Making provision for community languages: issues for teacher education in the UK ¹

1. A note on terminology used in this paper:

Community languages are defined as all languages in use in a society, other than the dominant, official or national language. In the UK, where the dominant language is English, community languages include Urdu, Panjabi, Chinese, Polish, Italian and British Sign Language (BSL). Welsh and Gaelic, each of which has official status in Wales and Scotland respectively, are not considered to be community languages, but other so-called ‘indigenous’ languages, such as Scots or Cornish are included.

Modern languages are defined as languages studied at school or in other formal contexts. In the UK, these are typically French, German and Spanish, although a number of other languages are also taught in schools. The difference between modern language learning and community language learning lies not in the languages themselves (note that any ‘modern’ language can also be a ‘community’ language) but in the learners' experiences. Community language learners have had some (often extensive) prior experience of the languages before starting to study them in a formal context. Modern language learners begin studying the language from scratch in a formal context and usually have little or no exposure to the language outside the classroom.

Plurilingual refers to someone who can speak more than one language. The term is used in preference to ‘bilingual’ which indicates someone who can speak two (but not more) languages, in order not to have to distinguish between those who speak two and those who speak more than two languages. It is now well-established that someone described as ‘bilingual’ or ‘plurilingual’ does not necessarily have ‘native-like’ competence in both or all languages, although this tends to be a popular interpretation of the meaning of ‘bilingual’ (see discussions in Hamers & Blanc, 1989; Baker & Prys Jones, 1998). Most plurilinguals have acquired their languages in different contexts and use them for different purposes; in addition, they tend not to have equal access to education in each language. Their competences in each language therefore tend to vary and to complement each other.

Multilingual refers to societies in which more than one language is in use—although it is not necessarily the case that all the people in that society are plurilingual. This distinction between the ‘plurilingual’ person and the ‘multilingual’ society originates with the Council of Europe's Language Policy Division which supports the development of language education policies in its 45 member states. It reflects the fact that several European languages, including French and German, but not English, make this distinction.

Mainstream education refers to education provided by UK local authorities in primary and secondary schools, either during the standard school day (core mainstream)or after school hours, as part of a school's extra-curricular provision.

Complementary education refers to educational provision organized by communities, independently of the local authority. Complementary classes, schools or centres usually operate after school hours or at weekends, making provision for children to learn community languages, often because they do not have opportunities to study these languages in mainstream schools. Complementary classes, schools or centres are sometimes referred to as ‘supplementary’ or ‘community-based’ provision, but ‘complementary’ has become the preferred term for this sector.

Abstract

In UK schools, as elsewhere, linguistic diversity is on the rise. Changing patterns of migration and settlement mean that schools in areas where once English was the only language spoken are encountering bilingual pupils for the first time, while schools with a long history of multilingualism are finding that the range of languages spoken by pupils is growing and changing. These developments can be viewed positively, in particular given that plurilingualism (competence in more than one language) has been recognized by the Council of Europe, among other international bodies, as a desirable educational goal for all, benefiting both the individual who can speak several languages and wider society. However, to reap these benefits, there is a need for investment in formal educational provision which enables plurilingual learners to maintain and develop all their languages. Research conducted by three of the UK's Centres for Information on Language Teaching and Research—Scottish CILT, CILT, the (English) National Centre for Languages and CILT Cymru, in Wales—has established that there are substantial (and growing) numbers of plurilingual children in UK schools, speaking a very wide range of languages. There is provision for some of these languages to be studied formally, in mainstream education and in complementary classes. However, the research also revealed that professional development is a high priority for community language teachers, many of whom are untrained volunteers. In addition, research conducted by the Training and Development Agency (TDA) in England has shown that newly qualified teachers feel that their training has not prepared them well for working with pupils from a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. There is therefore also a need for initial teacher education and professional development which raises awareness of the benefits of plurilingualism, and for teacher educators to participate in experimental initiatives to develop bilingual educational approaches.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the support of a wide number of commentators on the research reported in this paper, in particular members of the Community Languages Advisory Group, convened by CILT, the National Centre for Languages, who provided invaluable input to the work as it progressed; and the group of specialists who came together to discuss the outcomes and issues arising from the work in autumn 2005.

Notes

1. A note on terminology used in this paper:

	Community languages are defined as all languages in use in a society, other than the dominant, official or national language. In the UK, where the dominant language is English, community languages include Urdu, Panjabi, Chinese, Polish, Italian and British Sign Language (BSL). Welsh and Gaelic, each of which has official status in Wales and Scotland respectively, are not considered to be community languages, but other so-called ‘indigenous’ languages, such as Scots or Cornish are included.
	Modern languages are defined as languages studied at school or in other formal contexts. In the UK, these are typically French, German and Spanish, although a number of other languages are also taught in schools. The difference between modern language learning and community language learning lies not in the languages themselves (note that any ‘modern’ language can also be a ‘community’ language) but in the learners' experiences. Community language learners have had some (often extensive) prior experience of the languages before starting to study them in a formal context. Modern language learners begin studying the language from scratch in a formal context and usually have little or no exposure to the language outside the classroom.
	Plurilingual refers to someone who can speak more than one language. The term is used in preference to ‘bilingual’ which indicates someone who can speak two (but not more) languages, in order not to have to distinguish between those who speak two and those who speak more than two languages. It is now well-established that someone described as ‘bilingual’ or ‘plurilingual’ does not necessarily have ‘native-like’ competence in both or all languages, although this tends to be a popular interpretation of the meaning of ‘bilingual’ (see discussions in Hamers & Blanc, 1989; Baker & Prys Jones, 1998). Most plurilinguals have acquired their languages in different contexts and use them for different purposes; in addition, they tend not to have equal access to education in each language. Their competences in each language therefore tend to vary and to complement each other.
	Multilingual refers to societies in which more than one language is in use—although it is not necessarily the case that all the people in that society are plurilingual. This distinction between the ‘plurilingual’ person and the ‘multilingual’ society originates with the Council of Europe's Language Policy Division which supports the development of language education policies in its 45 member states. It reflects the fact that several European languages, including French and German, but not English, make this distinction.
	Mainstream education refers to education provided by UK local authorities in primary and secondary schools, either during the standard school day (core mainstream)or after school hours, as part of a school's extra-curricular provision.
	Complementary education refers to educational provision organized by communities, independently of the local authority. Complementary classes, schools or centres usually operate after school hours or at weekends, making provision for children to learn community languages, often because they do not have opportunities to study these languages in mainstream schools. Complementary classes, schools or centres are sometimes referred to as ‘supplementary’ or ‘community-based’ provision, but ‘complementary’ has become the preferred term for this sector.

2. www.cilt.org.uk/comenius/london/commlangs.htm

3. www.cilt.org.uk

4. www.continyou.org.uk/resourceunit/

5. www.naldic.org.uk/

6. The TTA became the Training and Development Agency (TDA) in 2005.

7. www.multiverse.ac.uk