Addressing the bilingual factor - insights, influences and its impact on

education

Máire Ní RíordáinLecturer in Education, NUI Galway

History of Irish

Up to 16th century –

Irish and its associated culture/traditions dominant

throughout the island

17th/18th/19th centuries – English colonisation of Ireland/Famine – dramatic decline in

the use of Irish.

2000+ - consolidation at constitutional level; use in legal/public sector; official language of EU; national media; growth of Irish-

medium education.

1921 – The Free State – intended to

restore the Irish language and its

use throughout the country.

Socio-Political Concerns (Kelly 2009)

Decision

s

• Political in nature

New Stat

e(1921)

• Irish-medium education central to policy plans

Compulsion

• Detrimental to student learning and the language

Socio-Political Concerns (Kelly 2009)

1960’s

• Compulsion removed• Catalyst for change

Social

Structures

• Importance of choice and access

1970’s

• Immersion Irish-medium education (Gaelscoileanna/ Galecholáistí) established in the 1970’s.

As Lord Charlemont, the Stormont Minister of Education said, ‘forbidding

it (Irish) under pressure will stimulate it to such an extreme that the very dogs – at any rate, the Falls Road dogs – will bark in Irish’ (as cited by Purdon 1999, p.59)

The Irish Context

Gaeltacht – Irish speaking district. (Maintenance Heritage Language Education)

Gaelscoil – Irish medium primary school outside of a Gaeltacht area.(Immersion Education)

Gaelcholáiste – Irish medium second level school outside of a Gaeltacht area.(Immersion Education)

Irish-Medium Education

Bilingualism Psycholinguistics views language as an individual

cognitive phenomenon (theoretical framework for providing empirical results, theories, concepts, definitions, etc.).

Sociolinguistics stresses the social nature of language, starting from the assumption that language is not only cognitive but also cultural, social, and situated (theoretical framework for studying discourse e.g. linguistic registers and classroom discourse).

Bilingualism is ‘the product of a specific linguistic community that uses one of its languages for certain functions and the other for other functions or situations’ (Valdés-Fallis 1978, p.4)

SUP vs CUP

• Two languages stored separately.

•Increase in one language will result in a loss of some of the other.

•Bilingualism = cognitive overload

• Internally: Both languages are merged – do not function independently of each other.

• Outwardly: Both languages are different in conversation.

Separate Underlying Proficiency Common Underlying Proficiency

TaskIs the following sentence grammatically correct - “Apples grow on noses.”?

Dr E. Bialystok (New York Time, May 30th 2011) As she conducted her research, she noticed that there was a big

difference in the way monolingual and bilingual children processed language. She found that if you gave 5- and 6-year-olds language problems to solve, monolingual and bilingual children knew, pretty much, the same amount of language.

But on one question, there was a difference.

The monolingual children could not answer. They would say, “That’s silly” and they would stall.

But the bilingual children would say, in their own words, “It’s silly, but it’s grammatically correct.” The bilinguals, manifested a cognitive system with the ability to attend to important information and ignore the less important.

Theoretical FrameworkCummins - Threshold Hypothesis (1976): Certain threshold that one must reach in their 1st and 2nd languages before the benefits of studying in a 2nd language can develop.

Type of Bilingualism Cognitive Effect

Balanced Positive High levels in both languages Higher Threshold

Less Balanced Neither positive nor negative

Native in one of the languagesLimited Lower Threshold Negative

Low level in both languages

Additive and Subtractive Bilingualism

Additive bilingualism occurs when a second language and culture have been acquired without loss or displacement of an individual’s first language and culture. Positive self-concept usually developed.

Subtractive bilingualism occurs when an individual’s first language and culture are replaced by the new language and culture, usually occurring in a pressurised context. Negative self-concept usually developed.

Literature FindingsNegative results for learning are

associated with subtractive bilingual environments

(e.g. Adetula, 1990; Galligan, 1995; Han & Ginsberg, 2001; Marsh et al, 2000;

Barton et al, 2005).Positive results for learning are

associated with additive bilingual environments

(e.g. De Courcy & Burston, 2000; Swain, 1996; Turnball et al, 2000; Williams,

2002).

Language proficiency and cognitive performance are related

(e.g. Barton et al, 2005; Frigo et al, 2004; Marsh et al, 2000;Yushau &

Bokhari, 2005)

Psycholinguistics

Theorist TheoryVygotsky (1962) Language is inextricably linked with

thought

Sapir (1949)-Whorf (1956)

The language we speak facilitates our thinking and perception

Bruner (1975) Language is an essential instrument of thought and is necessary for understanding.

Sierpinska (1994) Thought is engaged in our understanding, thus language is involved in developing our understanding.Having two or more languages facilitates

greater cognitive flexibility in terms of thinking, processing, comprehending and

understanding.

Advantages of BilingualismSome of the advantages of bilingualism documented in literature include:

• Curriculum Advantages• Greater academic success.

• Easier to learn a third and fourth language.

• Communicative Advantages• Bilingualism (the ability to speak two languages fluently).• Biliteracy (the ability to read and write in two languages).• Wider communication (extended family, community, friends, employment).

• Cultural Advantages• Broader exposure to and appreciation of the value of various cultures (enculturation),

deeper multiculturalism, greater tolerance and less racism.

• Cognitive Advantages• Thinking benefits (flexibility, creativity, sensitivity to communication).

• Character Advantages• Raised self-esteem.• Security in identity.

• Financial Advantages • Economic and employment benefits.

(adapted from Baker, 2003)

Research Findings in the Irish Context

Positive cognitive advantages For mathematical learning at primary, post-primary and

third level education, once ability in both languages (Irish and English) have been developed – outperformed monolingual students (Ní Ríordáin & O’ Donoghue, 2009).

Display greater meta-cognitive skills when engaged in problem solving (Ní Ríordáin & McCluskey 2012): Comprehension of the problem. Self-correction. Selecting appropriate features in the problem. Knowledge of strategies

Research Findings in the Irish Context Shiel et al. (2011).

Pupils in 2nd and 6th classes in SLG, and pupils in 6th class in Gaeltacht schools achieved significantly higher mean scores on English reading than pupils in the NA 2009.

Pupils in 2nd class in SLG achieved a significantly higher mean score on mathematics than pupils in the NA 2009; pupils in Gaeltacht schools and NA 2009 were not significantly different.

Pupils in 6th class in Gaeltacht schools achieved a significantly higher mean score on mathematics than pupils in NA 2009; pupils in SLG and NA 2009 were not significantly different from one another.

Insights, Influences and Impact on Education

Research has shown that the added value of a well-implemented Two Way Immersion programme is that all children learn to read and write in two languages to a relatively high standard (e.g. Genesee and Dándara 1999, Kielhöfer 2004, Söhn 2005).

Furthermore, "the development of additive bilingual and biliteracy skills entails no negative consequences for children’s academic, linguistic, or intellectual development” (Cummins 1996, p.109) and that in some situations it can also bring cognitive, as well as social and intercultural benefits.

Need to consider the socio-political aspect.

Compulsion may not foster desired outcomes.

The need for greater awareness, development and promotion of bilingualism in our education system – e.g. new Junior Cycle changes?

Conclusion – bilingualism makes you smarter!

Questions?

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