2012 tesol seminar 1: growing up bilingual in multicultural urban australia: a bilingual approach to...
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Bilingualism and languages learning in Australian schools:
A bilingual approach to exploring issues and implications in TESOL
Dr Criss Jones DíazUniversity of Western Sydney
Saturday, 17h March: UTS, SydneyTESOL
The role of L1 and L2 in learning.
OverviewThe global cultural, social and economic context of languages.
Globalisation of English
Benefits of being bilingual
Languages as cultural and social capital
Subtractive bilingualism and its impact on bilingual children
Findings from research (Jones Diaz, 2007) investigating
– Children’s experiences of and perspective in being bilingual and learning languages
– Dispositions of learning
What is globalisation?The globalising of cultural, social and economic systems for the benefit of trade, commerce consumerismThe global articulation of technology, free trade, open markets, consumerismProfit making agendasCommunication and information technologiesPower relations that exist between nation states in our society are directly linked to modes of production, trade, commerce and media that operate at global levels (Tierney 2004, Robinson & Jones Díaz 2006)
Globalisation of English
English as a global language
Constituted in modes of production are communication and media technologies
These technologies are dominated by the English language English has generated most of its power within the last 50 years (Christie, 1997; Pennycook 1998)
English as a global language
English is the 2nd most widely spoken language in the world5 4% of the world’s population speak English (Nettle & Romaine, 2000)
English has not become a powerful language because of inherent linguistic / grammatical features. Or because of the numbers that speak itIts dominance is due to the political, economic and military might of the nation states that adopt it as their official language (Crystal, 1997)
Its popularity is due to the social, cultural and economic power yielded through its use
English as a global languageAnglo-phone countries, i.e. U.S & Britain are able to dominate global communication technologies, finance, trade and means of production and they have ‘considerable power relative to those that do not control these resources’ (Singh, 2002, p. 17). - ‘Different languages have different political rights, which are not
depending on an inherent linguistic trait but on the social structures and power relations that exist between speakers of the different languages’ (Skuttnabb-Kangas 1988, pg, 41)
As a consequence - English-only policies in education have emerged in the US, Britain and Australia (Crystal, 2000; Gutierréz, Baquedano-Lopez & Asato, 2000). Examples:- Dismantling of Indigenous language programs in the Northern
Territory and Bilingual Programs in California in 1991.- Legislation in California in 1998 led to dismantling of bilingual
programs in schools.- Limited funding allocations to CL schools and programs- No mandatory policy of languages support in prior-to-school
settings
Impact of globalisation on Indigenous and minority languages
Within a context of globalising English, language still remains a significant marker of identity (Robinson & Jones Díaz, 2006) Questions of identity are linked to how we understand ourselves and others. This has political, social and cultural consequencesThere are more bilinguals in the world then monolinguals. - Monolinguals represents a small but powerful minority - They can function at all levels of society through the medium of
their home language and have never been forced to learn another language
Disappearance of languages remain a serious threat to the diversity of cultures and identities. Of the 5,000 – 6,000 languages spoken in the world, half these languages will be extinct by the next century (Nettle & Romaine, 2000).Language loss/language shift
- Sudden: Environmental disaster or genocide- Gradual: Intergenerational loss or subtractive bilingualism
Being bilingual builds cultural and linguistic capital
Bilingual children have diverse linguistic and cultural knowledge, skills, resources & potential Cultural & linguistic capital (Bourdieu, 1990, 1991)
- Human resources that have value within a social context (field)- Human activity is understood as exchanges that occur within an
social and cultural practices which can yield or not yield material and symbolic ‘profits’ (Bourdieu, 1990, 1991; Olneck, 2000).
Cognitive, social & linguistic gains from being bilingual are linked to
- self esteem & cultural identity- socio cultural knowledge- cognitive and linguistic advantage- cultural diversity & difference
Being bilingual builds linguistic capital L1 facilitates L2 learning (Cummins, 1984, Skutnabb-
Kangas, 1979, Bialystok,1991). Interdependence Hypothesis (Cummins, 1993)
Positive transfer from the 1st language.
Partly dependent upon conceptual development and proficiency already achieved in the first language (Baker & Prys Jones 1998).
Visual, linguistic & cognitive strategies are transferred to 2nd language literacy
Early literacy development is enhanced by early bilingual experiences (Manyak, 2006).
Related to the three cueing systems: semantic, graphophonic and syntactic.
Three forms of cultural and linguistic capital (Bourdieu, 1990)
Embodied – Modes of interaction and expression, dialect, accent, body language and ways of knowing and reasoning. All become ‘embodied’ by the individual.
Objectified – Representational artefacts and cultural texts. Books, arts, music, drama, media etc.
Institutionalised – titles, qualifications and certificates. Authorised by institutions, which are legitimised by state, corporate and professional institutions.
Metalinguistic awarenessDíaz and Klinger (1991)
Knowing about language & how language works.Awareness of other languages.Ability to switch from one language to the other.Awareness of arbitrariness of labels attached to concepts
Meanings can be translated.Words can sound & look the same but have different meanings.(Hymophonemic awareness)Analytical thinking about language
Thinking task . . .Share with the person sitting next
to you different examples of how
your students exchange the various
forms of cultural & linguistic
capital through their home language
Subtractive bilingualism in Australia
Children learn the 2nd language at the expense of the 1st language (Cummins, 1991; Wong-Fillmore, 1991)
Factors involved in subtractive bilingualism– loss of interest in speaking the home language– proficiency in English increases– early exposure to English-only prior-to-school
and early years education– home language is not valued– misinformation about bilingualism and biliteracy
Legitimacy of English at the expense of other languages
Languages other than English may not have ‘capital’ in an ‘English only’ setting
Bilingual children have the capital but if not valued it can be wrong currency
Depends on the exchange rate of the home language
Not all children enter prior-to-school and school settings with identical configurations of capital
Legitimacy of English at the expense of other languages
Distribution of capital is connected to the use of languages in different types of social contexts/fields- Bilingual children move across different social
fields/sites, i.e. day care, school, church, community events, extended family
- Capital must be activated in a social field in order for it to have value.
Not all social fields give currency to linguistic capital- Exchange for other forms of cultural/linguistic capital, i.e.
EnglishBilingual children ‘cash in’ their home language in exchange for English. - Language shift and/or subtractive bilingualismMonolingual and monocultural pedagogies sustain and legitimise this process
Habitus (Bourdieu 1990)
Individual’s disposition, practices and behavioursthat make use of capital in any given social field.
Habitus is formed by: The values and dispositions gained from our cultural history.The result of social and cultural conditions within which they are acquired.Dispositions that are durable and transposable and stay with us across contexts.The ability to respond to cultural norms but are largely determined & regulated by where we are located in a culture.
Habitus operates momentarily through social practice on a partial level of unconsciousness and consciousness. It is
“a feel for the game”. (Bourdieu, 1990, p. 66)
Shaping the habitus for languages learning
Bilingual children’s views of their language shape a negative or positive habitus towards their home languageWhen children are encouraged to speak their home language this fosters positive experiences with and dispositions towards the use of their languageWords used by the children to describe their feelings about using Spanish (Jones Diaz, 2007)
happy, free, good, normal, fun, great, smart, proud and confident weird, crazy and different
Children’s experiences of and perspective in being bilingual and learning languagesDiego and Ariel compared their learning of Spanish with learning Japanese and Chinese: C: Is it a similar kind of feeling, experience?D: When you’re learning Spanish?C: Yeah. To learning Spanish, when you are learning Chinese or Japanese?D: No because you’re learning a different language.C: What about, what do you think Ariel?A: I think Spanish is easier, it’s your culture and you’re mostly used to it.D: >>> and you’re learning a whole different culture..C: >>> So is it a lot harder?D: >>> and your parents are not gonna speak it and none
of your relatives .
The connection between identity and habitus is found in systems of dispositions
For both boys the use of Spanish in their homes provided them with a sense of cultural history which gave meaning to their cultural practices
For Diego & Ariel, Japanese and Chinese were not part of their cultural history, they systems of past dispositions, and consequently these languages did not have the same connection or legitimacy
Ariel’s disposition of familiarity, ‘you’re mostly used to it’.Connections between cultural history and disposition. For these boys there was a strong sense of history constituted in their dispositions of past and familiar experiences with their experiences of using Spanish at home
The conversation continues …
R: So what do you mean, it’s your culture, it’s easier?A: You got the knowledge and Spanish is in your >>>D: >>> you got Spanish in your blood. You got the knowledge.
So it’s easierR: Oh right. So what do you mean, you got the knowledge?A: You already know it and you have been raised by >>>D: >>> by Spanish people, so you’ve heard them talking.
Habitus operates as collective and individual expression of cultural history.The individual habitus tends to represent and manifest many group-specific characteristics and is a variant of a collective root.For Diego and Ariel, this variant is found in their individual and different trajectories in learning to speak Spanish. Their shared history and similar dispositions suggests a common ground upon which their close friendship was based.
ReferencesBaker, C., & Prys Jones, S. (Eds.). (1998). Encyclopedia of bilingualism and
bilingual education. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Bialystok, E. (1991) Metalinguistic dimensions of bilingual language proficiency. In
E. Bialystok (Ed.), Language processing in bilingual children (pp.113–140) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1990) The logic of practice trans. R. Nice, Polity Press: CambridgeBourdieu, P. (1991) Outline of a theory of practice trans. R. Nice, Polity Press:
CambridgeCrystal, D. (2000) English as a global language, Cambridge: CUPCummins, J. (1993) Cummins, J. (1993). Bilingualism and second language
learning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 13, 51–70.Cummins, J. (1991) Interdependence of first and second language proficiency in
bilingual children, In Bialystok (ed) Language processing in bilingual children, CUP: Cambridge
Cummins, J. (1984). Wanted: A theoretical framework for relating language proficiency to academic achievement among bilingual students. In C. Rivera. (Ed.), Language proficiency and academic achievement. (pp. 2–19). Multilingual Matters: Clevedon.
Diaz, R. M. & C. Klinger. (1991). Towards an explanatory model of interactionbetween bilingualism and cognitive development. In E. Bialystok (Ed.),329 Language processing in bilingual children. Cambridge (pp. 167–192).Cambridge University Press.
Gutiérrez, K. D., Baquedano-López, P. & Asato, J. (2000). English for the children: The new literacy of the old world order. Language policy and educational reform. Bilingual Research Journal, 24(1 & 2), 87–216.
ReferencesJones Díaz, C. (2007) Intersections between language retention and identities
in young bilingual children. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Western Sydney
Tierney, W. G. (2004) Globalization and educational reform: The challenges ahead. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education 3(1) 5-20
Olneck, M. (2000) Can multicultural education change what counts as cultural capital? American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 37, (2), 317 – 348.
Robinson, K. H. & Jones Diaz, C. (2006 Diversity and difference in early childhood education: Issues for theory and practice, London: Open University Press
Manyak, P. C. (2006). Fostering biliteracy in a monolingual milieu: Reflections on two counter-hegemonic English immersion classes. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6(3), 241-266.
Nettle, D. & Romaine, S. ( 2000) Vanishing voices. The extension of the world’s languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Pennycook, A. (1998) English and the discourses of colonialism, London: RoutledgeSingh, M. G. (2002) The sustainability of the Earlth’s people and their cultures. Risks
and opportunities: the multilingual knowledge economy. Making Meaning in a World of Change, RMIT, 12 September.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1988). Multilingualism and the education of minority children. In T. Skutnabb-Kangas & J. Cummins (Eds.), Minority education: From shame to struggle. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Wong Fillmore, L. (1991) When learning a second language means losing the first. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 6: 323 - 346
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