Kenner, Charmian; Gregory, Eve E.; Ruby, Mahera and Al-Azami, Salman. 2007. Developing bilingual learning strategies in mainstream and community contexts. Project Report. ESRC, Swindon. [Report]

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Abstract or Description

This study set out to enhance theoretical understanding of bilingual learning and devise ways in which it can be built into classroom practice, through action research with children, mainstream teachers and bilingual assistants participating in the Primary National Strategy Pilot for EAL (English as an Additional Language) in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Teachers from the children’s Bengali after-school classes were involved via partnership with Tower Hamlets Community Languages Service, since community classes are sites where children already use both mother tongue and English for language and literacy learning (Robertson, 2002; Martin et al, 2004).

Previous studies on bilingual learning have mostly been conducted with first generation children and/or in countries where there is mainstream bilingual education. A unique aspect of this study is that the children involved were second or third generation British Bangladeshi, mostly more fluent in English than in their mother tongue, who would not otherwise have had the opportunity to use their full language repertoire within the mainstream curriculum. Our research examined whether and how the cognitive and cultural benefits of bilingual learning found in other contexts might apply in this particular setting.

Item Type:	Report (Project Report)
Keywords:	bilingual learning, Bengali, conceptual transfer, bilingual identities
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Educational Studies > Centre for Language, Culture and Learning
Date:	2007
Funders:	Funding body Funder ID Grant Number ESRC UNSPECIFIED
Item ID:	4532
Date Deposited:	23 Nov 2010 14:33
Last Modified:	29 Apr 2020 15:29
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/4532

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