Why is it important to maintain a family language ? Dr Robyn Moloney Macquarie University.

Jing-gee Walla. Ngalling-gah wandardan galla nganyah ngoymalair“hello”

(welcome to our learning place, where we speak our language)Bundjalung language, NSW

When I speak language, it makes me feel home” –

Roger Hart, elder and Cape York Guugu Yimithirr speaker

Overview

1. the young child and aspects of development through to adolescence

2. the benefits

3. maintain and enrich : provision in the community and home

Our Australian context

Prof Jo Lo Bianco “if language can be a source of inequality in

society so too are attitudes about language…very low levels of awareness exist about language in society generally”

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/australiatalks/stories/2009/2561613.htm

Your circumstance?

Your language(s)? Your goals for your child? To be able to understand? speak? To

read? To write ? Your own experience with learning English

or other languages?

Family language Community language Heritage language Spoken by parent or carer at home as first

language

Acknowledging the difficulty

Constant effort Power of English community, peer group What you want for your child Good days, bad days, weeks Hang in for long term results.

Early research and negative attitudes Detrimental, muddle,

retard progress, “no space”, unbalanced

1. Development

Young children Models Codeswitching Adolescence, heritage language learners

Development of bilingual babies

Normal and natural Differentiate and store Babbling is language specific Critical period Brain research

http://www.bilingualbaby.eu/real-stories/ondrej

Birth Decision There are very good objective answers to make your baby learn

two or three languages. A personal perspective may be useful for you when you make your decision about the languages that you baby will speak.

Age: 0 to 6 months Sadly I spent the first three months of my son's life working so

hard that I did not see him more than one hour each day…….. Age: 6 to 12 months Singing songs and waiting for the first word…….. Age: 1 year 6 months Language used by Ondra is not mixed and depends on who is

he speaking to. If child is ahead in one language Sometimes my son Ondrej is ahead in Czech, the language of

the surrounding environment (majority language). He may learn a word in Czech when I am not there, or I fail to notice and provide an English equivalent. This happened twice recently.

Development 2: models

Simultaneous OPOL Sequential Situational consistency Shifting balance of

L1/ L2 Sibling difference

Codeswitching

“Sometimes I'll start a sentence in Spanish y termino en español"

(Poplack, The Bilingualism Reader, 2000)

Sign of fluency, valuable linguistic tool

“I love you” …. “clean up your room!”

Factors in bilingualism in adolescents Literacy ability in HL ? Range of emotional expression to express

own identity and development ? HL vocabulary keeps pace with their

intellectual development?

Research on family languages in adolescence

Cognitive competence in the HL: lack of access to advanced and/or technical vocabulary in adolescence can influence learners development and speed in HL (Cummins, 1984)

Do not develop the full spectrum of sociolinguistic registers of the level of cognitive or academic literacy commanded by monolingual native speakers (Montrul, 2008)

English is used in social interactions with peers and siblings, the language for thinking and learning (Merino 1983)

Recognised at school level as heritage or

language speakers and learners Children with 1 or 2 parents who speak L2, Typical patterns, K-6 limited vocab and literacy adolescence- social factors Often limited literacy, need formal study:

become HL learners Need differentiation

One group of HLLs- scripted languages

Hatano (1995) & Nagaoka (1998): role of formal schooling in Japan: bilinguals outside Japan fail to acquire knowledge of Japanese writing system due to lack of sociocultural and institutional support

Oriyama (2001): tracked attrition of literacy in Japanese-English bilinguals aged 6-12 in Sydney and found minimal literacy compared to children schooled in Japanese

Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian HLLs limited literacy and script development, without

formal schooling in L2 country. Exclusion from Continuers course, criteria Exclusion from Background speakers Course

HSC, designed for full literacy No provision, “punished” for being brought up

bilingually; the right to study their language for the HSC?

Grass-roots action, collection of data:- Board of Studies creating new level of courses in these languages 2010

Research on benefits of bilingualism What are you hoping will be the benefits? Positive effects of L1 literacy on the

development of literacy in L2 (Cummins,2001)

Other?

Bilinguals are…?1. Superior in divergent , creative thinking2. Can relate stories well3. eat their vegetables4. See that language is arbitrary (object + label)5. May have greater reading readiness6. Always do their homework7. Have better communicative sensitivity8. Are better behaved9. Have cross-language transfer skills10. Have intercultural skills11. Show flexible critical thinking12. Can order in restaurants

Metalinguistic skills- quiz

Thinking implications New meanings, concepts, perspectives? Untranslatable differences Colours, emotions, social understandings Flexible and critical thinking

Benefits in summary Personal, emotional bond conceived in and through the

special nature of the culture as expressed in language, its stories, songs, rhymes, visual images.

Portraits of bilinguals- Andre Makine- Le Testament Francais

Conceptual: Different concepts, notions, sensitivities Intercultural competencies- ability, skills in moving

between two languages and two cultures developing an intercultural “third space”, from which the

child can make observations about both languages and cultures, both are visible and valued.

Cognitive:Divergent thinking,Creativity, Literacy, metalinguistic, Flexibility

3. maintenance, enrichment Speaking, listening, reading writing Some other speakers’ input or context? Other input: reading, DVDs, TV? other

speakers? Adolescence, reading at appropriate

interest level Non-fiction: reading for information - Maps,

atlases, websites for kids, news

In reading…

Students become independent learners and develop

strategies for listening, speaking, reading, writing and viewing

explore the rich diversity of the written and spoken forms of the language

appreciate cultural and social contexts in spoken and written forms of the language

Home literacy: the literature of the home language…..

transmits the culture behind the language captures our interest are a powerful didactic device (legends, moral

tales, folktales, fairy stories) appeal to different learning styles (visual,

auditory, kinaesthetic learners) contain rich language (rhyme, repetition,

description)

Presenting a story to stimulate thinking Focus on the cover of the book, discuss. The Title, Author, Discuss. Read the story, once, twice, more? The Pictures.

Discuss/Respond/Share/Identify

Some tips re reading

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjnl700HiVU

writing

Writing in 2 languages can be used as a tool for thinking

Children can read in one language and write about what they read, in the other language.

Use lived experience in one language to produce text in the other.

creating a new and bilingual text.

How about biliteracy?

Home literacy working with school literacy. www.multiliteracies.ca Year 4

“the development of biliteracy in individuals occurs along a continua in direct response to the contextual demands placed on individuals” (Hornberger, 1989, p. 281). Many different contexts, different degrees of achievement

accessing literacy practices in two or more languages can add more functions to a language, widen the choice of literature for enjoyment, give more opportunities for understanding different

perspectives and viewpoints, and lead to a deeper understanding of history and

heritage, or traditions and territory. (Baker,2006)

What is lost if we don’t maintain family languages?

Natalie is from the Philipinnes, and Tagalog was the family language. “I cannot speak Tagalog, because I was never taught it, I have never read or written in Tagalog. It is a great loss to our family that in one generation our native language of Tagalog has been lost”.

As a consequence of learning English in Singapore schools Santhi forgot how to speak Tamil. Her grandma came to visit and she could not communicate with her .

What is lost if we don’t maintain family languages?