Growing up bilingual in Australia: Negotiating languages in childhood

Transcription

1 Growing up bilingual in Australia: Negotiating languages in childhood Dr Criss Jones Díaz University of Western Sydney NSW Federation of Community Language Schools State Conference, 6 th October, 2012

2 Overview The historical, cultural, social, economic & global context of languages in Australia Languages, equity and social justice Benefits of bilingualism in childhood Growing up learning languages in childhood Children s perspectives, voices and experiences in growing up bilingual Learning English at the expense of the home language

3 Languages in Australia 260 languages spoken in Australia, including 60 Indigenous languages. (ABS, 2006) Indigenous Australia Diversity in cultural and language groups Up to 500 languages and dialects spoken prior to European invasion (Walsh, 1991) Today languages are in use. 70 of these are threatened with extinction 10% of the Indigenous population have proficiency in an Indigenous language (May, 2000). It is predicted that by 2050 Indigenous languages will no longer be spoken in in Australia (McConvell & Thieberger, 2001).

4 Globalisation of English and its impact on other languages English is the 3rd most widely spoken language in the world, behind Chinese and Spanish English has not become a powerful language because of any inherent linguistic or grammatical features. Or because of the numbers that speak it Its dominance is due to the political, social, cultural, economic and military power of the nation states that adopt it as their official language (Crystal, 2000) English has generated most of its power within the last 50 years (Crystal, 2000; Pennycook, 1998)

5 English as a global language As a consequence, English-only policies in education have emerged in the US, UK 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 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 priorto-school settings

6 Languages, equity and social justice: Indigenous and minority languages and their identities There are more bilinguals in the world then monolinguals. - Disappearance of languages remain a serious threat to the diversity of cultures and identities. This has political, social and cultural consequences 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

7 Benefits of being bilingual Linguistic benefits - 1st language development facilitates 2nd language learning (Cummins 1984, Skutnabb-Kangas 1988) 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). Early literacy learning is enhanced by early bilingual experiences (Manyak, 2006). - Visual, linguistic & cognitive strategies are transferred to 2nd language literacy Related to the three cueing systems in reading: - Semantic, graphophonic and syntactic.

8 Intellectual and metalinguistic awareness Díaz and Klinger (1991), Bialystok, (1991, 2007) 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 how language works

9 Identity Language is a significant marker of identity (Robinson & Jones Díaz, 2006) Questions of identity are linked to how we understand ourselves and others. In childhood, children s identity construction is a work in progress, undergoing change and renegotiation and languages learning is part of this process Being bilingual or multilingual means having more than one identity Language, identity and culture are inextricably linked In a multicultural diverse world this brings an awareness of other languages and cultural practices

10 Julia and Emilia Highly illustrative depictions of their Chinese cultural identity. Emilia - traditional Chinese clothes Julia - foods from China displayed on a table. Julia s talent for illustration evident in the detail used to represent Chinese cultural texts. Translates hello how are you in Mandarin, Spanish & English.

11 Family links and cohesion Home language plays a key role in building position relationships and interactions between family members Language shift adversely affects family communication and relationships resulting in the breakdown of parental authority and children s respect for elders (Wong Fillmore, 1991) Home language loss can have negative familial, psychological and social implications (Kouritzin, 1999)

12 Societal and economic gains Availability of linguistic and cultural resources in the community are in turn transferred to employment and career opportunities (MCEETYA, 2005) Results in - Enhance trade and business opportunities globally and in Australia - Transfer of cultural and linguistic knowledge that is home grown in Australia - Knowledge and appreciation for diverse expressions in art, music, dance, religion, literature, film and intercultural communication

13 Self esteem Bilingual children have diverse linguistic and cultural knowledge, skills, resources & potential. When children feel good about being bilingual, confidence, security and self esteem will develop and often be enhanced Words used by the children to describe their feelings about using Spanish (Jones Díaz, 2007) happy, free, good, normal, fun, great, smart, proud and confident weird, crazy and different Intellectual, linguistic and cultural gains from being bilingual are linked to a healthy self esteem and well being in childhood (Jones Diaz, 2007)

14 Diego (12 years) and Ariel (12 years) shared their feelings about speaking Spanish (Jones Díaz, 2007, 2011) So. Cuando tu hablas español, te gusta...? Diego: Yo le {me}gusta. Y tu? (to A) Ariel: Si es fácil. Es fácil? Si? Tu? creas que Diego es fácil hablar español? Diego: Pocito. Y porque te gusta Diego? Diego: Porque yo puedo. So. When you speak Spanish, do you like it? Diego: I like it. And you? (to A) Ariel: Diego: Diego: Yes, it s easy. It s easy? Yeah? Do you think Diego that it is easy, to speak Spanish? A little bit. And why do you like it Diego? Because I can.

15 Dispositions of pride and confidence (Jones Díaz, 2007, 2011) Diego: Diego: Diego: Ariel: Ariel: Diego: Diego: I speak a lot of Spanish. Can you describe a feeling when you speak Spanish? Can you think of a feeling? Smart. Smart. Yeah you can speak two languages. It s pretty good. What about you Ariel? Proud. Proud. Why proud? You re proud that you can speak another language. You re proud that you got so far with another language. You started off with like not knowing anything about Spanish, and then suddenly you can speak, you can speak >>> you can speak to people in Spanish and have conversations with them. Yeah and be confident.

16 Bilingual children s views of their language shape a negative or positive disposition towards their home language When children are encouraged to speak their home language this fosters positive experiences with and dispositions towards the use of their language Words used by the children to describe their feelings about using Spanish - happy, free, good, normal, fun, great, smart, proud and confident - weird, crazy and different (Jones Díaz, 2007, 2011) English is like a pogo stick, I keep on bouncing and bouncing, eh it s really boring, but Spanish is like a bike, you get on your bike and you never stop learning (Diego, in Jones Díaz, 2007)

17 Children s experiences of bilingual situations (Skutnabb-Kangas 1988; Cummins 1991) Additive: The home language is maintained & developed as English is acquired effectively Balanced: Equal proficiency in both languages. Very few bilingual children attain this level of balance between their languages Additive situations facilitate balanced bilingualism. Substractive: English is learned at the expense of the home language language shift Receptive: The child is unable to produce speech and has a receptive level only Subtractive situations produce receptive proficiency an or monolingualism

18 Children s experiences of and perspective in being bilingual and learning languages (Jones Díaz, 2007, 2011) Diego and Ariel compared their learning of Spanish with learning Japanese and Chinese: Is it a similar kind of feeling, experience? Diego: When you re learning Spanish? Yeah. To learning Spanish, when you are learning Chinese or Japanese? Diego: No because you re learning a different language. What about, what do you think Ariel? Ariel: I think Spanish is easier, it s your culture and you re mostly used to it. Diego: >>> and you re learning a whole different culture.. >>> So is it a lot harder? Diego: >>> and your parents are not gonna speak it and none of your relatives.

19 All languages are legitimate Martín: Martín: Martín: Martín: Martín: Martín: When you speak Spanish, like when you are at Spanish school or when you are in Santo Domingo {capital city of Dominican Republic}, talking to abuela [grandmother], when you are speaking to Papi or Mami. How does it, how do you feel? (no answer) Do you feel different? Feel different, yeah. You do? Yeah, feel different. Really? How do you mean? What do you feel when you feel different? I don t know. You don t know? You just feel different. Do you feel good? Do you feel bad? (pauses) Oh I feel (pauses) Do you feel funny? Do you feel silly? oh well I feel funny, good funny. M is reminded of the ways in which Spanish is a legitimate language. This encourages a positive disposition towards speaking Spanish

20 Learning English at the expense of the home language Results in subtractive bilingualism (Cummins 1991; Siren 1991, Wong-Fillmore 1991, Díaz & Klinger & 1991) Factors involved in subtractive bilingualism loss of interest in speaking the home language proficiency in English increases early exposure to English-only environments home language is not valued Lack of information about bilingualism and biliteracy In Australia, only 13% study a second language for their HSC, compared to the Netherlands where 99% study a second language in their final year of high school (Clyne, 2007).

21 References Australian Bureau of Statistics Language spoken at home by sex Australia Cat. No , Retrieved November 7, 2007 from Baker, C. 1996, Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (2nd Ed.), Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Bialystok, E. (2007) Cognitive effects of bilingualism: How linguistic experience leads to cognitive change, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, vol. 10, Issue 3,pp Bialystok, E. (1991). Metalinguistic dimensions of bilingual language proficiency. In E. Bialystok (Ed.), Language processing in bilingual children (pp ) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Cummins, J 1993, Bilingualism and second language learning, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, vol. 13, pp Clyne, M. (2007) Don't let languages languish, paper presented to the Committee of Chairs of Academic Boards/Senates of Universities in NSW and the ACT, Australia Crystal, D. (2000). English as a global language, Cambridge: CUP 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 interaction between bilingualism and cognitive development. In E. Bialystok (Ed.), Language processing in bilingual children. Cambridge (pp ). Cambridge University Press.

22 References 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), Jones Díaz, C. (2007). Intersections between language retention and identities in young bilingual children. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Western Sydney. Jones Díaz, C. (2011) Children s voices: Spanish in urban multilingual and multicultural Australia.. In K. Potowski & J. Rothman (eds) Bilingual youth: Spanish in Englishspeaking societies, John Benjamins Publishing CompanyKenner, C. (2007). Bilingual families as literacy eco-systems, Early Years, An International Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 25, No. 3, November 2005, pp Kouritzin, S. (1999) Face[t]of first language loss. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum 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), May, S. (2000). Minority language rights: Challenges and possibilities. Journal of Mulitlingual and Multicultural Development Vol. 21(5), McConvell, P & Thieberger, N. (2001) The state of Indigenous languages in Australia.Australia: State of the Environment. Second Technical Paper Series No. 2 (Natural and Cultural Heritage).Department of Environment and Heritagehttp:// /soe/2001/publications/technical/pubs/indigenouslanguages.pdf MEEETYA 2005, National statement for languages education in Australian schools. National plan for languages education in Australian schools Department of Education and Children's Services Publishing: South Australia. Nettle, D. & Romaine, S. (2000). Vanishing voices. The extension of the world s languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press

23 References Robinson, K. H. & Jones Diaz, C. (2006). Diversity and Difference in Early Childhood, London: Open University Press Romaine, S. (1995). Bilingualism (2nd ed.). Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Sirén, U. (1991). Minority language transmission early childhood: Parental Intention and language use. Stockholm. Stockholm: Institute of International Education, Stockholm University. 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. Pennycook, A. (1998). English and the discourses of colonialism, London: Routledge Walsh, M. (1991). Overview of indigenous languages of Australia, in S. Romaine (ed) Language in Australia, C.U.P: Oxford Wong Fillmore, L. (1991). When learning a second language means losing the first. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 6: