No.19,Vol.

7,2001,
page1621
CopyrightauthorsandLanguage
Forum

Theme:ThemultilingualDenmark

BilingualChildren'sMotherTongue
Whatisimportantintheireducation?

JimCummins
Professor,Ph.D.UniversityofToronto.

Thetermglobalizationiteasytofindheadlinesofthetime.Itevokesstrongpositiveornegative
feelingsdependingonwhetheritisbeingpraisedbythebusinessworldbecauseitopensworld
marketstomoreextensivetradeorcondemnedbythosewhoassociatethetermwithawideninggap
betweenrichandpoorcountriesandpeople.

Oneaspectofglobalizationthathasimportantimplicationsforeducatorsisthesteadyincreaseinthe
movementofpeoplefromonecountrytoanother.Thismobilityiscausedbymanyfactors:desirefor
bettereconomicconditions,theneedforlaborinmanycountriesduetolowbirthrates,asteadystream
ofrefugeesduetoconflictsbetweendifferentgroups,onegroupoppressionoftheother,orecological
disasters.TheeconomicintegrationwithintheEUalsoencouragesthefreemovementofworkersand
theirfamiliesamongEUmemberstates.Totravelfromonecountrytoanothercannowbecarriedout
quicklyandefficiently(forthetime)obviouslyfacilitatespopulationmobility.

Aconsequenceofpopulationmobilityislinguistic,cultural,"racial"andreligiousdiversityinschools.
Toillustratethiscanbementionedthat58%ofchildreninkindergartensinTorontoinCanadacome
fromhomeswherestandardEnglishisthecommonlanguageofcommunication.SchoolsinEurope
andNorthAmericahaveexperiencedthisdiversityformanyyears,butitremainsamatterof
controversy,andtherearebigdifferencesineducationandtrainingbetweencountriesandevenwithin
eachcountry.Neofascistgroupsinanumberofcountriespromoteovertlyracistpoliciesagainst
immigrantgroupsandcommunitygroupswithothercultures.Otherpoliticalgroupshaveasomewhat
moreenlightenedorientationandsearchforwaysto"solvetheproblem"ofdiversecommunitiesand
theirintegrationinschoolsandinsociety.Theydefinethestillpresenceofdiversecommunitiesasa
"problem"andseefewopportunitiesforthosegroupstohaveapositiveimpactonthehostcountry.
Theyworrythatlinguistic,cultural,"racial"andreligiousdiversitythreatenthehostcountry'sidentity.
Consequently,theypromoteeducationalpoliciesthatwillmakethe"problem"disappear.

Whereneofascistgroupsinfavorofimmigrantsshouldbethrownoutofthecountryoratleast
separatedfromordinarypeople(eg.Inpredominantlysegregatedschoolsorresidentialareas),more
liberalgroupsfavorofassimilation.But'assimilation'isinmanywaysto"exclusion"insofarasboth
orientationsaredesignedtomakethe"problem"disappear.Theresultofbothpoliciesistoculturally
diversegroupswillnolongerbevisibleoraudible.Assimilationistpoliciesineducationdiscourage
childrentoabandontheuseoftheirmothertongue.Ifstudentsretaintheircultureandlanguage,itwill
betakenasanindicationthattheyarenotsowelliscapableofidentifyingwiththemainstreamculture
andsociety'smainlanguage.

Althoughstudentsmaynotbephysicallypunishedforspeakingtheirmothertongue(aswaspreviously
thecaseinmanycountries),yousendapowerfulsignaltothemthatiftheywanttobeacceptedbythe
teacherandthecommunity,theyhavetorenounceanyformofbelongingtotheirownlanguageand
theirownculture.

This'problemsolvingorientationtodiversityineducationisstilldominantinmostEuropeanand
NorthAmericancountries.Unfortunately,itcanhavedisastrousconsequencesforchildrenandtheir
families.Itviolateschildren'srighttoadecenteducationandunderminescommunicationbetween
childrenandtheirparents.Anycredibleeducatorwillagreethatschoolsshouldbuildonthe
experienceandknowledgethatchildrenbringtotheclassroom,andinstructionshouldalsopromote
children'sabilitiesandtalents.Whetherwedoitintentionallyorinadvertently,whenwedestroy
children'slanguageandrupturetheirrelationshipwithparentsandgrandparents,weareinanycase
contrarytotheveryessenceofeducation.

Thedestructionoflanguageandcultureintheschoolhavedeeplydamagingconsequencesforthehost
country.Intheeraofglobalization,acountrythathasaccesstodifferentlinguisticandmulticultural
resourcesisadvantagedinitsabilitytoplayanimportantsocialandeconomicroleintheworldarena.
Atatimewhencrossculturalcontactisanunprecedentedhistoricalroledevelopsallcommunity
identityitself.Societiesandethnicgroups'identitieshaveneverbeenstatic,anditisanaiveillusionto
believethattheycanbestaticfixedasmonochromeandmonoculturalmuseumexhibitsforposterity
whenthepaceofglobalchangeisaslargeasitistoday.

Thechallengeforeducatorsandpolicymakersistoshapethedevelopmentofanationalidentityin
suchawaythattherightsofallcitizensarerespected(includingschoolchildren),andthenation's
cultural,linguisticandeconomicresourcesaremaximized.Toputthenation'slinguisticresources
squanderedbygettingthekidstogiveupdevelopingtheirnativelanguageissimplyunintelligentfrom
theperspectiveofwhatnationalselfinterestbest,andalsoconstituteaviolationoftherightsofthe
child(seeSkutnabbKangas,2000,onecomprehensivereviewofinternationalpoliciesandpractices
withregardtolinguistichumanrights).

Howcanschoolsprovidechildrenwhohavedifferentculturesandlanguages,appropriatetraining?A
firststepistolearnwhattheresearchsaysabouttheroleoflanguage,andspecificallychildren's
mothertongues,intheireducationaldevelopment.

Whatweknowaboutmothertonguedevelopment?
Theresearchisveryclearintermsofmothertongueimportanceofbilingualchildren'soverallpersonal
andeducationaldevelopment.Moredetailontheresearchfindingssummarizedbelowcanbefoundin
Baker(2000),Cummins(2000)andSkutnabbKangas(2000).

Bilingualismhasapositiveeffectonchildren'slinguisticandeducationaldevelopment.Whenchildren
continuetodeveloptheirskillsintwoormorelanguagesthroughouttheirprimaryschool,theygeta
deeperunderstandingoflanguageandhowitcanbeusedeffectively.Theyhavemoreexperiencein
processinglanguage,especiallywhentheydevelopliteracyinbothlanguages,andtheyareableto
compareandcontrastthewaysinwhichtheirtwolanguagesorganizereality.Morethan150research
projectshavebeencarriedoutoverthelast35yearsstronglysupportwhatGoetheoncesaid:The
personwhoknowsonlyonelanguage,donotknowthislanguagetothefullest.Theresearchsuggests
thatbilingualchildrenmayalsodevelopmoreflexibilityintheirwayofthinkingasaresultof
processinginformationthroughtwodifferentlanguages.

Thelevelofdevelopmentofchildren'smothertongueisastrongpredictoroftheirsecondlanguage
development.

Childrenwhocometoschoolwithasolidfoundationintheirmothertonguedevelopstrongerliteracy
skillsinthelanguagebeingusedintheschool.Whenparentsandotherswhoarecaregivers(eg.
Grandparents)havetheopportunitytospendtimewiththemandtellstoriesordiscussissuesinaway
thatdevelopsvocabularyandconceptsinthemothertongue,thenthechildrenarewellpreparedto
learnschoollanguageandsucceededucationally.Thechildren'sknowledgeandskillsaretransferred
fromthenativelanguagetheylearnedathometothelanguageusedinschool.Asforthechildren's
developmentofconceptsandthinkingskills,thetwolanguagesareinterdependent.Transferringfrom
onelanguagetoanothercanbedonebothways:Whenthemothertongueispromotedinschool(eg.In
abilingualeducationprogram),theconcepts,languageandliteracyskillschildrenarelearninginthe
majoritylanguage,transferredtothelanguageusedinthehome.Bothlanguagesinshortnurtureeach
otherwhentheeducationalenvironmentpermitschildrenaccesstobothlanguages.

Mothertonguepromotionintheschoolhelpsdevelopnotonlythemothertonguebutalsochildren's
abilitiesinthemajorityschoollanguage.

Thisresearchresultisnotsurprisinginlightofpreviousfindingsshowingthat(a)bilingualism
provideslinguisticadvantagesonchildrenand(b)skillsinthetwolanguagesinadecisiveway
connectedwitheachotherorinterdependent.Bilingualchildrenperformbetterinschoolwhen
theschoolprovidesathorougheducationinthemothertongue,andwhereappropriate
developingliteracyinthelanguage.Andwhenchildrenareencouragedtogiveuptheirnative
languageandtheirlinguisticdevelopmentinthemothertonguegoesstagnates,theirpersonal
andconceptualfoundationundermined.

Tospendtimeteachinginaminoritylanguageintheschooldoesnothurtchildren'sacademic
developmentinthemajorityschoollanguage.

Someeducatorsandparentsaresuspiciousofbilingualeducationormothertongueteachingprograms
becausetheyworrythatittakestimefromthemajoritylanguageoftheschool.Abilingualexample.
wherein50%ofthetimeisspentteachingthroughchildren'shomelanguageandinthelast50%ofthe
timethemajorityschoollanguagemustsurelygobeyondthechildren'slearningofthemajorityschool
language?Oneofthemoststronglyestablishedfindingsofeducationalresearch,researchthathasbeen
doneinmanycountriesaroundtheworld,istothoroughlyimplementedbilingualprogramscan
promoteliteracyandsubjectmatterknowledgeinaminoritylanguagewithouthavinganynegative
effectonchildren'sdevelopmentthemajoritylanguage.InEurope,theFoyerprograminBelgium
whichdevelopschildren'sspeakingandreadingskillsinthreelanguages(theirmothertongue,Dutch
andFrench)intheprimaryschoolmostclearlyillustratesthebenefitsofbilingualandtrilingual
education(seeCummins,2000,.218219).

Throughtheresearchfindingssummarizedabove,wecanunderstandhowthiscanhappen.When
childrenarelearningthroughaminoritylanguage(eg.Thelanguagetheyspeakathome),theylearn
notonlythislanguageinanarrowsense.Theyarelearningconceptsandintellectualskillsthatare
equallyrelevanttotheirabilitytofunctioninthemajoritylanguage.Childrenwhoknowthetimein
theirmothertongueunderstandtheconceptoftellingtime.Too'clockinanotherlanguage(eg.The
majoritylanguage),theydonotneedtorelearntheconcepttheyonlyneedtoacquirenewlabelsor
"surfacestructures"foranintellectualskilltheyhavealreadylearned.Similarly,atmoreadvanced
stagesatransferfromonelanguagetotheotheracademicskillsandreadingskillssuchasknowing
howtodistinguishbetweenthemainideaandsupportingdetailsofawrittenpassageorstory,identify
causeandeffect,distinguishingfactfromopinion,andmappingoutthesequenceofeventsinastory
orhistoricalaccount.

Children'smothertonguesarefragileandeasilylostintheearlyschoolyears.Manypeopleareamazed
athowquicklybilingualchildrenseemtoconversationalskillsinthemajoritylanguageintheearly
schoolyears(althoughittakesmuchlongerforthemtocatchuptonativespeakersinacademic
languageskills).However,educatorsareoftenmuchlessawareofhowquicklychildrencanlosethe
abilitytousetheirmothertongue,eveninthehomeenvironment.Theextentoflanguagelossandthe
speedatwhichittakesplace,willvarydependingonhowbigtheconcentrationofaparticular
linguisticgroupintheschoolandintheneighborhood.Wherethereiswidespreaduseofthemother
tongueinthecommunityoutsidetheschool,thesmallerchildren'slanguagelossbeless.Where
languagecommunitiesarenotconcentratedor"ghettoized"inparticularneighborhoods,childrencan
losetheirabilitytocommunicateintheirmothertongue2to3yearsaftertheyhavestartedschool.
Theymayretainreceptive(understanding)ofthelanguagebuttheywillusethemajoritylanguage
whenspeakingwiththeirpeersandsiblingsandinrespondingtotheirparents.Whenchildrenbecome
adolescents,thedistancebetweenparentsandchildrenhasbecomeanemotionalchasm.Pupils
frequentlybecomealienatedfrombothhomeandschoolculturewithpredictableresults.

Toreducetheextentoflanguageloss,parentsshouldestablishaclearpolicyonhomelanguageand
givechildrenampleopportunitytoexpandthefunctionstheyusethemothertongue(eg.Readingand
writing)andthecontextsinwhichtheycanuseit(f.excl.localdaycareorplaygroupswherethe
mothertongueisused,visitstothecountryoforigin,etc.).

Teacherscanalsohelpchildrenretainanddeveloptheirmothertonguesbythemtoemphasizethe
importanceofhavingknowledgeofotherlanguagesandtotellthemhowimportantlinguisticand
intellectualaccomplishmentitistobebilingual.Theymay,forexample.initiateclassroomprojects
focusedondevelopingchildren'slanguageawareness(eg.byprovidinganoverviewandtakestudents'
multilingualismupinapositiveway)andtoshareeachother'slanguageinclass(eg.childrencan
alternatelyeverydaytakeasignificantwordsfromtheirhomelanguagetoschool,andthewholeclass,
includingtheteacher,learnsanddiscussesthisword.)

Torejectachild'slanguageinschoolistorejectthechild.

WhenthemessageisimplicitlyorexplicitlybeinggiventhechildinschoolisLeaveyourlanguage
andcultureattheschoolhousedoor",soleavethekidsalsoacentralpartofthemselvestheiridentity
attheschoolhousedoor.Whentheyfeelthisrejection,itmuchlesslikelythattheywillparticipate
activelyandconfidentlyintheclassroom.Itisnotenoughforteacherstopassivelyacceptchildren's
linguisticandculturaldiversityintheschooltheymustbeproactiveandtaketheinitiativetoaffirm
children'slinguisticidentitybyhavingpostersincommunitylanguageshangingaroundtheschool,by
encouragingchildreninadditiontothemajorityschoollanguagetowriteintheirnativelanguage(eg.
bywritingandprintingbilingualbooksthatchildrenhaveauthored),andingeneraltocreatealearning
environmentwherethechildalllinguisticandculturalexperiencewillbeacceptedandappreciated.

CreatingaDynamicIdentityfortheFuture
Wheneducatorswithinaschooldeveloplanguagepoliciesandorganizetheircurriculumand
instructioninsuchawaythatthechildren'slinguisticandculturalresourcesisconfirmedinallschool
activities,sotheschoolisrejectingthenegativeattitudesandignoranceaboutdiversitythatexistsin
thecommunity.Bychallengingthecoercivepowerrelationskeeptheschoolupamirrorforthe
bilingualchildreninwhichtheycanseewhotheyareandwhotheycanbecomeinsociety.
Multilingualchildrenhaveanenormouscontributiontomaketosocietyifonlyweaseducatorsput
intopracticewhatwebelieveapplytoallchildren:

thechildren'sculturalandlinguisticexperienceinthehomeisthefoundationfortheirfuture
learningandwemustbuildonthatfoundationratherthanundermineit
everychildhastherighttohavetheirtalentsrecognizedandpromotedwithintheschool.

Thecultural,linguisticandintellectualcapitalinoursocietywill,inshort,increasedramaticallywhen
westopseeingchildren'sculturalandlinguisticdiversityas"aproblemtobesolved"andinsteadopen
oureyestothelinguistic,culturalandintellectualresourcestheybringfromtheirhomestoourschools
andcommunities.

Literature

Baker,C.:AParents'andTeachers'GuidetoBilingualism.2ndEdition.Clevedon,England:
MultilingualMatters,2000.
Cummins,J.:Language,Power,andPedagogy.Bilingualchildreninthecrossfire.Clevedon,
England:MultilingualMatters,2000.
SkutnabbKangas,T.:LinguisticGenocideinEducationorworldwidediversityandhumanrights?
Mahwah,NJ:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,2000.
 TranslatedbyMichaelSvendsenPedersen

NextfulltextarticleinthisissueofLanguageForumare:

KarenSonneJakobsen:
Theotherlanguagethelanguageandlanguageeducation

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