Advice
Find out:
· Which language Molly experiences and when. You can ask the EAL teacher for a ‘language profile’ to help gather information about the different languages Molly uses and with whom. This includes which languages she experiences through reading, music and video.
· Which language is Molly’s strongest?
· Are Molly’s parents happy with her development in each language?
Advice:
· In short, no this isn’t too confusing.
· The brain has unlimited capacity for learning language (Learning in 2+ Languages) and is especially open to learning new languages in younger children. Research shows that learning more than one language from an early age has cognitive benefits.
· Where parents have different first languages as in this case, there are different approaches that the family can take. The important thing will be that they are consistent in their language use:
§ ‘one person, one language’ approach: In this method, when mum is alone with Molly she should use Portuguese. When dad is alone with Molly, he should use Italian. When mum and dad are with her, they should use whichever language they normally converse in together, in this case English. The important thing is that they are consistent. Molly will quickly learn when each language used and will be exposed to good models of both languages. Being fluent in two languages would provide an excellent foundation for her to acquire English (Cummins Common Underlying Proficiency)
§ Time and Place is where parents choose a time and or place to use each language. Again the key is to ensure consistency and to ensure there is plenty of input in each language.
§ Minority language at home is at it sounds, using the majority language (English) in the community and the minority language at home. This may not be practical in Molly’s case as her parents do not share the same first language.
· Encourage Molly’s parents that they are doing the right thing by introducing their home languages to Molly.
· Provide Molly’s parents with the Be Bilingual Leaflet (available in a range of languages from the Resources section) and point them to Baker’s Book if they are interested. A Parents' and Teachers' Guide to Bilingualism (Parents' and Teachers' Guides): Amazon.co.uk: Baker, Colin ISBN 978-1847690005
Further advice:
Learning in 2+ Languages Section 1 (Introduction to bilingualism)
Bilingual Families p38 (how does bilingualism develop at age 0-3?), P50 (how does bilingualism develop at age 0-3?)
Primary Teachers’ ALDO Course (EAL Training)
HGIOS Inclusion and Equality Series Part 4: EEPBL p20 (Examples of good practice)
See also:
· 2.7 – Partnerships
· 3.2 – Raising Attainment and Achievement (Positive effect on educational attainment for bilingual learners who develop both languages to an academic level)
UNCRC Article 29, 30
