- Charlemagne

To have another language is to possess

a second soul.

“BILINGUAL” What does that

mean?

Are you bilingual?

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Morgen!

Bonjour!

BILINGUALISM IS…“The ability to understand and use two (or more) languages in certain contexts and for certain purposes.”

- Carder (2007)

Now are you bilingual? How hard is it to “become bilingual”?

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SORRY!1. You’re in an important meeting. You’ve just drunk your

colleague’s coffee by mistake.

2. You didn’t hear what someone just said.

3. Your boss, who you get on with quite well has just asked you to stay till 9pm tonight.

4. You’re in a meeting and someone has just started to say something you completely disagree with.

5. You’re at the airport and you want to get past some people with your heavy bags.

6. You’ve just said something you didn’t mean to – nothing serious.

7. You’ve finally understood what someone has been trying to explain to you for ages.

8. You’ve forgotten – yet again – to give your partner an important message.

THE BIGGEST BILINGUALISM MYTH

Children are little sponges…. They just soak up languages!

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“JUST” LEARN THE LANGUAGE…

Language

Writing

Reading

Speaking

Listening

VocabVocab

Alphabet

Grammar

Spelling

Idioms

Style

Formality

Word order

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SO, WHY BOTHER?

Advantages for children

Long-term advantages

LINGUISTIC BENEFITS

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Communication Skills Linguistic sensitivity

Metalinguistic development

Phonetic Sensitivity Transfer to

additional L2 Accommodation

COGNITIVE BENEFITS

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Abstract thought Language as label

Rule discovery Creative thought

Meaning over form

I’m thinking…

SOCIAL BENEFITS

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Attitudes Language and

culture Behaviour

Increased social contact

Improved communicational efficiency

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11The Business Case for Bilingualism

Bilingualism offers

“huge advantages”

How being bilingual can boost your career

How the brain benefits from being bilingual

Being Bilingual “boosts brain power”

Why it pays to be bilingual

Bilingualism strengthens cognitive development

The Bilingual Businessman…

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BILINGUALISM OPENS DOORS Post-secondary

study Job opportunities Better pay

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THE “BILINGUAL ADVANTAGE” Concentration Multi-tasking Decision-making Focus Planning “Executive” skills Long-term brain

health

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MOVING FROM “WHY” TO “HOW”?

What is Bilingual Education (BE)?

Is there a “right” and “wrong” way to do it?

How can we best help our pupils progress?

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WHAT IS “BILINGUAL EDUCATION”?

“Immersion” Dual language Two-way language Content-based

instruction (CBI) CLIL How are CBI and

CLIL different?

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CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF BE (ABELLO CONTESSE &

EHLERS, 2010)

i. Use of two languages (L1 and L2) as a media of instruction in content areas of curriculum

ii. The progressive development of both languages within the school setting (additive bilingualism)

iii. The implementation of some kind of CBI

iv. Students’ overall academic achievement and cognitive development is considered in both languages

FACTORS INFLUENCING SUCCESS

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Language status Maintenance of

status in-home and at school

“Language in education” policy Additive bilingualism Subtractive

bilingualism Literacy

L1 L2

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO “BE BILINGUAL”?

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Conversational versus academic proficiency

BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills)

CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency)

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LANGUAGE DISTRIBUTION IN THE CLASSROOM

Strict rules? Time, place, subject,

person Planned integration Go with the flow…

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SO, HOW MUCH IS “ENOUGH”?

How much language input is necessary?

20%? 30-35%? How much are they

getting at school?

N Explain your

morning routine, without using the letter “n”

How did that feel?

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AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT…

TRAWSIEITHU

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TRANSLANGUAGING

(Lewis, Jones, Baker, 2013)

Integration of languages across learning contexts

Builds knowledge in stronger, transfers to weaker

Promotes cognitive development

Promotes deeper learning

Promotes learning of L2

“the planned and systematic use of

two languages inside the same

lesson by specifying and

varying languages of input and

output”

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ISN’T IT JUST… Laziness?

No, it’s the way a brain with two or more languages functions best

Code-switching? “pitloze” vs.

“lekker”

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WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM?

Preview-View-Review Preview in English

with vocabulary support

View in Dutch Review in English

(discussing, summarising etc.)

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TEACHING LANGUAGE; TEACHING CULTURE?

Sociolinguistics norms

Verbal patterns Pragmatics

How is English different than Dutch?

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WHAT ARE THE LIMITATIONS OF BE?

Type of input Formal vs. informal Instructional fluency

Type of fluency Academic Conversational

Level of fluency Where to go from

here?

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WHAT WE DON’T KNOW FOR CERTAIN

What is the “best” pattern of language distribution?

Exactly how much time is needed?

“Time on task”: quality over quantity effect

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WHAT WE DO KNOW “Inductive” vs.

“deductive” language learning

Focus on Forms Corrective feedback

“fossilisation” “Native-like”

proficiency

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DUAL LITERACY: BEST PRACTICE

L1 first Easier, more natural,

improves cognitive functioning and confidence

L2 second Transfer of skills When are they

“ready”

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THE CRITICAL ROLE OF PARENTS

What do parents need to know about bilingualism?

What can they do to support language development at home?

Additional input strategies

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TOP TIPS FOR TEACHER AND PARENTS

Consider cognitive development when planning activities

Integrate language learning across subjects

Plan carefully for literacy (age/timing)

Use languages dynamically to promote deeper learning

Pay attention to amount of input

Pay attention to type of input

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