Changing Perspectives on Celtic Bilingual Education

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Changing Perspectives on Celtic Bilingual
Education

• Colin Baker
• Bangor University

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Overview

• Introduction
• Four Perspectives on Bilingual Education
• A Contemporary View of Bilingual Education
• Child-Centred Bilingual Education
• Conclusion

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Introduction

• Bilingual Education is ambiguous
• To establish common ground where some, most
  or all curriculum content is learnt through more
  thanone language
• Bilingual has increasingly gained positive
  associations.

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Four Perspectives on Bilingual Education
Bilingual Education (BE) cannot be understood
from just an educational perspective. It
requires multidisciplinary perspectives 1.
Language Planning Perspective where BE is
often an essential production line for new
speakers when there is a shortfall in family
language reproduction. But there can be
over-optimism about the impact of schools on
producing language communities and new
speakers.
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2. Political Perspective Behind Bilingual
Education are debates about national
identity, dominance and control by elites and
counter elites, power relationships,
political and social cohesion, unity and
diversity. This relates to both minority
language education and where there are
immigrant languages.
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3. An Economic Perspective on Bilingual
Education is also valuable. Example Nadine
Dutchers (1995, 2004) research for the
World Bank suggests that Bilingual Education is
economically cost-efficient by providing
higher levels of achievement in fewer years
of study lower drop-out rates and creates a
more skilled workforce and less
unemployment.
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4. The Pedagogical Perspective on Bilingual
Education typically begins with a typology
immersion heritage language dual
language mainstream bilingual etc.
Typologies have limitations - static, many
variations within models - not about
processes nor provide explanations -
essentialist and reductionist ... and ... do not
capture variety (immigrant, indigenous,
immersion) that can occur within one
classroom It is more valuable to engage
the key language issues in Bilingual
Education on which pedagogic decisions are
needed.
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Ten Language Issues in Bilingual Education

• 1. Language(s) of children in the classroom -
  majority- indigenous minority- bilinguals from
  birth- international languages? A class may
  contain a mixture.
• 2. Language balance of the intake (e.g. majority
  / minority language) strategic or laissez-faire?
• 3. Language allocation in content teaching (e.g.
  science, mathematics). - developmental
  strategies across grades- hidden and
  non-curriculum use of languages-
  code-switching- scaffolding

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4. Language profile of ALL the staff
(competence, use, attitude) 5. Language of
curriculum resources especially electronic
(e.g. ICT, e-learning, WWW)6. Language aims,
targets, outcomes - bilingualism -
multilingualism - biliteracy -
employability - identity - community
integration - overall achievement of children
Bilingual Education is no guarantee of
effective schooling. Type of language learnt
at school is often academic not vernacular.
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7. Effectiveness of Bilingual Education
Research on Canadian Immersion and US Dual
Language schools used to market to parents,
public and politicians. The value of
Bilingual Education is not self-evident. We
have to market and persuade. 8. Defining the
role of English and other languages (e.g.
Spanish, Mandarin, French)
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9. The Role of Parents - Cultural Funds of
Knowledge - language partners -
homework 10. Teacher training, extended
professional development and teacher supply
are foundational.
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These four perspectives (language planning,
political, economic, pedagogic) are about
systems. We also need a fifth a child-centred
perspective.
Language planning, political, economic and
pedagogic perspectives on bilingual education do
not capture the humanist European tradition of
child-centeredness in education that is our
historical legacy, e.g. from Comenius, John
Locke, Rousseau, Pestalozzi , Froebel, Maria
Montessori.
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5th Perspective The Potential Advantages for
Children from Celtic Bilingual Education

• Communication - Two languages Twice the
  Choice- high levels of competence in both
  languages- bridging between language
  generations, groups and crossing language
  borders- increased social capital.
• Biliteracy / Multiliteracies - accessing
  different literatures, world-views, ways of
  thinking and acting enshrined in heritage and
  modern literacies.

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3. Biculturalism / Multiculturalism -
accessing more varied accumulated meanings and
widening understandings for different languages
4. Cognitive benefits- IQ, divergent and
creative thinking- sensitivity in communication,
metalinguistic advantages
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5. Character benefits - self esteem being
proud of switching languages- compare to olden
days of language repression- identity-
tolerance?
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6. Curriculum achievement - solid research
from U.S. on Dual Language Schools and Canadian
immersion- a growing European literature on the
superior performance of those in bilingual
education
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7. Learning a third or fourth language-
bilinguals appear to have advantages in new
language learning 8. Economic and Employment
advantages- increasing demand for bilinguals /
multilinguals wherever there is a customer
interface. Sometimes due to government
policy, sometimes to profit. Sometimes
essential, other times valued added e.g.
translation and interpretation.
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Conclusion US Dual Language Schools and
particularly Canadian Immersion Education have
the most prolific literature showing bilingual
education is typically preferable to monolingual
education. Bilingual education stands the chance
of giving a new generation of Celtic children
child-centred advantages
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Potential Advantages for Celtic Children from
Bilingual Education ommunication
ultural urriculum ognitive
haracter ash Therefore, is any child not
educated bilingually in Ireland being
disadvantaged?