Learning & Development: All about ... bilingualism

Photographs by Justin O'Hanlon at Kate Greenaway Children's Centre, London

Being comfortable with two or more languages is normal for most people in the world. Figures suggest that 70 per cent of the world's population live in two or more languages. Even in the British Isles, there has been a long historical tradition of English being used alongside other languages such as Welsh, Manx, Scottish/Irish Gaelic. And yet, there persists the misguided belief that being monolingual is normal - and good enough!

Children who have a language other than English as their first, are often viewed as a problem for early years settings. It is also true that some home languages are considered superior and more valuable than others. But all languages, including signing, are equally valid. The ability to use more than one should be acknowledged, not just as a skill in its own right but also a useful tool for supporting learning in general.

BENEFITS OF BILINGUALISM

Being bilingual has some significant benefits:

- meta-linguistic awareness - working in two languages at an early age raises awareness of the similarities and differences between languages and builds a natural understanding of 'how' language works

- cognitive flexibility - when you have a number of language systems to draw on, you get used to finding the right one to suit your purposes. This flexibility of thinking can be applied to other areas of learning, increasing the ability to solve problems using a variety of approaches

- social sensitivity - knowing which language to speak, when and to whom, develops an awareness and sensitivity in social situations that monolingual people may not develop to the same extent

- Research by Goldsmith's has shown that bilingual children achieve well when their first language is acknowledged, supported and developed alongside English, and that they often go on to outperform monolingual children (those who speak only English) in secondary school.

BENEFITS OF MULTILINGUAL LEARNING COMMUNITY

It's not just bilingual children who benefit from positive attitudes to their first language. We all have something to gain from being part of a polylingual/multilingual learning community.

- Being exposed to variety in the languages we hear and see written down helps build familiarity, reduces anxiety around languages and raises awareness of the different ways that people communicate.

- Learning songs, rhymes and simple vocabulary for daily routines and so on builds confidence and motivation for more language learning at a later stage.

- Recognition and acknowledgement of dialect, regional variations and accents helps build self-esteem and positive attitudes.

- Finding ways to ensure that everyone feels welcomed, included and informed encourages us to be sensitive and creative, as no one method of communication is sufficient for all.

ACCESS TO THE EYFS CURRICULUM

As early years practitioners working with bilingual children, we have three key responsibilities:

1. to maintain home languages

2. to support English acquisition

3. to ensure access to the curriculum

MAINTAINING HOME LANGUAGES

As well as being a key factor in the development of any additional languages, maintaining the home language is vitally important in supporting the identity and emotional well-being of a bilingual child.

Respect for the home languages of our children must go much deeper than vague tolerance and welcome posters. We need to have accurate information about the language backgrounds of our children and make sure that we are able to name accurately those languages that are unfamiliar to us.

Involving parents and other family members is essential, and the best way for practitioners to build up their knowledge of new languages.

GOOD PRACTICE POINTS

- Make sure you know the correct pronunciation of children's names (and those of their parents). Take time to get them right - it can make a world of difference to a child's sense of identity and self-esteem. Find out the special names they use for family members.

- Think about how languages and scripts other than English are represented around the setting. Multilingual posters and signs need to be meaningful and useful so that they are referred to often.

- Have lots of dual language books available and draw positive attention to the words and scripts within them.

- Enlist the help of parents in producing materials in home languages - for example, writing labels and notices; recording songs, rhymes and stories; words and phrases for practitioners to learn.

- Reassure parents that maintaining the first language builds a strong foundation for learning English and that they should continue to use home languages with their children. Remind them that research has found that not only do bilingual children achieve better when their first language is acknowledged, supported and developed alongside English, but that they often outperform monolingual children (those who speak only English).

- Ask parents for their opinion on their child's first language development, as this may have a bearing on future skills in English.

- Provide bilingual support wherever possible and encourage bilingual practitioners to share their knowledge and expertise with monolingual staff. Provide posters with prompt words (greetings/colours/numbers etc) around the room, and in particular near small-group areas, so that you can integrate them into conversations and stories. Challenge each other to learn a new phrase or song every week and support each other with practising and getting the pronunciation right.

ACQUISITION OF ENGLISH

Children learn language by hearing it and wanting to use it to communicate. There is nothing more important as a language learning resource than you, talking and listening to a child throughout the day in ways that help them make sense of what they are hearing.

There is no denying that there are particular challenges for those of us who only speak English. However, our knowledge and experience of early child development is what is important. For example, babies are pre-verbal, but we still have conversations with them. We don't stop talking to them because they can't talk back to us. A bilingual three-year-old isn't a baby, but we can utilise everything we know about whole body communication, expression and gesture to make ourselves understandable.

The important thing is to keep talking and use our professional skills to interpret and match our language to the child's thinking and development stage. This means paying attention to what we say and how we say it. Highscope and I CAN programmes, in particular, have provided us with many excellent strategies for understanding the role of adult talk in language development.

GOOD PRACTICE POINTS

Think about 'talk' and the many ways you use:

- spontaneous, conversational language - during care routines and mealtimes, to other adults as well as children

- natural repetition and patterned language - in stories (see box), games and routine times of the day

- eye contact, body language, facial expression, gesture and mime - to help understanding

- clear expression and pronunciation, varied pitch and tone - to help develop an understanding of the sound patterns of English

- self-talk - modelling language in context as you talk about what you are doing. This also validates a child's own self-talk

- parallel talk - commenting on what the child is doing while you play together. The language has meaning for the child because it concerns something they are interested in

- repeating - clarifying and acknowledging what the child has said. It supports their choice of words and encourages them to keep talking because they know you are interested

- modelling - teaching new structures or words in a meaningful context, spontaneously or as part of a game

- extending - using what the child has said and expanding the language, in a natural way

- restating - when they make an error, repeating back what they have said in a corrected form, but without drawing attention to the mistake. It is important to model standard language in a positive, non-punitive way that doesn't humiliate or prevent the child from wanting to rake risks with English.

- rephrasing - to demonstrate alternative ways of sharing the same ideas or messages

- patience - waiting expectantly for an answer rather than jumping in

- open-ended questions - this stimulates more language use, affirms children's ideas and encourages creative thinking

- allowing the child to be the teacher - learning new words and phrases from children provides validation for the child and their language. It builds confidence and a strong sense of competency in their own language skills.

- strategies to help you approach and engage with children's play, so that your interaction is appropriate and the talk is meaningful. Some of these are OWL - Observe, Wait, Listen; and SOUL - Silence, Observation, Understanding, Listening.

ENSURING ACCESS TO THE CURRICULUM

All of us learn our first language in the home. Surrounded by talkers, we hear language being used for real purposes, in meaningful contexts, and we are encouraged to join in and experiment with words and sounds. Exactly the same is needed for learning a second language.

Good early years settings provide the same 'meaningful contexts' - full of talking adults and children, using English for real purposes and alongside first-hand experiences.

To access the curriculum, bilingual children need:

- a relaxed, unpressured, welcoming indoors and outdoor environment that feels safe. The outdoors in particular provides the freedom that many children need in order to take risks with language

- predictable routines and formats that quickly provide them with emotional security and predictable language - for example, 'going home time' (and the structured talk that accompanies them)

- lots of opportunities to engage physically and mentally in self-initiated play activities that provide cognitive challenge at the right developmental level, which is likely to be higher than their level of English

- richly resourced continuous provision that encourages spontaneous, free-flow play that matches their interest and developmental level

- plenty of time to sustain their play and to revisit and extend the experience with interested adults

- time to just 'stand and stare', to take things in slowly and make sense of them

- to feel included and part of the group, without feeling pressure to join in or contribute

- to have their non-verbal responses accepted and understood by adults who know them well

- other children to be included as the focus in the conversation until their confidence builds

- acknowledgement that their ability in English is not representative of the levels of their cognitive, emotional or social development. Assessment procedures need to be carefully thought through to ensure that bilingual children's true abilities are reflected

- sensitive, enthusiastic and encouraging feedback when they try to make themselves understood

- the right to use their first language with peers and adults, particularly when it scaffolds their thinking

- to hear key words from their home language, particularly phrases that soothe or keep their families in mind for them - for example, 'mummy's coming soon' or survival language such as 'toilet?', 'hungry?'

- opportunities to represent ideas through dance, music, paint, construction, mark-making, role play, blocks (as in 'The Hundred Languages' material from the Reggio Emilia schools), as well as the chance to just play without talking

- time to process what has been said to them and to think through what they want to say

- the opportunity to share their focus of interest with adults and other children in collaborative ways that don't rely on a shared language

- acknowledgement of the hard work involved in operating in an unfamiliar language, and the chance to rest and relax their brains throughout the day.

ASSESSING PROGRESS

To accurately assess children's growing use of a second language, we need to ask ourselves 'what does progress in English look like for a young bilingual learner?'

There are always going to be individual differences in the way that children acquire additional languages. Learning style may play a part. Some children may display an 'experiential' approach to new language learning. They will typically be 'have a go' types who will have a strong urge to communicate regardless of accuracy, and will use new words and phrases as soon as they pick them up.

A child with a 'studial' approach, however, will take their time, listen carefully and pay attention to the rules of the language. They may not speak at all until they feel ready, and then will probably produce accurate sentences.

Inevitably, environmental, personal and social factors will also affect the rate of development, but research suggests that there is some consistency to the developmental sequence that most children go through when acquiring their second language. NALDIC (National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum) has outlined the following stages.

STAGE 1 - NEW TO ENGLISH

- Some children continue to use their home language in a second language situation, for example with adults and children who do not speak the same language.

- When they discover that it doesn't work in this situation, they may go through a silent or non-verbal stage, while they collect information on the new language. This can be quite a lengthy period for some children, but it is an important time. Far from being passive and bewildered, or indifferent to the new language, they are very active in their language learning, by watching, listening and exploring. They will be using previous experiences to relate to new contexts and might try experimenting with new sounds.

It is very important that there is no pressure for them to speak until they feel confident and ready. However, it is also essential that adults continue to talk to the child and pick up on their non-verbal responses.

When we involve them in activities, we can help make things meaningful for them through concrete, first-hand experiences. These strategies help children internalise and 'tune in' to all the new language they hear, so they can begin to develop a sense of the sound patterns as well as meanings and range of language functions.

- Non-verbal gestures have particular importance at this stage, and children may use them to indicate a need or as a response to a question. Understanding will be in advance of their spoken language, so a child may understand a question, but only be able to shake their head in response. Don't forget that gestures may have different meanings in different languages, so observe closely and don't make too many assumptions.

- Some children might begin to rehearse the new language by echoing single words or short phrases, either with others or to themselves, as they play. They may not be ready to go public yet, so it is important that they feel reassured and accepted as part of the group. Encouragement needs to be provided sensitively and with an understanding and acceptance of their emotional stage of readiness.

- They will become increasingly aware of formulaic language - chunks of social speech, for example, 'mummy come soon' or 'happy birthday', and phrases associated with routines, such as 'tidy up time'. They might apply these formulae in routine situations (and across other contexts) to help them interact with others. They also begin to join in with story refrains and the repetition of rhymes and songs.

- Chunking continues, but there might be increasing use of one-word utterances (usually nouns) to perform a range of functions - for example, naming something, asking or responding to a question.

- Children can then begin to generate their own 'telegraphic sentences' with two or three words. Their main concern will be to get their meaning across, so function words might be missing - for example, 'me bike garden'. Non-verbal gestures will often go alongside speech, to help with meaning. They may be able to use quite long chunks of memorised book language or nursery rhymes.

- It is possible that children may remain in stage 1 for some time, but it is still important that their progress within the stage is tracked and monitored. It can be helpful to use the following indicators:

- Stage 1 early - silent, non-verbal

- Stage 1 middle - using single words, able to concentrate through a story

- Stage 1 late - communicating through very short phrases, greetings, using more single words.

STAGE 2 - BECOMING FAMILIAR WITH ENGLISH

- Children will show increased confidence in using English and begin to use simple sentences and extended phrases, with more control of functional language. Their emphasis continues to be on communicating a meaning, however, so accuracy is not the first priority and their version of spoken English may have lots of non-standard features.

- Surface developmental errors will continue for some time, generally in the use of plurals, tenses, personal pronouns, function words, articles and word endings, as they try to apply the familiar structures of their home language to the new one.

- At this stage, they will use English to initiate a social conversation, give simple instructions to others and convey a simple message.

- They are developing more control in the use of functional language (what people or objects do) and can ask functional questions - for example, 'What shall I do now?'

- They will begin to combine or extend simple phrases in order to communicate new ideas of their own.

- Their vocabulary, though still limited, is widening to include words that are useful for naming objects and events.

- They will begin to use descriptive language - for example, 'big', 'blue', 'lots and lots'.

- They can memorise and retell familiar stories with the use of props and use song and rhyme forms.

STAGE 3 - BECOMING CONFIDENT AS A USER OF ENGLISH

- At this stage, children show a growing competence in using English, and produce longer, grammatically correct utterances. They can speak fairly fluently about familiar topics.

- They understand most verbal instructions and directions and no longer need visual or contextual clues.

- Children are increasingly able to give explanations of how things happen and are beginning to ask heuristic questions (how/why?) for themselves. They can convey meaning effectively, but may still use non-standard features - for example, 'Christmas Father'.

- They can recognise deliberate mistakes and can appreciate nonsense talk.

STAGE 4 - FLUENT IN MOST SITUATIONS

- Children use English fluently in most social and learning contexts.

- Their spoken English and understanding are comparable to that of monolingual English speakers.

CONCLUSION

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about ensuring access to the curriculum for bilingual children, is this: What is good practice for bilingual children is good practice for all children. This includes:

- a rich, broad curriculum that keeps the child and their individual needs at the centre

- a learning environment that provides appropriate cognitive challenge and fosters listening and talk, in any language

- an ethos that involves a child's family and recognises the learning that takes place in the home

- a key caring approach that recognises the need for children to be cared for by knowledgeable, interested adults who feel a responsibility to know their children well and continue to see themselves as learners.

Having these in place is as good a place to start as any!

Tricia Carroll is an independent early years consultant, who also works part-time for a local authority as an advisory teacher.

Anne O'Connor is a freelance early years consultant

UNDERSTANDING BILINGUALISM: USEFUL TERMS

- There are some useful terms that can help us to better understand the processes of becoming bilingual.

- Simultaneous bilingualism is where two or more languages are acquired before the age of three.

- Successive or sequential bilingualism is where one language is established and a second is learned later, either at a young age, during school or as an adult.

Professor J Cummins, a leading expert on second language acquisition and bilingual education, suggests two further distinctions:

- additive bilingualism - where the first language and the culture associated with it continues to be developed and valued. This means that cognitive abilities can continue to progress in an age-appropriate way through the home language, while the new language develops

- subtractive bilingualism - where the second language is added at the expense of the first. The home language (and the culture associated with it) is viewed negatively so that it diminishes, leaving the child without the language for their age-appropriate cognitive development.

This is important for us to remember, as Cummins suggests children in an additive bilingual environment learn and succeed better than those whose first language and culture are not valued by school and the wider society. (See www.naldic.org.uk/ITTSEAL2/teaching/SLA.cfm)

STORIES

Stories are central to a young child's learning of an additional language. As well as providing strong language models, they are highly motivating.

Children (and adults) are quickly caught up by the rhythm and linguistic power of a well-read story or an expressively told tale. They provide predictability and repetition in meaningful ways that allow the listener to join in and experiment with language.

More than that, they carry whole chunks of language that children can easily collect and harvest and reuse in other situations and contexts. Stories are also an important springboard to the curriculum because they provide children with language and ideas that they can hear, use and embed in their play.

GOOD PRACTICE POINTS

- Keep large group situations to an absolute minimum. Small, key carer groups work best.

- Use the natural gaps in a story to encourage children to have a go and join in with simple words and phrases.

- Keep a selection of tried and tested stories that work well for bilingual children, because of the repetition and predictability or vibrant images.

- Look out particularly for stories that have repeated phrases or words that can be easily translated into other languages, and incorporate them into the story.

- 'Once upon a time' seems to be a universal way of beginning a story. Find out how to say it in the home languages of your children - for example, 'Ek shomoy' in Bengali; 'Il etait une fois' in French

- Props, puppets and role play are essential in bringing unfamiliar stories to life.

- Involve parents in helping to tell stories and find out about stories original to the home language.

MORE INFORMATION

- 'Meeting the needs of early years bilingual children', course led by Tricia Carroll on 21 May at Institute of Education, University of London (www.ioe.ac.uk/professional Development) and on 2 June at Firbank Children's Centre, Lancaster (tel. 01524 845319)

- Lindon, Jennie, Equality in Early Childhood (Hodder Arnold)

- Goldsmiths research: www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/news/pressrelease.php?releaseID=537

- NALDIC website and article: www.naldic.org.uk/docs/resources/documents/ealeyfsguidance.pdf

- 'Supporting children learning English as an additional language - guidance for practitioners in the EYFS', Primary National Strategies

- Whitehead, Marian, Developing Language and Literacy with Young Children (Paul Chapman)

- Siraj Blatchford, Iram and Clarke, Priscilla, Supporting Identity, Diversity and Language in the Early Years (Open University Press)

- Hall, Deryn, Assessing the Needs of Bilingual Children (David Fulton)

- 'Understanding Each Other - Supporting children in early years settings learning English as an additional language' (SureStart Cheshire)