Windesheim Early English

Bilingual education in a linguistically homogeneous environment. by Carly Klein The Netherlands

Programme  Acquiring mother tongue, a second or third language, how?  Bilingualism, advantages (and disadvantages) of bilingual education  Language acquisition, successive or simultaneous

Acquiring mother tongue, a second or third language, how?

Mother Tongue Input influences sound perception/observation < 6 months universal reacts to sounds from different languages > 6 monthsspecific language reacts to own sound system

First years of a child’s life  Learning development of memory  Language inputfeeding the memory  Both vocabulary, grammar, rules of a language

Stimulating language use  Listen first to the child and then use this information for communication  Expanding meaning of words  Modelling and correcting of words  Reading  Singing

What you should not do!  Have children repeat what you say.  Have children name some objects e.g. in a book

Bilingualism, advantages (and disadvantages) of bilingual education

What is bilingualism?  The use of more than one language  The ability to communicate naturally and fluently in more than one language in all areas of life (Somewhere in between this we want to see our children, this development is a process)

Benefits of bilingualism  Communication advantages: it helps building relationships  Cultural advantages: a broader cultural understanding  Cognitive advantages: it supports cognitive flexibility  Personal advantages: it raises self esteem

Language acquisition, successive or simultaneous

Bilingualism Simultaneous language acquisition 0-7 years of age: 2 languages at the same time law of Grammont Successive language acquisition >10 years of age:learning a 2 nd language Cummins hypothesis (Iceberg)

Simultaneous language acquisition  0-7 years of age  2 or more languages on offer  Spontaneous process  No language/grammar/pronunciation lessons  Reading, rhyming, singing, naming

Law of Grammont  Each parent should speak his/her own language  Clear situation  Clear moment

Successive language acquisition  > 10 years of age  Translation process  Thinking process

Cummins hypothesis (Iceberg theory) The theory is that the second language will make use of the first language, the mother tongue. For this the level and skills of the first language are essential.

Research in Brussels  Positive results of bilingualism can be seen on brainscans. Researchers gave children simple assignments. The scans show a significant difference between monolinguals and bilinguals.  Brains of the monolinguals show a clear effort, while the brain of bilinguals show no effort at all. The brain activity of children who attend bilingual schools lies somewhere in between those extremes.  This proves that bilingualism has a favourable effect on the brain capacity.

All in all: Bilingualism is worthwhile when:  offered spontaneously  taught by the same person  situated at clear moments  taught by qualified teachers

Just do it!