Emergent bilinguals in a digital world: a dynamic analysis of long-term L2 development in (pre)primary school children

In this study, I present dense, longitudinal data exploring the insights that a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) perspective can bring to bear on patterns of relationships found between learner individual differences – notably age of onset (AO) and extracurricular L2 English use – in children in (pre)primary programs in Switzerland. We studied 71 children who had received 50/50 bilingual instruction in German and English (so-called “partial CLIL” programs) as well as 105 children in “minimal CLIL” programs with almost uniquely monolingual German instruction (90% German, 10% English). In the data analysis, (1) generalized additive mixed modeling (GAMM) was combined with (2) mixed-effects regression modeling. The findings show that AO may exert an effect on L2 performance in bilingual but not traditional instructional settings. Furthermore, contact with English outside school is a strong predictor for learner outcome, regardless of the intensity of instruction and an early or late start respectively. We conclude that the traditional view of the age factor in instructional settings needs to give way to a new understanding of L2 development in intensive exposure conditions, in which age of acquisition is seen as a major determinant.

About the INTER and the INTRA in age-related research: Evidence from a longitudinal CLIL study with dense time serial measurements

This is the first longitudinal study to explore the best time and timing for regular versus bilingual language exposure in (pre)primary programs, using multiple measures over time so as to focus on fluctuations, trends and interactions in individual data as well as intra-individual variation over time. We studied children who had received 50/50 bilingual instruction in German and English (so-called ‘partial CLIL’ programs) as well as children in ‘minimal CLIL’ programs with almost uniquely monolingual German instruction (90% German, 10% English). Results show that, like other individual differences (ID) variables, the age factor behaves like a dynamic entity that changes over time and affects L2 literacy development differentially at different times. Furthermore, while an early age of first bilingual language exposure has no effect on the L2 development for the children in the minimal CLIL program, early-AO bilinguals in the partial CLIL program (age of first exposure 5) outperform the older-AO bilingual group (age of first exposure 7 and 9) in terms of accuracy and (syntactic and morphological) complexity but not in terms of lexical richness and fluency.

Prospects and Challenges of Dynamic Bilingual Education in the Light of Pakistan’s Language Policy

This research investigates challenges and prospects of the dynamic, bilingual education in the light of Pakistan’s language policy. It guides language policymakers to adopt the dynamic, bilingual policy in Pakistan’s education system. However, the researcher revealed that most of the participants willingly favored and practiced the dynamic model of bilingual instruction, but there is no formal policy guide for them. The employment of this education model is valid and feasible in both theory and practice. Besides, readers and policymakers through this research paper would come to know that the dynamic, bilingual education improves students’ socio-cognitive, linguistic performance and functional biliteracy through translanguaging and multimodalities. The issue of monoglossic separation of languages in Pakistan is yet to be solved. Furthermore, the researcher used qualitative, empirical methodology to do analysis and employed open-ended questionnaires to collect data. The researcher used purposive sampling to collect data from sixteen respondents. Additionally, findings show that the subtractive language policy, linguistic politics, the power elite’s monolingualism, parents’ obsession with English, and students’ negative attitudes are challenges to the dynamic, bilingual education. In contrast, Pakistan’s multi-lingual reality along with translingual practices, the use of multimodalities, students’ multi-lingual repertoire, functional biliteracy, and transcultural interaction are some of the prospects of the dynamic, bilingual education policy in Pakistan. Thus, there are both challenges and prospects of the dynamic, bilingual education policy in Pakistan.

Bilingual Education vs English-only Approach at Australia’s Northern Territory Schools

The present library research highlights the “English-only” approach used in the Aboriginal classrooms in Northern Territory (NT) schools, Australia. This library study collects its data from five decades (1968-2018) of research and theorisation on the implementation of English instruction at Indigenous classrooms in Australia by referring to the changes of approaches from bilingual instruction policy to the current “English-only” approach. The writer then reports the problems occurred in the implementation of this approach in the specific classroom interaction. Factors like socio-cultural gap and dysfunctional discourse were found to be influencing the ineffective English-only classroom in the NT schools. What alternatives may have been tried in the Northern territory schools and to what degree of success?

A new era for bilingual education in California

In 2016, California voters overturned a 1998 law that curtailed bilingual instruction throughout the state. After nearly 20 years of “English only” programs, what will it take to restore the schools’ capacity to provide a broader range of services to English Learners, including dual language immersion and other forms of bilingual instruction?

The Editor’s Note: A love-hate affair with language

Debates about children’s language development, bilingual instruction, and foreign language instruction have swung back and forth, with many of the same arguments being made across the decades. Yet new research continues to inform our understandings of language and how best to use it and instruct students in its use. Rafael Heller encourages Kappan readers to consider how they and others use language.

EDUCATIONAL ISSUE IN THE ACTIVITIES OF JEWISH PARLIAMENTARIANS IN THE LEGISLATIVE SEJM OF THE POLISH STATE (1919–1922)

Jewish ambassadors' activities in the Legislative Sejm (1919–1922) aimed at protecting and developing national schooling are analyzed. Emphasis is placed on Jewish deputies defending their voters' educational rights during parliamentary speeches, political debates, submissions, and interpellations. The ambassadors raised such important educational issues as the adoption of educational legislation agreed with national minorities, the development of non-Polish educational institutions of all types, the "utraquisition" and liquidation of minority schooling, and the persecution of Jewish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and German teachers. There are differences in Jewish ambassadors' views on the interpretation of the place of Jews in Poland, approaches to determine the role of religion in education, the national language, and the medium of instruction in educational institutions (Yiddish, Hebrew, Polish). Such differences partially hindered the consolidated activities of Jews to protect the educational rights of their people. It is noted that some of the parliamentarians supported the development of schools with Hebrew as the medium of instruction, others - Yiddish. At the same time, some advocated for religious schools and the rest for secular ones. Despite the lack of a unified vision of solving the educational issue among Jewish politics, Jewish parliamentarians, getting the support of German deputies and representatives of Polish left-wing political parties, used the parliamentary platform to protect the educational interests of electors. They joined in providing Jews with fundamental rights guaranteed by domestic law and international agreements, as well as in expanding the network of schools with Yiddish, Hebrew, or bilingual instruction.

The Impact of the Spanish-to-English Proficiency Shift on the Grammaticality of English Learners

Purpose The general aim of this study is to enhance our understanding of the patterns of language growth in Spanish and English during the school years. In this study, we used a longitudinal retrospective approach to explore the growth of the percentage of grammatical utterances (PGU) in both Spanish and English in 2 groups of English learners (ELs): ELs attending English-only instruction and ELs attending Spanish–English bilingual instruction. Method The participants included 1,080 ELs. ELs produced at least 3 story retells in both Spanish and English between kindergarten and 2nd grade. All stories were transcribed and coded for errors, and PGU was calculated for each story. Results At the onset of the study, children showed higher PGU in Spanish and lower PGU in English. Growth curve analysis indicated that PGU in English improved over time, whereas PGU in Spanish declined in both instructional groups. However, those children who were in bilingual programs showed a slower rate of decline in Spanish PGU and a slower rate of improvement in English PGU. By the age of 9 years, children in English-only programs had approximately a Spanish PGU of 65% in Spanish, whereas children in bilingual instruction had an average Spanish PGU of 80%. The improvement in English PGU was steady with a small difference in the rate of growth benefiting children in English-only programs. Conclusion The results of this study document a shift in language proficiency from Spanish to English during the school years. This study offers evidence of a temporary period of relatively low grammaticality in both languages that seems to be the result of a shift in proficiency from Spanish to English.