Educational practice and development of the school Language

Abstract

Linguistic and cultural diversity is more and more common in the western world, and Catalonia is no exception. Identity and linguistic, cultural and ethnic heterogeneity have grown significantly during the last ten years (Ministry of Education, 2009). Widespread repercussions of the so-called “migration phenomenon” have been felt in Catalan classrooms. This increased linguistic diversity among students has created previously unknown problems related to the knowledge of the school language. Students who have been schooled in it since the beginning of nursery school are commonly found in the same classrooms with students who only began to use it later, in nursery school or even during primary school. This has led to enormous differences in knowledge of the school language. In addition, the issues involved in schooling foreign children and adolescents are not only linguistic. In many cases linguistic “problems” cover up other circumstances that are more critical to their development. However, to better understand the schooling process we must reflect on those specifically linguistic aspects that influence foreign-born students’ mastery of the school language. The authors of this article are convinced that issues affecting the schooling of foreign-born students cannot be resolved simply by reflecting on the process of acquiring the school language, but it can certainly help.

Research has shown the existence of an important lapse of time between when foreign-born students develop conversational skills in the new language and when they acquire the linguistic skills needed to benefit from teaching and learning processes (Collier, 1987; Cummins, 1981; Hakuta, Buttler and Witt, 2000; Maruny and Molina, 2000; Navarro and Huguet, 2005; Ramírez, 1992; Siqués and Vila, 2007; Thomas and Collier, 1997). These studies all conclude that this gap may last three or four years. The two skills are not independent; in fact they are closely related. However, empirical evidence demonstrates that, in the case of foreign-born students, t hese skills can develop at various rates, and that these differences are related to, among other things, students actively participating in teaching and learning tasks in the school language.