kindergarten as English learners have been reclassified as former English learners before grade four. Seventy to 85 percent of such students have been reclassified as former English learners before grade eight. </p>
<p>Thus, the current English learner group in these grades consists of those students who – by definition – have relatively low English test scores, either because they have recently immigrated to the U.S. or have struggled to acquire English language and literacy skills in U.S. schools.</p>
<p>We suggest that <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED572898.pdf">districts</a> and <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/blogs/research/post/understanding-outcomes-for-english-learners-the-importance-of-the-ever-learner-category">states</a> should analyze combined outcomes for both current and former English learners, which we refer to as the Ever English Learner subgroup. We have <a href="https://youtu.be/sGCbWGtaEik">shown graduation rates</a> for the full group of Ever English learners are quite similar to rates for students never classified as English learners. </p>
<p>Analyzing outcomes for Ever English Learners is not currently possible with NAEP data. Instead, in our new analysis, we took the most similar approach we could, analyzing outcomes for all multilingual students, which consists primarily of current and former English learners. We define multilingual broadly to include students at different levels of proficiency in their multiple languages. Given our prior work, we were not surprised to find that NAEP trends for multilingual students as a whole looked different than trends for current English learners. We were, however, surprised, by the extent of the progress multilingual students had made, given that this group has been <a href="http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2017/promoting-the-educational-success-of-children-and-youth-learning-English.aspx">historically and chronically underserved</a>. </p>
<h2>What’s behind the gains?</h2>
<p>We cannot yet pinpoint the reasons why multilingual students have made such strong progress on NAEP. A variety of changes in education policy and practice have impacted multilingual students in recent years and may be related to these patterns. For example, the No Child Left Behind Act, which was implemented during the years we studied, may have increased attention to outcomes for English learners. In addition, these years also saw a <a href="https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/downloads/report/Dual-Language-Education-Programs-Current-State-Policies-April-2015.pdf">rapid expansion</a> of dual language immersion programs, in which multilingual students and monolingual English speakers learn alongside one another. <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0002831216634463">Rigorous research</a> has shown that these programs have <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0162373715573310">positive effects</a> on achievement for all students. In addition, many states have recently adopted new requirements for the preparation that <a href="http://ecs.force.com/mbdata/mbquestNB2?rep=ELL1415">teachers of English learners</a> must have, and this additional preparation may <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0162373714527788">increase</a> <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/688871">teachers’ effectiveness</a> with English learners. </p>
<p>Multilingual students still encounter many barriers in U.S. schools, including often having bilingualism treated as a <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2016/12/20/supporting-english-learners-and-treating-bilingualism-as-an-asset/">problem rather than a resource</a>. Yet our research suggests that nonetheless, multilingual students are demonstrating strong gains in reading and math. Understanding the reasons behind these gains will be critical to making sure the progress continues.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98919/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen D. Thompson receives funding from the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences and the Spencer Foundation. In addition, Dr. Thompson and Dr. Kieffer's collaboration was made possible by the EL Policy Fellowship, with support from the Spencer Foundation and William T. Grant Foundation (Kenji Hakuta, PI).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael J Kieffer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite reports that multilingual students’ academic progress has ‘stalled,’ researchers find new reasons to be optimistic about how they are faring in US schools.Karen D. Thompson, Assistant Professor of Education, Oregon State UniversityMichael J Kieffer, Associate Professor of Literacy Education, New York UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/935802018-04-05T02:57:22Z2018-04-05T02:57:22ZRaising bilingual children in Indonesia: the strategies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212912/original/file-20180403-189830-69r3su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C998%2C676&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Multilingual children</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many parents consider that raising their children to speak more than one language will give their offspring an edge over monolingual kids. To compete in a globalised world, future generations are required to master at least two languages, one of which is spoken internationally. </p>
<p>I have raised bilingual children. My children, aged 17 and 11, are proficient in both the Indonesian and English languages and can switch with ease between these for certain topics. </p>
<h2>Raising bilingual children: a choice</h2>
<p>I always wanted my children to master two languages. I started speaking with my daughter in both English and Indonesian language when she was six years old. </p>
<p>But I often asked myself what was the best way to make my children speak English as well as Indonesians speak in their mother tongue. </p>
<p>I realise that raising children bilingually requires a condition
where my children can learn to speak English without interruption. When I received a scholarship to pursue a PhD in education in Melbourne, Australia, I brought my children with me between 2011 and 2015.</p>
<h2>Frequent exposure is the key</h2>
<p>In Indonesia, raising children in two languages (or more) is not a new thing. The vast majority of Indonesian people are bilingual or multilingual by default, because they speak at least two languages: Indonesian and their <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Indonesia/Ethnic-groups">ethnic language (native language)</a>. Thus, the practice of acquiring a second language is ingrained, without people planning or thinking about it. </p>
<p>Exposure to language is an important factor in learning a language. Acquiring foreign languages is more difficult than mastering ethnic languages, as the latter are spoken everywhere. Foreign languages are not commonly spoken or heard.</p>
<p>A lot of people learn English in a structured format in classrooms and forums. However, they may acquire knowledge about the language but fail to use the language properly in this formal setting. </p>
<p>Contrast this to ethnic languages that people hear in their daily lives. People start to get exposed to Indonesian language from the time they enter school because the language is used as the medium of interaction in formal contexts. The exposure to ethnic language happens since infancy, with the language being used as a media of communication among family members.</p>
<p>English is a foreign language that the vast majority of Indonesians do not speak. This results in children’s low exposure to the language. </p>
<p>As learning English needs to be done in a structured context, the natural aspect of the language use has decreased. But children can still acquire English, subject to their exposure to the language.</p>
<h2>Formal and informal contexts</h2>
<p>A bilingual child usually gains her ability to speak two languages through exposure in both formal and informal settings. </p>
<p>In the family context, parents are the key factor.</p>
<p>In mastering English as the second language for children, parents need to provide more contexts for exposing their children to English to ensure the process of learning the language happens naturally. </p>
<p>Here are at least three strategies that parents can implement in raising bilingual children. The strategies are adopted from methods introduced by American linguist <a href="http://users.ox.ac.uk/%7Eromaine/">Suzanne Romaine</a> in her book <a href="http://users.ox.ac.uk/%7Eromaine/bilingualism.html">Bilingualism</a>.</p>
<p><strong>One parent, one language</strong></p>
<p>The method applies when one of the parents speaks English most of the time (if not all the time) and the other parent speaks Indonesian or an ethnic language. </p>
<p>This will give the children simultaneous natural exposure to both languages. To do this, the parent needs to be competent in English. </p>
<p><strong>Home versus school</strong></p>
<p>Under this method, parents can tell children to speak a certain language in a certain context. For example, children are required to speak English in school, while at home they are encouraged to speak Indonesian. This context-based, one-language strategy may be implemented conversely.</p>
<p>I have seen many parents who are incompetent in English send their children to schools where English is the main language because they are incapable of teaching English at home. </p>
<p><strong>Natural conversion</strong></p>
<p>The third way that parents may choose is providing contexts where both languages (Indonesian and English) are used. Parents themselves switch languages, and they need to do this from when their children are born, so they are exposed to the languages from infancy. Again, to do this, parents need to be able to use English proficiently.</p>
<p>The strategies are there for parents to choose for their children to acquire English without losing their Indonesian and ethnic languages. </p>
<p>A phenomenon of children who are exposed to English but are not able to speak local languages properly has prompted debates on the best way to teach English to children as it may later cause communication barriers. No parent wants this to happen. Therefore, they need to be wise in exposing their children to the languages.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93580/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Novi Rahayu Restuningrum menerima dana dari DIKTI berupa beasiswa belajar keluar negeri. </span></em></p>Raising children to speak more than one language is a challenge for parents in today’s world. Here are some tips to raise bilingual children.Novi Rahayu Restuningrum, Lecturer in English, Universitas YarsiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/892152018-01-16T11:22:38Z2018-01-16T11:22:38ZIs language key to resolving the Israeli-Arab conflict?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201988/original/file-20180115-101498-18dgqvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A teacher from the Arab town of Kabul gives an Arabic class to Israeli schoolchildren.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Oded Balilty</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>According to a 2017 <a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/02/01/language-the-cornerstone-of-national-identity/">Pew Research Center poll</a>, many people believe language is “the core of national identity.” </p>
<p>More than 70 percent of the population of the United States, Europe, Australia and Japan agree on this. And yet, as scholars of <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/language-conflict-and-language-rights/4C2EAAA0FBF8BD0B371AD419F826721B">linguistics</a> and political science, we know that people pay too little attention to language, while overemphasizing religion, history and culture, when identifying sources of conflict. </p>
<p>In contrast to many other factors, language is <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442242241/What-Do-We-Know-about-Civil-Wars">deeply rooted</a> and not easily swept aside. Nowhere is the role of language in conflict more evident than the Middle East. These conflicts frequently infringe upon the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Minorities/SRMinorities/Pages/LanguageRights.aspx">rights of linguistic minorities</a> to use their languages freely and without prejudice. </p>
<p>For example, this is a central factor in the case of <a href="https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/turkey/turkey993-08.htm">Turkish Kurds</a> and the lesser-known <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2012/09/03/world/meast/libya-berber-amazigh-renaissance/index.html">struggles of Berber</a> (Tamazigh) people in southern Libya.</p>
<p>Israel is no exception. </p>
<p>There, language has played <a href="http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781138912434/">a major role</a> in perpetuating the Israeli-Arab conflict and could play a role resolving it.</p>
<h2>Hebrew and Arabic</h2>
<p>The linguistic underpinnings of the current situation in Israel and Palestine go back to <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-british-palestine-mandate">British rule</a> over the territory between 1922 and 1948. At the time, English, Hebrew and Arabic were all <a href="https://unispal.un.org/DPA/DPR/unispal.nsf/0/C7AAE196F41AA055052565F50054E656">official languages</a> of the Palestine Mandate – a former part of the Ottoman Empire comprising modern-day Israel and Jordan, which was ruled by Britain after World War I. When Israel declared independence in 1948, <a href="https://www.adalah.org/uploads/oldfiles/Public/files/Discriminatory-Laws-Database/English/49-Emergency-Orders-derived-from-Law-and-Administration-Ordinance-1948.pdf">English was eliminated</a> from this list, due in part to Israeli animosity toward British colonizers.</p>
<p>Since independence, <a href="http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/Culture/Pages/Arabic-in-Israel--an-official-language-and-a-cultural-bridge-18-December-2016.aspx">Hebrew and Arabic</a> have shared status as de facto official languages of Israel. However, their status is nowhere near equal. Further, Israeli society is far more linguistically complex than its two official languages would suggest.</p>
<p>With a population that is <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2016/03/08/israels-religiously-divided-society/">around 80 percent Jewish</a>, Hebrew’s status outstrips that of Arabic. Until recently, Israeli Arabs <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/in/book/9783319340357">have been required</a> to learn Hebrew starting in third grade, but Hebrew-speaking Israelis have had Arabic language instruction in their public schools beginning only in seventh grade. </p>
<p>While Arabic in public spaces is officially sanctioned, some sectors of the Hebrew-speaking community have <a href="https://forward.com/news/109097/graffiti-war-erupts-over-israel-s-road-signs/">expressed hostility</a>. There have been vigilante acts against its officially sanctioned use, such as spray-painting or papering over Arabic street signs. Such events have magnified the social distance between the Hebrew- and Arabic-speaking sectors. With Israeli Arabs being more fluent in Hebrew, it is Hebrew speakers who are socially disadvantaged by not being able to communicate with fellow Israelis who speak Arabic.</p>
<p>As noted above, the language conflict is far more complex than “Hebrew versus Arabic.” Jewish and non-Jewish communities in Israel have partly overlapping linguistic, ethnic and religious identities. For example, there are several distinct <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Arabic-in-Israel-Language-Identity-and-Conflict/Amara/p/book/9781315160931">varieties of Arabic</a> used in Israel: standard Arabic, Palestinian Arabic, Bedouin Arabic and Judeo-Arabic. Speakers of some of these varieties, such as Palestinian and Bedouin Arabic, cannot always understand each other.</p>
<p>Israeli Jews speak not only Hebrew and Arabic but also English, Yiddish and French. Israel is also home to the third-largest <a href="https://www.npr.org/2013/01/02/168457444/on-multiple-fronts-russian-jews-reshape-israel">Russian-speaking community</a> outside the former Soviet Union, after the U.S. and Germany.</p>
<h2>Sharing languages</h2>
<p>These major and minor language divisions leave Israelis of all affiliations struggling with great “social” distances inside their small country. That is, even though people share public spaces – traveling, walking, playing and shopping alongside one other – they remain distant strangers without a common language. This distance is a problem in that it perpetuates and exacerbates Israel’s internal conflicts. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.704258">Estimates show</a> that only 10 percent of Israeli Jews are fluent in spoken Arabic. Fewer can read and write the language. Even Arabs who know Hebrew are often not inclined to use <a href="http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/sociology/sociology-general-interest/war-words-language-and-conflict-middle-east?format=PB&isbn=9780521546560">either language</a> in their interactions with Israeli Jews, preferring instead English as a neutral medium. Speaking Hebrew, even in mundane circumstances, can be a dangerous political act for an Arab. Two years ago, an Israeli Arab was attacked when overheard <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/arab-israeli-attacked-for-speaking-hebrew-in-east-jerusalem/">speaking Hebrew in East Jerusalem</a>.</p>
<p>Recognizing this problem has led some to try language-oriented solutions. In the past 10 to 20 years, <a href="https://www.handinhandk12.org/">Hebrew-Arabic bilingual schools</a> have been <a href="https://www.hajar.org.il/en/home/">established</a> in <a href="http://www.ein-bustan.org/">different parts</a> of the country. These schools are involved both in raising a generation of truly bilingual children and in growing the students’ families into bicultural communities. While still somewhat experimental, we believe they have enormous potential for creating a population of Hebrew-Arabic speakers who will understand each other and coexist in the most fundamental sense of the word.</p>
<p>It appears their preliminary success has not been lost on Israel’s educational establishment. In 2016, Israel’s Ministry of Education <a href="http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/arabic-to-be-mandatory-in-israels-jewish-primary-schools/">mandated Arabic language classes</a>, beginning in first grade, in public schools where Hebrew is the language of instruction. This move generated opposition and has not yet led to fully bilingual education. Yet, analysts’ and policymakers’ recognition of the need to use language solutions promises to open new and gradual pathways to resolving the conflict. </p>
<p>Moreover, recognition and use of language-based solutions to conflict, if successfully applied here, might in fact serve as a model for the resolution of some of the other, more destructive and protracted, conflicts that have long plagued the region.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89215/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stanley Dubinsky is a member of a consulting firm called ConflictAnalytiX LLC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span> Harvey Starr a member of a consulting firm called ConflictAnalytiX LLC. </span></em></p>We underestimate the power of language to divide and to bring people closer together, scholars say.Stanley Dubinsky, Professor of Linguistics, University of South CarolinaHarvey Starr, Dag Hammarskjold Professor in International Affairs Emeritus, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/803522017-08-02T01:19:10Z2017-08-02T01:19:10ZThe true failure of foreign language instruction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179076/original/file-20170720-23983-47qtgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Far fewer Americans speak a second language than in most other developed countries – and the problem starts in the classroom.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/high-school-students-working-on-international-654280111?src=jkDOykIkSecBAUlQfAJ_LQ-1-2">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.amacad.org/multimedia/pdfs/publications/researchpapersmonographs/language/Commission-on-Language-Learning_Americas-Languages.pdf">recent report</a> from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences calls for more attention to language teaching in the U.S. The report notes that U.S. students have much less access to foreign language instruction than students in other economically developed countries, and that Americans are thus much less likely to be bi- or multilingual.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://www.gse.harvard.edu/faculty/catherine-snow">expert on language and literacy development in children</a>, I’ve talked to many immigrant parents who expect their children to grow up bilingual, only to be surprised that they end up as monolingual English speakers. Meanwhile, foreign language learning opportunities for English speakers are limited. Why is the U.S. so bad at producing bilinguals?</p>
<p><iframe id="zNCEW" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/zNCEW/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Native language loss</h2>
<p>The dismal state of bilingual and multilingual fluency in the U.S. has a couple of sources. Notably, far too many of the children with the greatest potential to become good bilinguals – the children of immigrants – lose fluency in their parents’ language. It’s estimated that by the third generation, immigrants have <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED335176">completely lost fluency</a> in their heritage languages.</p>
<p>Ongoing support (political and social as well as educational) for maintenance of minority languages <a href="https://www.amacad.org/multimedia/pdfs/publications/researchpapersmonographs/language/Commission-on-Language-Learning_Americas-Languages.pdf#page=34">is limited</a>. Bilingualism can be impeded by a general sense that it’s <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/31/why-english-should-be-official-language-united-sta/">more important for immigrants to learn English</a> than to maintain their first language, and that these are somehow in conflict with one another.</p>
<p>In my view, it’s ironic that we have students walking up staircases at one end of their school building to attend Spanish foreign language classes while at the other end of the same building native Spanish speakers are being taught English and content in ways that <a href="https://languageattrition.org/">lead to their loss</a> of Spanish.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179083/original/file-20170720-942-1496yjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179083/original/file-20170720-942-1496yjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179083/original/file-20170720-942-1496yjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179083/original/file-20170720-942-1496yjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179083/original/file-20170720-942-1496yjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179083/original/file-20170720-942-1496yjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179083/original/file-20170720-942-1496yjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Anti-immigrant sentiment can be a driving force behind opposition to native language retention.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/donotlick/4616365374">Jennifer Morrow</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Foreign language classes ‘fail’</h2>
<p>The other factor contributing to a lack of bilingual proficiency in the U.S. may be low expectations. Too many Americans accept the claim that foreign language instruction is a dismal failure, that a very large percentage of students will <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/13/learning-a-foreign-language-a-must-in-europe-not-so-in-america/">never become fluent</a> in another language and that investing in foreign language learning is likely to be <a href="http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2012/08/the_marginal_pr.html">a waste of time</a>.</p>
<p>How do we explain, then, that l00 percent of students in Germany, Scandinavia, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore and many other places achieve <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/languages/policy/strategic-framework/documents/language-survey-final-report_en.pdf">high levels of competence in English</a> – and typically in at least one or two other languages as well? Is the U.S. student population afflicted with some peculiar block to foreign language learning?</p>
<p>I would argue that we as Americans do have a block to successful foreign language learning: our deeply unrealistic expectations about how it works. Can a few years of experience in middle school or high school classrooms (experience that likely adds up to less than 600 total hours of instruction) generate excellence in another language? Frankly, no – at least <a href="https://www.amacad.org/multimedia/pdfs/publications/researchpapersmonographs/language/Commission-on-Language-Learning_Americas-Languages.pdf#page=20">not for most students</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179086/original/file-20170720-942-1sfyc56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179086/original/file-20170720-942-1sfyc56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179086/original/file-20170720-942-1sfyc56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179086/original/file-20170720-942-1sfyc56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179086/original/file-20170720-942-1sfyc56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179086/original/file-20170720-942-1sfyc56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179086/original/file-20170720-942-1sfyc56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">U.S. students typically get only a few years of foreign language classes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.marsoc.marines.mil/Photos/igphoto/28425/">Sgt. Steven King</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Moving forward through opportunity</h2>
<p>Despite the current limitations of most curricula, such classroom experience can, however, form a solid foundation for truly learning a foreign language.</p>
<p>This is particularly true when a genuine communicative opportunity arises. Some lucky students get that opportunity on <a href="http://www.nafsa.org/Policy_and_Advocacy/Policy_Resources/Policy_Trends_and_Data/Trends_in_U_S__Study_Abroad/">trips abroad</a>. Others might seek it out by volunteering in <a href="https://www.gobeyondtravel.com/">refugee centers</a> or programs serving <a href="https://volunteer.uwkc.org/need/detail/?need_id=214442">immigrant youth</a>, or by seeking <a href="https://www.language-exchanges.org/">digital contacts</a> with native speakers.</p>
<p>Many efforts to rethink the traditional foreign language classroom experience have been tried. These efforts include immersion, <a href="http://www.cal.org/twi/">dual immersion</a> and <a href="https://www.nap.edu/catalog/24677/promoting-the-educational-success-of-children-and-youth-learning-english">other bilingual school programs</a>. Such programs typically recruit kindergartners and build second language skills by teaching content through the second language.</p>
<p>They often work well, but starting at kindergarten is not a requirement for ultimate fluency. Immersion programs are effective and, in fact, generate equivalent learning in less time if started at later grades. Late immersion may be more efficient just because older students are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232600201_A_comparison_of_early_and_late_second_language_learning">better learners</a>, and are generally more likely to have had a say in choosing the immersion program – thus they’re also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X8500400102">more motivated to learn</a>. </p>
<p>With such opportunities to improve foreign language instruction, let’s not <a href="https://qz.com/309143/a-case-for-cutting-foreign-languages-from-us-schools/">give up on it entirely</a> – let’s figure out how to complement it with the experiences that enable students to exploit it optimally!</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179087/original/file-20170720-15106-169zjsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179087/original/file-20170720-15106-169zjsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179087/original/file-20170720-15106-169zjsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179087/original/file-20170720-15106-169zjsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179087/original/file-20170720-15106-169zjsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179087/original/file-20170720-15106-169zjsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179087/original/file-20170720-15106-169zjsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Foreign travel – for those who can afford it – can be a path to effective and lasting language learning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daniel_Oerther_posing_with_students_during_a_study_abroad_trip_to_Gujarat,_India.jpg">Oertherdb</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80352/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Snow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Whether it’s due to native language loss or unsupported high school curricula, the lack of bilingualism in the US is notable. Why can’t more Americans speak another language? How should that change?Catherine Snow, Professor of Education, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/794352017-06-15T20:06:54Z2017-06-15T20:06:54ZWhy more schools need to teach bilingual education to Indigenous children<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173898/original/file-20170614-15456-ekw3c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indigenous children can benefit greatly from learning in a language they understand. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Neda Vanovac/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/are-we-making-progress-on-indigenous-education-39329">this series</a>, we’ll discuss whether progress is being made on Indigenous education, looking at various areas including policy, scholarships, school leadership, literacy and much more.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/auws/arounduws_home_page/auws_archives/2014/january_to_may/working_in_remote_australia">Nancy Oldfield Napurrurla</a> has taught at <a href="http://www.yuendumuschool.nt.edu.au/early_childhood.php">Yuendumu school</a> for over 30 years. </p>
<p>In her preschool transition class, the children attentively sing along in Warlpiri to <a href="http://brdu.weebly.com/song-lyrics.html">Marlu Witalpa</a> (Little Kangaroo). It’s a seemingly simple children’s song about a kangaroo looking for its mother. But with its complex expressions and traditional <a href="http://iltyemiltyem.com/sign/">hand signs</a>, it’s also an effective tool for learning.</p>
<p>Nancy has introduced generations of children to school routines, literacy, and early years knowledge and skills all in a language they understand: Warlpiri. At the same time, they learn oral English from another teacher in a staged curriculum. As they master some English language, they are introduced to English literacy.</p>
<h2>Learning in a language you understand</h2>
<p>This dual language approach is based on research showing that many concepts are best learned in the language that the learner understands.
And mastery in first language supports second language learning, <a href="http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/fostering-literacy-development-english-language-learners">success in literacy</a> and <a href="https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/goldenberg.pdf">academic achievement</a> in both languages. </p>
<p>Increasingly, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/070674371105600203">international</a> and Australian <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-010-9582-y">research</a> and <a href="http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/languages/framework-for-aboriginal-languages-and-torres-strait-islander-languages/rationale">policy</a> make strong links between recognition and use of first language and cultural knowledge, and student identity, wellbeing and education outcomes. </p>
<p>Teachers in Warlpiri-English and other bilingual schools, such as Yirrkala school, have long worked to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-25/indigenous-education-in-a-modern-world/8555368">innovatively blend traditional</a> and contemporary knowledge.</p>
<p>The overarching aim of this dual language focus is to provide young people with the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdCboHjkk5w">skills</a> they will need as bicultural adults in the modern world. This is relevant in sectors such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/joining-the-dots-indigenous-art-and-language-in-the-national-cultural-policy-12806">the arts</a>, <a href="http://www.indigenous.gov.au/news-and-media/stories/first-learning-country-students-graduate">land management</a>, <a href="https://www.naati.com.au/projects/indigenous-interpreting-project-iip/">interpreting</a> in legal and health settings and education, to name just a few.</p>
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<p>The importance of bilingual education was recognised more than 50 years ago when, in 1961, politician Kim Beazley Senior saw a classroom like Nancy’s at Hermannsburg school in central Australia, where children were learning in Arrernte and English.</p>
<p>The success of this classroom, compared with its English-only counterparts, inspired him. </p>
<p>Later, as education minister in the newly elected Whitlam government in 1972, he oversaw the launch of the Northern Territory Bilingual Education program. These early days and the decades that followed are documented in a new volume, <a href="http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789811020766">History of Bilingual Education in the Northern Territory</a>.</p>
<p>At its most ambitious in 1988, 24 remote schools had programs in English and 19 Aboriginal languages. Local people were directly involved in the education of their children, and champions for schooling in remote communities.</p>
<h2>Too few qualified Aboriginal teachers</h2>
<p>The schools desperately needed Aboriginal teachers, and training programs were developed through the establishment of Batchelor College and the School for Australian Linguistics (now combined as <a href="https://www.batchelor.edu.au/">Batchelor Institute for Indigenous Tertiary Education</a>). </p>
<p>Many Aboriginal people, like Nancy, often of the first or second generation in their families to attend school, were supported by their school and the department to obtain professional qualifications and leadership opportunities. </p>
<p>These opportunities were provided by combinations of in-community on-the-job learning, intensive courses at Batchelor College, and support from travelling Batchelor College lecturers.</p>
<p>However, in the intervening years, changes to accreditation regimes and changes to Batchelor College funding have meant that these opportunities are now rarely available to Indigenous people in remote communities. </p>
<p>Sadly, there are fewer qualified Aboriginal teachers in remote Australia today than in the 1980s.</p>
<h2>Team work</h2>
<p>Indigenous teachers worked side by side with non-Indigenous teachers in bilingual teaching teams. This required professional development in the skills of team teaching, and teaching English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EALD).</p>
<p>Non-local teachers were trained, supported on the job and/or accessed professional learning in these skills. </p>
<p>This support was not only essential for young non-local teachers to acquire these skills, it also provided them with social and intellectual support that helped them stay longer on communities. </p>
<p>The need for trained English language teachers and structured EALD programs in remote schools has been raised in virtually every report since the 1990s. </p>
<p>The lack of these skilled professionals continues to hamper Aboriginal students’ learning English and <a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-are-we-making-progress-on-indigenous-education-78253">academic success</a> across the Northern Territory.</p>
<h2>Bilingual language approach creates jobs</h2>
<p>The dual language focus created jobs in remote communities, not just in teaching.</p>
<p>With a great need for written materials to support the program, Literacy Production Centres were established, with a prodigious output of books. These included fiction, history, science and reference works in Aboriginal languages. Recently much of this has been made digitally available in the <a href="http://www.cdu.edu.au/laal/">Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages</a>.</p>
<p>Despite efforts to promote the dual language focus and its importance to communities, it remained controversial, and subject to shifts in policy and resourcing. Ideological disagreements often drowned out evidence and the opportunity to review and improve practice.</p>
<h2>Importance of community involvement</h2>
<p>While much has changed since 1972, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/19290693/WHY_LOCAL_STAFF_MATTER_IN_VERY_REMOTE_SCHOOLS">recent research shows</a> the continued importance of community involvement in schools. </p>
<p>Now in 2017, the Northern Territory Education Department is <a href="https://education.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/382499/DiscussionPaper-Keeping-Indigenous-Languages-and-Culture-Strong.pdf">preparing policy</a> and developing curriculum for teaching Aboriginal languages, including the remaining bilingual programs, based on the new National Curriculum. </p>
<p>These moves recognise the value of Aboriginal languages in education and employment.</p>
<p>But policy and curriculum on their own are not enough. Aboriginal classrooms need more Nancy Oldfields, more trained teachers from their own communities who speak their own languages. The Western Australian <a href="http://www.det.wa.edu.au/curriculumsupport/detcms/school-support-programs/curriculum-support/news-items/expressions-of-interest-for-2017-aboriginal-languages-teacher-training.en">Department of Education</a> has a practical and innovative model to achieve this. </p>
<p>Classrooms need more trained teachers who are skilled in teaching oral and written English to children who speak other languages. And they need these teachers to be skilled in working together as professional teams. </p>
<p>This is where Australia needs to invest in <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/are-we-making-progress-on-indigenous-education-39329">Aboriginal education</a> - in teacher education, professional learning and team-teaching, and excellence in languages education.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>• <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/are-we-making-progress-on-indigenous-education-39329">Read more articles</a> in this series.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79435/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Disbray is a Research Fellow with the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, ANU, and is associated with the Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University.
She is co-editor of History of Bilingual Education in the Northern Territory along with Brian and Nancy Devlin, both of Charles Darwin University.
This work was funded in part by the Remote Education Systems Project, Co-operative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation <a href="https://crc-rep.com/remote-education-systems">https://crc-rep.com/remote-education-systems</a>
</span></em></p>Research shows many concepts are best learned in the language that the learner understands.Samantha Disbray, Senior linguistics researcher, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/574702016-04-15T09:58:19Z2016-04-15T09:58:19ZWhy the baby brain can learn two languages at the same time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/118779/original/image-20160414-2657-1bqrolz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How do babies learn language?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/irenezaccari/5745450917/in/photolist-9KGWoz-5HCfUn-8xGzdH-ep8c1D-avPTiY-4Ee9zx-dPamP3-58ijVf-5ww1yt-7jNyZd-dbSvBo-ep8dMt-5zXSmc-7WW7qS-af3eH8-dfqMuf-8Pby5A-dGrrzV-5e1poT-eMhKvD-8P9xQD-5wAkxE-gNvtw-6mmzW-iwU32-9strtj-7uhncG-bE9jtV-K4REY-4DBWKx-4ApiAq-avMcyx-kppiR-6SJRi5-98ev41-bB6FQH-3qStoQ-5ww2zH-4d9mPa-bEUUvt-iSSkb2-6KtqdV-8GECBK-jxbaJT-8E8pA3-28KzW-4CdpT8-xoLyo-4VCHfq-bsEoPd">Irene Zaccari</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Any adult who has attempted to learn a foreign language can attest to how difficult and confusing it can be. So when a three-year-old growing up in a bilingual household inserts Spanish words into his English sentences, conventional wisdom assumes that he is confusing the two languages. </p>
<p>Research shows that <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0305000900009971">this is not the case</a>. </p>
<p>In fact, early childhood is the best possible time <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0010028589900030">to learn a second language</a>. Children who experience two languages from birth typically become native speakers of both, while adults often struggle with second language learning and <a href="http://www.jimflege.com/files/Flege_Yeni-Komshian_age_constraints_JML_1999.pdf">rarely attain native-like fluency</a>.</p>
<p>But the question remains: is it confusing for babies to learn two languages simultaneously? </p>
<h2>When do babies learn language?</h2>
<p>Research shows babies begin to learn language sounds before they’re even born. In the womb, a mother’s voice is <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/02646839308403210">one of the most prominent sounds</a> an unborn baby hears. By the time they’re born, newborns can not only tell the difference between their <a href="http://ilabs.uw.edu/sites/default/files/2012%20Moon%20et%20al.pdf">mother’s language and another language</a>, but also show a capability of distinguishing between languages. </p>
<p>Language learning depends on the processing of sounds. All the world’s languages put together comprise about 800 or so sounds. Each language uses only about 40 language sounds, or “phonemes,” which distinguish one language from another. </p>
<p>At birth, the baby brain has an unusual gift: <a href="http://ilabs.washington.edu/kuhl/pdf/Kuhl_2004.pdf">it can tell the difference</a> between all 800 sounds. This means that at this stage infants can learn any language that they’re exposed to. Gradually babies figure out which sounds they are hearing the most. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/118758/original/image-20160414-2614-crlwdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/118758/original/image-20160414-2614-crlwdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118758/original/image-20160414-2614-crlwdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118758/original/image-20160414-2614-crlwdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118758/original/image-20160414-2614-crlwdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118758/original/image-20160414-2614-crlwdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118758/original/image-20160414-2614-crlwdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Babies learn to recognize their mother’s voice even before they are born.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmichaelmayer/6870462134/in/photolist-bt7V2G-ftLq75-9msoye-bBpW47-27cLW-aKYRr4-aKZ8ir-nYXrSb-nRUnCD-cZuumC-qAhU8p-9oCvkd-beq3a4-nVtnQg-nobq41-99xQRx-bepVh2-4qJdSM-ftKEtN-9byCMj-bnMnsm-cr3bnj-98H9Fs-ftvVLZ-6V3L7U-eS7mU7-6YvUB9-Gztnk-7UMtfq-cUkPvW-8WSZdS-a8bUKC-a8cUAh-7V7nzX-9Gk5W-9mMQew-4nyXMB-eVrXTA-5RHTcg-98CNew-7CUQZV-6FeB8-9XeMNS-7VaqUQ-639Vik-Pd3P1-9buGpR-cZutFw-8YqdT2-9cFt6F">John Mayer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Between six and 12 months, infants who grow up in monolingual households become more specialized in the subset of sounds in their native language. In other words, they become <a href="http://ilabs.washington.edu/kuhl/pdf/Kuhl_etal_2006.pdf">“native language specialists.”</a> And, by their first birthdays, monolingual infants begin to lose their ability to hear the differences between foreign language sounds.</p>
<h2>Studying baby brains</h2>
<p>What about those babies who hear two languages from birth? Can a baby brain specialize in two languages? If so, how is this process different then specializing in a single language? </p>
<p>Knowing how the baby brain learns one versus two languages is important for understanding the developmental milestones in learning to speak. For example, parents of bilingual children often wonder what is and isn’t typical or expected, or how their child will differ from those children who are learning a single language. </p>
<p>My collaborators and I recently studied the brain processing of language sounds in 11-month-old babies from monolingual (English only) and bilingual (Spanish-English) homes. We used a completely noninvasive technology called <a href="http://ilabs.washington.edu/what-magnetoencephalography-meg">magnetoencephalography (MEG)</a>, which precisely pinpointed the timing and the location of activity in the brain as the babies listened to Spanish and English syllables. </p>
<p>We found some <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12427">key differences</a> between infants raised in monolingual versus bilingual homes. </p>
<p>At 11 months of age, just before most babies begin to say their first words, the brain recordings revealed that:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Babies from monolingual English households are specialized to process the sounds of English, and not the sounds of Spanish, an unfamiliar language</p></li>
<li><p>Babies from bilingual Spanish-English households are specialized to process the sounds of both languages, Spanish and English. </p></li>
</ul>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TAYhj-gekqw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Here’s a video summarizing our study.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our findings show that babies’ brains become tuned to whatever language or languages they hear from their caregivers. A monolingual brain becomes tuned to the sounds of one language, and a bilingual brain becomes tuned to the sounds of two languages. By 11 months of age, the activity in the baby brain <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12427">reflects the language or languages</a> that they have been exposed to. </p>
<h2>Is it OK to learn two languages?</h2>
<p>This has important implications. Parents of monolingual and bilingual children alike are eager for their little ones to utter the first words. It’s an exciting time to learn more about what the baby is thinking. However, a common concern, especially for bilingual parents, is that their child is not learning fast enough. </p>
<p>We found that the bilingual babies showed an equally strong brain response to English sounds as the monolingual babies. This suggests that bilingual babies were learning English at the same rate as the monolingual babies. </p>
<p>Parents of bilingual children also worry that their children will not know as many words as children who are raised with one language. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/118805/original/image-20160414-2625-15xpgjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/118805/original/image-20160414-2625-15xpgjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118805/original/image-20160414-2625-15xpgjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118805/original/image-20160414-2625-15xpgjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118805/original/image-20160414-2625-15xpgjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118805/original/image-20160414-2625-15xpgjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118805/original/image-20160414-2625-15xpgjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bilingualism does not cause confusion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jakeliefer/306499266/in/photolist-t5Ty7-vitzc-3gnsd1-4XbYKT-aCoK3V-85woV7-bTqBk4-FUfJgo-5H9ZoV-7DEWgo-23vBn-fWcNXJ-hLeWWR-aapvN1-avtvd6-nB6EUJ-6HBwHF-9jPJvJ-avw6kN-Grwiv-7q1rWt-7B53ex-4VwK6v-b3ijHR-gfike-eWuRLy-vitzz-9ycGeQ-iiEtM-7iY76g-57b8Us-2cy4dp-aLD3GP-og4UjY-9gY7HA-avw4YW-daxohx-i2SsC-atMpUm-avwcg3-bMaKsD-aoZQ5X-57b7C5-4rYnE4-6RXGUZ-8Rzozd-o5X91S-x4imX-dTuGgX-ad6Hv9">jakeliefer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To some extent, this concern is valid. Bilingual infants split their time between two languages, and thus, on average, hear fewer words in each. However, studies consistently show that bilingual children <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0305000910000759">do not lag behind</a> when both languages are considered. </p>
<p>Vocabulary sizes of bilingual children, when combined across both languages, have been <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24297614">found to be equal to or greater than</a> those of monolingual children. </p>
<p>Another common concern is that bilingualism causes confusion. Part of this concern arises due to “code switching,” a speaking behavior in which bilinguals combine both languages. </p>
<p>For example, my four-year-old son, who speaks English, Spanish, and Slovene, goes as far as using the Slovene endings on Spanish and English words. Research shows bilingual children code-switch because <a href="http://www.psych.mcgill.ca/perpg/fac/genesee/11.pdf">bilingual adults around them do too</a>. Code-switching in bilingual adults and children is <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=63647&fileId=S1366728900000365">rule-governed</a>, not haphazard. </p>
<p>Unlike monolingual children, bilingual children have another language from which they <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=37003&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0305000999003852">can easily borrow</a> if they can’t quickly retrieve the appropriate word in one language. Even two-year-olds modulate their language <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0142716400008183">to match the language</a> used by their interlocutor. </p>
<p>Researchers have shown code switching to be part of a bilingual child’s normal language development. And it could even be the beginning of what gives them the extra cognitive prowess known as the “bilingual advantage.”</p>
<h2>Bilingual kids are at an advantage</h2>
<p>The good news is young children all around the world can and do acquire two languages simultaneously. In fact, in many parts of the world, being bilingual is the norm rather than an exception.</p>
<p>It is now understood that the constant need to shift attention between languages leads to several cognitive advantages. Research has found that bilingual adults and children show an
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4341987/">improved executive functioning</a> of the brain – that is, they are able to shift attention, switch between tasks and solve problems more easily. Bilinguals have also been found to have <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2007.00412.x">increased metalinguistic skills</a> (the ability to think about language per se, and understand how it works). There is evidence that being bilingual makes the learning of a third language <a href="http://www.bilingualism.northwestern.edu/bilingualism-psycholinguistics/files/KMjeplmc2009.pdf">easier</a>. Further, the accumulating effect of dual language experience is thought to translate into protective effects against <a href="http://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181fc2a1c">cognitive decline with aging</a> and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. </p>
<p>So, if you want your child to know more than one language, it’s best to start at an early age, before she even starts speaking her first language. It won’t confuse your child, and it could even give her a boost in other forms of cognition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57470/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research described here was supported by the National Science Foundation Science of Learning Center Program grant to the UW LIFE Center (P.K.K., PI: Grant No. SMA-0835854), the Ready Mind Project at the UW Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, and the Washington State Life Science Discovery Fund (LSDF).</span></em></p>Research shows babies begin to learn language sounds before they’re even born. What about babies who hear two languages from birth? Can a baby brain specialize in two languages?Naja Ferjan Ramirez, Research Scientist, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.