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Positively PlurilingualThe contribution of community languages to UK education and society

Our society is changing, and our need for good communicationacross cultures has never been greater. The UK has a majorlinguistic asset in its multicultural population which, ifdeveloped wisely and inclusively alongside English and otherlanguages, has the potential to benefit society as a whole aswell as improving the life chances of individual children. This booklet presents some key findings from our 2005 surveyof community languages in Britain. We aim to show howdeveloping this asset is consistent with a wide range of existingsocial and educational policies, and our intention is to informthe work of policymakers throughout the UK.

Plurilingualism is a concept developed by the Council of Europeto refer to the totality of an individual's linguistic competencesin and across different languages, which develops throughoutlife.

20 Bedfordbury, London WC2N 4LB Tel: 020 7379 5101. Fax: 020 7379 5082

www.cilt.org.uk

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Photography: Barbara Ludman (www.iwitnessphotos.com), Paul Phillips. Our thanks to the staff and pupils of Byron CourtPrimary School for all their help with the cover photo.

Patron: Sir Trevor McDonald

Positively Plurilingual

Plurilingual and positive (TWC2).qxp 20/10/2006 16:31 Page 1

Plurilingual and positive

Positively Plurilingual The contribution of community languages to UK education and society 1

The fact is, more and morebusinesses are looking for

employees with language skills,and these career opportunities

have to be highlighted for youngpeople

Miles Templeman, Director General, Institute of Directors

We should not be in the businessof making children forget whatthey knowJoseph Lo Bianco, Professor of Language and Literacy Education,University of Melbourne

IntroductionThe predominance of English and its importanceboth for our nation and as an international linguafranca are not in doubt. But alongside Englishother languages are becoming increasinglyimportant to the UK as globalisation, internationalcommunications and labour force mobilitytransform economic and cultural life. Building onexisting language skills and expertise is of directbenefit to individuals, fosters greater socialcohesion, improves skills available to employers,contributes to our national prosperity and makesus better prepared to contribute positively on theglobal stage. As a nation seeking to play a key role in globaltrade and diplomacy, we need to be able to drawon a diverse range of languages to further ourstrategic and economic aims: and these are alreadyrepresented among the languages spoken by ourschoolchildren. Yet, in our haste to ensure theyacquire good English, we frequently miss theopportunity to ensure they maintain and developtheir skills in their other languages too. Rather

than thinking in terms of an ‘English-only’ culture,we should be promoting ‘English plus’. We knowthat children are capable of acquiring more thanone language and that doing so brings a range ofeducational benefits, including cognitiveadvantages, enhanced communication skills andan openness to different cultural perspectives. The UK is rich in linguistic resources. Let us usethese resources to benefit us all – socially,culturally, educationally and economically.

Sir Trevor McDonaldPatron of CILT, the National Centre for Languages

Rather than thinking in terms ofan ‘English-only’ culture, we

should be promoting ‘English plus’

Plurilingual and positive

The fact is, more and morebusinesses are looking for

employees with language skills,and these career opportunities

have to be highlighted for youngpeople

Miles Templeman, Director General, Institute of Directors

We should not be in the businessof making children forget whatthey knowJoseph Lo Bianco, Professor of Language and Literacy Education,University of Melbourne

IntroductionThe predominance of English and its importanceboth for our nation and as an international linguafranca are not in doubt. But alongside Englishother languages are becoming increasinglyimportant to the UK as globalisation, internationalcommunications and labour force mobilitytransform economic and cultural life. Building onexisting language skills and expertise is of directbenefit to individuals, fosters greater socialcohesion, improves skills available to employers,contributes to our national prosperity and makesus better prepared to contribute positively on theglobal stage. As a nation seeking to play a key role in globaltrade and diplomacy, we need to be able to drawon a diverse range of languages to further ourstrategic and economic aims: and these are alreadyrepresented among the languages spoken by ourschoolchildren. Yet, in our haste to ensure theyacquire good English, we frequently miss theopportunity to ensure they maintain and developtheir skills in their other languages too. Rather

than thinking in terms of an ‘English-only’ culture,we should be promoting ‘English plus’. We knowthat children are capable of acquiring more thanone language and that doing so brings a range ofeducational benefits, including cognitiveadvantages, enhanced communication skills andan openness to different cultural perspectives. The UK is rich in linguistic resources. Let us usethese resources to benefit us all – socially,culturally, educationally and economically.

Sir Trevor McDonaldPatron of CILT, the National Centre for Languages

Rather than thinking in terms ofan ‘English-only’ culture, we

should be promoting ‘English plus’

A cultural resourceJust as biodiversity is seen as providing a resourcefor the planet and our future survival, so thewisdom and understanding represented in thediverse range of languages spoken by ourschoolchildren provides a cultural resource capableof enriching us all. Schools and communitieswhich draw on this provide vibrant, creativeenvironments in which to live and develop. Manyof the languages spoken by our schoolchildrenhave millions of speakers worldwide. Others havethe status of endangered languages and deserveour protection.London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games was based on its presentation ofitself as a multilingual, global city, able toconnect with people across the world. The successof the Games will depend on our ability to sustainthis positive image and back it up with thelanguage skills needed to provide a goodexperience for visitors from across the globe.

A family and personal resourceParents normally want to pass on the languagesthey speak to their children, and family relationsare enhanced if children can communicate wellwith grandparents and other family members. Themaintenance of these languages does not meanthey will be less proficient in English, or that theywill be less adapted to life in British society13.Research from the University of Southamptonshows that learning their mother tongue helpedfoster a positive sense of their compound identityamong primary schoolchildren14.Research into young people’s multilingualism inLeicester15 showed that they viewed theirbilingualism as a sign of sophistication andflexibility:

I think in both languages.

I use Bengali outside when I see older.people; it’s rude for me to speak to.them in English, so I salaam them ….

Most of us would have gone to a.doctor’s or a solicitor’s or something.with someone and translated for.them ….

Or, as Rhea Chatterjea from Singapore put it,

English and Bengali, together they.make me truly me.

An economic resourceThere is an increasing range of job opportunitiesfor speakers of many different languages in boththe public and private sectors. Language skillsenhance employability and bring benefits to bothindividuals and employers16. There is a need forbilingual workers in a range of public servicefields, from housing to relationship counselling17.Employers are increasingly recognising theadvantage and good marketing sense ofcommunicating in the language of their customers.Globalisation means that the vast majority ofbusinesses have customers, partners, suppliers oremployees from other parts of the world. Thepredicted dramatic growth of the ‘BRIC’ economies(Brazil, Russia, India and China) will boostdemand for the languages spoken in thesecountries18.A recent conference at the University of LondonUnion19 showed how African languages can providea resource for development and progress.Development workers who can speak Africanlanguages are in a better position to communicatemessages about health awareness, increasingagricultural productivity and the eradication ofpoverty. These languages have also much tocontribute to the development of education andcultural life in Africa.

What are the benefits of speaking more than one language?

…in the thinking quarters of the brain, one language feeds the otherProfessor Colin Baker, University of Wales, Bangor

A linguistic resourceMore than one in eight of English primaryschoolchildren already speak a language otherthan English before arriving at school and thisnumber is increasing1. In some schools theproportion is already much higher. In building ourlinguistic capacity as a nation, we can harness thebenefits of children’s head start in languages. Weknow that successful language learning is likely toinvolve both extensive exposure to the languageand an emotional engagement with those whospeak it2. Community language learners haveaccess to both, so any additional investment indeveloping their skills is likely to provide value formoney in terms of outcomes. People who alreadyspeak more than one language find it easier tolearn new languages than monolinguals3.

An educational resourceThomas and Collier’s large-scale4 study of differentapproaches to the education of children learningEnglish as an additional language in the US provedconclusively the superiority of education usingtheir own language as well as English over anEnglish only approach in terms of overall academicachievement.Being able to access knowledge in both languagesis a key element in educational success, whetheror not students are actually taught bilingually5.

A study of London secondary school students fromPortuguese backgrounds found that those who hadattended Portuguese classes were five times morelikely to obtain five or more GCSEs at A*–C thanthose who had not been encouraged to developtheir home language6.Being able to speak two languages improves achild’s ability to use and learn language ingeneral. Children can learn about something inone language and talk about it in another, andthis process helps them to understand the subjectbetter7.Reports8 by UK school inspectors recommendbuilding on pupils’ linguistic and cultural diversityto improve attainment in English. They show howdrawing on pupils’ cultural backgrounds can enrichthe learning of all pupils across the curriculum.Appropriate use of the home language in additionto English can improve literacy and understanding. A study of 11-year-olds in Hackney who routinelyused three languages in addition to Englishshowed these children outperforming monolingualsfrom similar backgrounds, and, atypically, boysahead of girls in their reading9.

An intellectual resourceLanguage is a key intellectual tool and one thatunderpins our ability to be effective as individualsand members of society. Ellen Bialystock of YorkUniversity, Canada studied the different areas ofthe brain stimulated by language10. She found thatbilingual people are better at multitasking becausethey constantly exercise the part of the brainknown as the pre-frontal cortex. This reinforcesattentional processes. She also established thatbeing bilingual exercises the brain anddramatically lessens age-related mental decline.Pre-school children who are bilingual are quickerto understand the symbolic function of letters andscore twice as high as monolingual children inrecognition tests of written characters. Bilingualchildren who have been exposed to literacy andstories in both languages are advantaged inlearning to read11.Research by Jim Cummins12 of the OntarioInstitute for Studies in Education, shows thatbilingual children perform better in school whenthe school effectively teaches the mother tongueand, where appropriate, develops literacy in thatlanguage. By contrast, when children areencouraged to reject their mother tongue and itsdevelopment stagnates, their personal andconceptual foundation for learning is undermined.

A cultural resourceJust as biodiversity is seen as providing a resourcefor the planet and our future survival, so thewisdom and understanding represented in thediverse range of languages spoken by ourschoolchildren provides a cultural resource capableof enriching us all. Schools and communitieswhich draw on this provide vibrant, creativeenvironments in which to live and develop. Manyof the languages spoken by our schoolchildrenhave millions of speakers worldwide. Others havethe status of endangered languages and deserveour protection.London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games was based on its presentation ofitself as a multilingual, global city, able toconnect with people across the world. The successof the Games will depend on our ability to sustainthis positive image and back it up with thelanguage skills needed to provide a goodexperience for visitors from across the globe.

A family and personal resourceParents normally want to pass on the languagesthey speak to their children, and family relationsare enhanced if children can communicate wellwith grandparents and other family members. Themaintenance of these languages does not meanthey will be less proficient in English, or that theywill be less adapted to life in British society13.Research from the University of Southamptonshows that learning their mother tongue helpedfoster a positive sense of their compound identityamong primary schoolchildren14.Research into young people’s multilingualism inLeicester15 showed that they viewed theirbilingualism as a sign of sophistication andflexibility:

I think in both languages.

I use Bengali outside when I see older.people; it’s rude for me to speak to.them in English, so I salaam them ….

Most of us would have gone to a.doctor’s or a solicitor’s or something.with someone and translated for.them ….

Or, as Rhea Chatterjea from Singapore put it,

English and Bengali, together they.make me truly me.

An economic resourceThere is an increasing range of job opportunitiesfor speakers of many different languages in boththe public and private sectors. Language skillsenhance employability and bring benefits to bothindividuals and employers16. There is a need forbilingual workers in a range of public servicefields, from housing to relationship counselling17.Employers are increasingly recognising theadvantage and good marketing sense ofcommunicating in the language of their customers.Globalisation means that the vast majority ofbusinesses have customers, partners, suppliers oremployees from other parts of the world. Thepredicted dramatic growth of the ‘BRIC’ economies(Brazil, Russia, India and China) will boostdemand for the languages spoken in thesecountries18.A recent conference at the University of LondonUnion19 showed how African languages can providea resource for development and progress.Development workers who can speak Africanlanguages are in a better position to communicatemessages about health awareness, increasingagricultural productivity and the eradication ofpoverty. These languages have also much tocontribute to the development of education andcultural life in Africa.

What are the benefits of speaking more than one language?

…in the thinking quarters of the brain, one language feeds the otherProfessor Colin Baker, University of Wales, Bangor

A linguistic resourceMore than one in eight of English primaryschoolchildren already speak a language otherthan English before arriving at school and thisnumber is increasing1. In some schools theproportion is already much higher. In building ourlinguistic capacity as a nation, we can harness thebenefits of children’s head start in languages. Weknow that successful language learning is likely toinvolve both extensive exposure to the languageand an emotional engagement with those whospeak it2. Community language learners haveaccess to both, so any additional investment indeveloping their skills is likely to provide value formoney in terms of outcomes. People who alreadyspeak more than one language find it easier tolearn new languages than monolinguals3.

An educational resourceThomas and Collier’s large-scale4 study of differentapproaches to the education of children learningEnglish as an additional language in the US provedconclusively the superiority of education usingtheir own language as well as English over anEnglish only approach in terms of overall academicachievement.Being able to access knowledge in both languagesis a key element in educational success, whetheror not students are actually taught bilingually5.

A study of London secondary school students fromPortuguese backgrounds found that those who hadattended Portuguese classes were five times morelikely to obtain five or more GCSEs at A*–C thanthose who had not been encouraged to developtheir home language6.Being able to speak two languages improves achild’s ability to use and learn language ingeneral. Children can learn about something inone language and talk about it in another, andthis process helps them to understand the subjectbetter7.Reports8 by UK school inspectors recommendbuilding on pupils’ linguistic and cultural diversityto improve attainment in English. They show howdrawing on pupils’ cultural backgrounds can enrichthe learning of all pupils across the curriculum.Appropriate use of the home language in additionto English can improve literacy and understanding. A study of 11-year-olds in Hackney who routinelyused three languages in addition to Englishshowed these children outperforming monolingualsfrom similar backgrounds, and, atypically, boysahead of girls in their reading9.

An intellectual resourceLanguage is a key intellectual tool and one thatunderpins our ability to be effective as individualsand members of society. Ellen Bialystock of YorkUniversity, Canada studied the different areas ofthe brain stimulated by language10. She found thatbilingual people are better at multitasking becausethey constantly exercise the part of the brainknown as the pre-frontal cortex. This reinforcesattentional processes. She also established thatbeing bilingual exercises the brain anddramatically lessens age-related mental decline.Pre-school children who are bilingual are quickerto understand the symbolic function of letters andscore twice as high as monolingual children inrecognition tests of written characters. Bilingualchildren who have been exposed to literacy andstories in both languages are advantaged inlearning to read11.Research by Jim Cummins12 of the OntarioInstitute for Studies in Education, shows thatbilingual children perform better in school whenthe school effectively teaches the mother tongueand, where appropriate, develops literacy in thatlanguage. By contrast, when children areencouraged to reject their mother tongue and itsdevelopment stagnates, their personal andconceptual foundation for learning is undermined.

272628

13 1514 17

What linguistic assets do we possess as a nation?

Wolverhampton won aEuropean Award forLanguages for itscommunity languagesprovision.In Leicester, over10,000 schoolchildrenspeak Gujarati.Complementary schoolsteach Polish, Ukrainianand Somali, as well asAsian and Middle Easternlanguages.

Peterborough teaches Italian, Urduand Panjabi in its primary schools.In Coventry, one in five primary pupilsspeaks another language.

In Essex there are 24 language groups ofover 50 speakers, including Shona withnearly 200. Essex schoolchildren sat GCSEs ineighteen languages last year.

Buckinghamshire Panjabi and Urdu are themost commonly spoken languages.

Kensington and Chelsea 75% ofschoolchildren speak another language inaddition to English.

London is among the most multilingual cities in the world, with over 300 languages spoken.

West Sussex 50 students annually gainGCSEs in community languages.

Hampshire Nepali is the mostwidespread of 51 languages.

Plymouth 63 languages spoken:Cantonese, Bengali, French andArabic are the most common.

• Sixty-five of the languagesspoken by UK schoolchildren

are also spoken by morethan 10 million people

worldwide• Urdu is the mostwidespread of our

communitylanguages,spoken insixty-nine

localauthorities

whichresponded

to oursurvey.

In Scotland over 100languages are spoken byschoolchildren, includingsome not recorded as beingspoken in England orWales such as Chechen,Faroese, and Kadazan. Languages spoken inone-third or more ofScottish localauthorities include Arabic,Cantonese, Dutch, French,German, Italian, Panjabi, Russian,Spanish, Thai, Turkish and Urdu.The benefits of bilingualism are recognised through provision forGaelic, and there is strong demand for Gaelic-medium educationNorthern Ireland is now becoming a more diverse multilingualsociety, while Irish-medium schools are also flourishing.Wales 21% of the population of Wales is already bilingual. 98languages are spoken by at least 8,000 children.Flintshire and Carmarthenshire are among seven Welshauthorities with Japanese speakers. Cardiff has speakers of at least 94 languages. Somali, Urdu,Bengali and Arabic are among the most common, alongside Welshand English.Newcastle-upon-Tyne is the most multilingual authority in theNorth East, with 70 languages spoken.Portuguese-speaking children in South Tyneside are mainly fromAngola.In the North West of England at least 139 languages are used byschoolchildren.Cumbria has Saturday schools in Chinese and Bengali.In Calderdale, fifteen primary schools and eight secondarieshave high multilingual populations.Liverpool Arabic, Chinese and Somali are the most commonlyspoken languages.Oldham Portuguese, Latvian and Czech speakers have recentlyjoined a population already rich in Asian languages.Manchester has 129 languages with 37 represented in a singleschool. Wakefield has increasing numbers of Polish and Portuguesespeakers.North Lincolnshire is seeing an increased demand for communitylanguage classes.West Midlands supports tuition in over 50 languages.In Sheffield, 2,000 children attend classes in thecommunity schools network.The East Midlands has large populations of Asian-language speakers.

The linguistic map ofthe UK is changing.The number oflanguages in use is growing anddiversity isspreading to parts of the country wherepreviously fewlanguages other than English were spoken.*

*Key findings from CILT's 2005 surveyof community languages in England,Scotland and Wales

272628

13 1514 17

What linguistic assets do we possess as a nation?

Wolverhampton won aEuropean Award forLanguages for itscommunity languagesprovision.In Leicester, over10,000 schoolchildrenspeak Gujarati.Complementary schoolsteach Polish, Ukrainianand Somali, as well asAsian and Middle Easternlanguages.

Peterborough teaches Italian, Urduand Panjabi in its primary schools.In Coventry, one in five primary pupilsspeaks another language.

In Essex there are 24 language groups ofover 50 speakers, including Shona withnearly 200. Essex schoolchildren sat GCSEs ineighteen languages last year.

Buckinghamshire Panjabi and Urdu are themost commonly spoken languages.

Kensington and Chelsea 75% ofschoolchildren speak another language inaddition to English.

London is among the most multilingual cities in the world, with over 300 languages spoken.

West Sussex 50 students annually gainGCSEs in community languages.

Hampshire Nepali is the mostwidespread of 51 languages.

Plymouth 63 languages spoken:Cantonese, Bengali, French andArabic are the most common.

• Sixty-five of the languagesspoken by UK schoolchildren

are also spoken by morethan 10 million people

worldwide• Urdu is the mostwidespread of our

communitylanguages,spoken insixty-nine

localauthorities

whichresponded

to oursurvey.

In Scotland over 100languages are spoken byschoolchildren, includingsome not recorded as beingspoken in England orWales such as Chechen,Faroese, and Kadazan. Languages spoken inone-third or more ofScottish localauthorities include Arabic,Cantonese, Dutch, French,German, Italian, Panjabi, Russian,Spanish, Thai, Turkish and Urdu.The benefits of bilingualism are recognised through provision forGaelic, and there is strong demand for Gaelic-medium educationNorthern Ireland is now becoming a more diverse multilingualsociety, while Irish-medium schools are also flourishing.Wales 21% of the population of Wales is already bilingual. 98languages are spoken by at least 8,000 children.Flintshire and Carmarthenshire are among seven Welshauthorities with Japanese speakers. Cardiff has speakers of at least 94 languages. Somali, Urdu,Bengali and Arabic are among the most common, alongside Welshand English.Newcastle-upon-Tyne is the most multilingual authority in theNorth East, with 70 languages spoken.Portuguese-speaking children in South Tyneside are mainly fromAngola.In the North West of England at least 139 languages are used byschoolchildren.Cumbria has Saturday schools in Chinese and Bengali.In Calderdale, fifteen primary schools and eight secondarieshave high multilingual populations.Liverpool Arabic, Chinese and Somali are the most commonlyspoken languages.Oldham Portuguese, Latvian and Czech speakers have recentlyjoined a population already rich in Asian languages.Manchester has 129 languages with 37 represented in a singleschool. Wakefield has increasing numbers of Polish and Portuguesespeakers.North Lincolnshire is seeing an increased demand for communitylanguage classes.West Midlands supports tuition in over 50 languages.In Sheffield, 2,000 children attend classes in thecommunity schools network.The East Midlands has large populations of Asian-language speakers.

The linguistic map ofthe UK is changing.The number oflanguages in use is growing anddiversity isspreading to parts of the country wherepreviously fewlanguages other than English were spoken.*

*Key findings from CILT's 2005 surveyof community languages in England,Scotland and Wales

What is being done to develop them?

Drawing on the skillsand expertise of thosewho speak community

languages will promotecitizenship and

complement theGovernment’s broader

work on the promotionof social cohesion

DfES, Languages for all, languages for life

Successful schools reach out to their.communities. They often make premises.available for community use, which.builds bridges and can develop dialogue.

DfES, Aiming high: Raising the achievement ofminority ethnic pupils

Successful provision for community.languages requires the full support of.the schools’ senior management team to create an environment where.teachersand students recognise andcelebrate.cultural and linguistic.diversity.

QCA, Community languages in secondary schools

The Assembly Government believes that.it is important to provide opportunities.for language development and.accreditation in … community.languages.

Welsh Assembly (2002), Languages Count

It will be important to provide.opportunities for linguistic development.and accreditation for those who wish to.continue to develop their skills in a.heritage or community language or who.wish to develop a language which is a.significant part of their cultural.identity, including British Sign.Language.

Scottish Executive (2000), Citizens of a Multilingual World

Within this policy context, schools and localauthorities are already developing approacheswhich encourage children to develop theirplurilingualism and others to value it.At Newbury Park Primary School, all pupils learnsome simple phrases of a ‘Language of the Month’chosen from one of the 44 languages spoken bypupils. Parents and pupils are involved in producingICT-based materials and teachers learn alongsidethe children. St John the Baptist High School in Woking hasdeveloped a thriving relationship with the WokingChinese Association which is boosting demand forclasses from both the community and from otherpupils. Shawlands Academy in Glasgow teaches Urdu to200 pupils, alongside French and German. New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton hasintegrated Panjabi into its Foundation Year ModernApprenticeship in Health and Social Care, withspectacularly successful results.Ofsted quotes the example of a North Londonschool which developed students’ understanding ofliterary terms for GCSE English by asking them tocross-reference definitions in their own languages. CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning)approaches are used extremely successfully in thebilingual schools operated by foreign embassies,such as the Instituto Cañada Blanch in London,and there is scope to apply these positiveexperiences to other languages.

An Academic Language Development Programme atKings College, London found that tapping intobilingual experiences uncovered a wealth ofcultural experiences and interests which studentshad been reticent to mention and which vastlyimproved their personal statements for universityapplication.In Bournemouth, every secondary school isoffering Asset Languages qualifications, availablein more than twenty languages. Dorset Local Authority has teamed up with TowerHamlets to provide distance learning for Bengalispeakers. In Wales, the Welsh Language Board provides onits Twf website advice and encouragement toparents who wish to bring up their childrenbilingually . Haringey City Learning Centre has set up aPolish link project involving English- and Polish-speaking children from Crowland Primary School.North Lincolnshire conducted a survey ofcommunity languages spoken by schoolchildren forthe first time in 2005, and is better able todevelop planning and co-operation withcommunity-run language classes.

Woodbridge High School won a European Awardfor Languages for its ‘Teach a Friend a Language’competition, in which students pair up to learneach other’s languages and put on performancesfor parents and the community.Goldsmiths College is one of a number ofteacher-training institutions offering PGCE coursesin teaching community languages.Arabic, Chinese and Russian networks have beenset up on the Specialist Schools and AcademiesTrust website, to help teachers exchange ideasand good practice.The Languages Work websitewww.languageswork.org.uk includes informationon careers with a range of languages and casestudies of their use in business and publicservices.For these and other examples of good practice,visit CILT’s community languages web pages atwww.cilt.org.uk/commlangs.

There is no evidence tosupport the view that

speaking languagesother than English inthe home is sociallydivisive or that it isincompatible with a

British identity. Rather,the evidence would

suggest thatbilingualism promotesa respect for diversity

and an ability tonavigate different

cultural realitiesDr Jim Anderson, Goldsmiths College, London

Key factors in supportingcommunity languages• Increasing provision• Providing opportunities to gain qualifications• Use of the European Language Portfolio• Local authority coordination• Networking and sharing of resources• Links to citizenship and global awareness• Links to the world of work

Just as people need many years'study to achieve high levels ofcompetence in English, so toochildren who speak other languagesneed to study them formally in orderto improve their competence andbecome literate. Policy makers havealready taken steps to support thelearning of community languages.

What is being done to develop them?

Drawing on the skillsand expertise of thosewho speak community

languages will promotecitizenship and

complement theGovernment’s broader

work on the promotionof social cohesion

DfES, Languages for all, languages for life

Successful schools reach out to their.communities. They often make premises.available for community use, which.builds bridges and can develop dialogue.

DfES, Aiming high: Raising the achievement ofminority ethnic pupils

Successful provision for community.languages requires the full support of.the schools’ senior management team to create an environment where.teachersand students recognise andcelebrate.cultural and linguistic.diversity.

QCA, Community languages in secondary schools

The Assembly Government believes that.it is important to provide opportunities.for language development and.accreditation in … community.languages.

Welsh Assembly (2002), Languages Count

It will be important to provide.opportunities for linguistic development.and accreditation for those who wish to.continue to develop their skills in a.heritage or community language or who.wish to develop a language which is a.significant part of their cultural.identity, including British Sign.Language.

Scottish Executive (2000), Citizens of a Multilingual World

Within this policy context, schools and localauthorities are already developing approacheswhich encourage children to develop theirplurilingualism and others to value it.At Newbury Park Primary School, all pupils learnsome simple phrases of a ‘Language of the Month’chosen from one of the 44 languages spoken bypupils. Parents and pupils are involved in producingICT-based materials and teachers learn alongsidethe children. St John the Baptist High School in Woking hasdeveloped a thriving relationship with the WokingChinese Association which is boosting demand forclasses from both the community and from otherpupils. Shawlands Academy in Glasgow teaches Urdu to200 pupils, alongside French and German. New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton hasintegrated Panjabi into its Foundation Year ModernApprenticeship in Health and Social Care, withspectacularly successful results.Ofsted quotes the example of a North Londonschool which developed students’ understanding ofliterary terms for GCSE English by asking them tocross-reference definitions in their own languages. CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning)approaches are used extremely successfully in thebilingual schools operated by foreign embassies,such as the Instituto Cañada Blanch in London,and there is scope to apply these positiveexperiences to other languages.

An Academic Language Development Programme atKings College, London found that tapping intobilingual experiences uncovered a wealth ofcultural experiences and interests which studentshad been reticent to mention and which vastlyimproved their personal statements for universityapplication.In Bournemouth, every secondary school isoffering Asset Languages qualifications, availablein more than twenty languages. Dorset Local Authority has teamed up with TowerHamlets to provide distance learning for Bengalispeakers. In Wales, the Welsh Language Board provides onits Twf website advice and encouragement toparents who wish to bring up their childrenbilingually . Haringey City Learning Centre has set up aPolish link project involving English- and Polish-speaking children from Crowland Primary School.North Lincolnshire conducted a survey ofcommunity languages spoken by schoolchildren forthe first time in 2005, and is better able todevelop planning and co-operation withcommunity-run language classes.

Woodbridge High School won a European Awardfor Languages for its ‘Teach a Friend a Language’competition, in which students pair up to learneach other’s languages and put on performancesfor parents and the community.Goldsmiths College is one of a number ofteacher-training institutions offering PGCE coursesin teaching community languages.Arabic, Chinese and Russian networks have beenset up on the Specialist Schools and AcademiesTrust website, to help teachers exchange ideasand good practice.The Languages Work websitewww.languageswork.org.uk includes informationon careers with a range of languages and casestudies of their use in business and publicservices.For these and other examples of good practice,visit CILT’s community languages web pages atwww.cilt.org.uk/commlangs.

There is no evidence tosupport the view that

speaking languagesother than English inthe home is sociallydivisive or that it isincompatible with a

British identity. Rather,the evidence would

suggest thatbilingualism promotesa respect for diversity

and an ability tonavigate different

cultural realitiesDr Jim Anderson, Goldsmiths College, London

Key factors in supportingcommunity languages• Increasing provision• Providing opportunities to gain qualifications• Use of the European Language Portfolio• Local authority coordination• Networking and sharing of resources• Links to citizenship and global awareness• Links to the world of work

Just as people need many years'study to achieve high levels ofcompetence in English, so toochildren who speak other languagesneed to study them formally in orderto improve their competence andbecome literate. Policy makers havealready taken steps to support thelearning of community languages.

References

1 DfES Statistical first release Schools andpupils in England, January 2005

2 Taeschner, T. (2005) The magic teacher. CILT,the National Centre for Languages.

3 For discussion of language learning within aplurilingual context, see chapter onLinguistic Diversity and the Curriculum inCouncil of Europe, Modern Languages:Learning, Teaching, Asesssment. A CommonEuropean Framework of reference. CambridgeUniversity Press

4 Thomas, W. and Collier, V. (2001) A nationalstudy of school effectiveness for languageminority students’ long-term academicachievement. Santa Cruz: Centre for Researchon Education, Diversity and Excellence,University of California

5 Krashen, S. ‘Why bilingual education?’. ERIC Digest.www.ericdigests.org/1997-3/bilingual.html

6 Barradas, O. Portuguese students who attendmother-tongue classes attain higher GCSEresults. London: Goldsmiths College PhDresearch. www.naldic.org.uk

7 Baker, C. and Prys Jones, S. (eds) (1998)Encyclopaedia of bilingualism and bilingualeducation. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

8 Ofsted (2005) Could they do even better? Thewriting of bilingual learners of English at KS2:HMI survey of good practice. And Ofsted(2005) Raising achievement of bilinguallearners. Ref HMI 2613

9 Sneddon, R., University of East LondonSchool of Education. Summary of researchpublished at www.naldic.org.uk

10 Bialystock, E., Craik, F., Klein, R. andViswanathan, M. (2004) ‘Bilingualism, agingand cognitive control: Evidence from theSimon task’. Psychology and Aging, 19 (2):290–303.

11 Bialystock, E. (1997) ‘Effects of bilingualismand biliteracy on children’s emergingconcepts of print’. Developmental Psychology,33 (3): 429–440

12 Cummins, J. (2003) Bilingual children'smother tongue: Why is it important foreducation? www.multiverse.ac.uk

13 Anderson, J., (2006) Curriculum guides forcommunity languages. London: CILT, theNational Centre for Languages.

14 Souza, A. Children see language as a featureof their identity. Centre for Language inEducation, University of Southampton.www.naldic.org.uk/docs/BRB5.doc

15 Young people and Community Languages inLeicester ‘In their own words’ Leicestershireand Leicester City Learning Partnership, 2006

16 CILT, the National Centre for Languages(2005) Talking world class: The impact oflanguage skills on the UK economy.

17 Scottish Executive Central Research Unit(2002) Translating, interpreting andcommunication support services across thepublic sector in Scotland: A literature review.

18 Graddol, D., English Next, British Council,2006

19 University of London Union (2006) ‘Linguisticdiversity in Africa’ conference.

Other referencesCILT, the National Centre for Languages (2005)Language Trends 2005: Community languagelearning in England, Wales and Scotland.Clyne, M., (2005) Australia’s language potential.Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.DfES (2002) Languages for all, languages for life: Astrategy for England.DfES (2003) Aiming high: Raising the achievementof minority ethnic pupils.Nettle, D. and Romaine, S. (2000) Vanishing voices:The extinction of the world’s languages. Oxford:Oxford University Press.QCA (2005) Community languages in secondaryschools.Scottish Executive (2000), Citizens of aMultilingual World.Vertovec, S. (2006) The emergence of superdiversityin Britain. Centre on Migration, Policy and Society,University of Oxford. Welsh Assembly Government (2002) Languagescount.