Bilingualism and Pre-School Provision: Gaelic-medium Playrooms

1. Bilingualism and Pre-School Provision: Gaelic-medium Playrooms Joanna McPake University of Strathclyde, Scotland OilthighShrathChluaidh, Alba joanna.mcpake@strath.ac.uk

2. Key Questions • What are the linguistic advantages and disadvantages of early years language immersion programmes? • What are the educational advantages and disadvantages? • What approaches maximise linguistic and educational benefits? • How can early years practitioners best be supported to achieve the challenging goals they have been set?

3. Two Studies • 2008-9: Review of Gaelic Medium Early Education and Childcare • (Scottish Government • and BòrdnaGàidhlig) • 2010-11: Young Children Learning in Gaelic • (British Academy) Glasgow Gaelic School SgoilGhàidhligGhlaschu Research Team: University of Stirling: Christine Stephen, Irene Pollock, Tessa Carroll University of Edinburgh: Wilson McLeod University of Strathclyde: Joanna McPake

4. Aims Review • To map the current extent of GM provision for early years education and childcare Young Children • To investigate the everydayexperiences of childrenattending GM pre-schoolsettings

5. Methods Review • Mapping provision from existing statistics • A survey of identified providers • Interviews with key informants Young children • Three case study settings, six visits across the school year • Systematic observations • Structured conversations • Access to child profile records • Profile of language learning environment in each setting

6. Gaelic Medium Education (GME) • Gaelic speakers in Scotland:59,000 people = 1.2% of population • Fewer than 1% of families with young children use Gaelic at home • Just over 700 children enrolled in GM pre-school in 2008-9 • National Plan for Gaelic: aims for 4000 children starting GME by 2021

7. Gaelic Medium Pre-School Provision • Scottish children entitled to two years of state-funded pre-school education, from age 3-5: 475 hours per year • From the Review, we found 127 providers of GM early years education and care in 2008-9: state and private nurseries, playgroups and child-minders Iochdar Nursery, South Uist Croileagan An Iochdair • The Review found GM pre-school provision in 14 of the 32 local authorities in Scotland, not only in the Gàidhealtachd

8. Gaelic Medium Pre-School Practitioners • Nursery staff may be ‘fluent speakers’ or ‘learners’ of Gaelic • Educational qualifications range from basic vocational qualification (SVQ2) to B.Ed. • No pre-school or early years initial training is available in Gaelic. • None includes a focus on bilingualism, language learning and teaching or principles and practice of immersion education. • CPD for Gaelic medium pre-school and school practitioners is with English-medium colleagues, and in English. GM practitioners are expected to ‘translate’ this into GM practice.

9. A Language Immersion Model • c. 80% of children do not come from Gaelic speaking homes • Providers outside the Gàidhealtachd have very few Gaelic speaking children • Non-Gaelic speaking parents choose GM provision for: • historical reasons • benefits of bilingualism • social reasons • small classes • Gaelic-speaking parents • often choose English medium education

10. Curriculum for Excellence: Early Years • Active, experiential learning • Follows children’s interests and motivations • ‘Play’ an important medium for learning • Holistic perspective on development – cognitive, emotional, social, expressive and aesthetic and physical • Learning is process of construction not transmission • Process valued as well as product

11. Challenges • To provide children with a positive start to their educational careers, meeting all the demands of Curriculum for Excellence • To do this using a language unfamiliar to most of the children • To ensure that children develop competence in Gaelic, enabling them to progress to GM primary education

12. An Cumachd Ms Robertson: James, dèthaann an cumachd? James: Rocket. Ms Robertson: Chan e. (Asks others.) Ms Robertson: Eilsibhagèisteachd le nacluasan? Cumachd. ’S e shape a th’ ann.

13. An Doctair Two girls lie down and role play going to sleep Mairi: I’m pretending in the game that I’m ill. MsMacNeill: Dèthaceàrr ort? Laura: They don’t know. MsMacNeill: Dètha an dotairagràdh? Mairi: I don’t know.

14. Isaac Newton Ms Blair: Còbha Isaac Newton? Shona: An apple fell on his head. Ms Blair: Carson a thuitan ubhal? Shona: Because there was gravity.

15. Am Burrais Ms Blair: Dèthachair? Lisa: He was a mòrcaterpillar. Ms Blair: How long? Lisa: Dàweeks.

16. Gaelic Exposure and Use • In just over half the observation episodes for target children across all settings the language they heard was Gaelic • Children spoke English almost all the time • Overwhelming majority of instances of Gaelic use were when singing or at story time (adult-led activities) • Children clearly understood commands and polite phrases and sometimes embedded these in English (e.g. ‘tidy up’, ‘thank you’) • They very occasionally embedded other single words in responses to practitioners • Limited evidence that they were aware of emergent bilingualism or its purpose

17. Theoretical Perspectives • Sociology of childhood: being and becoming • the being child: a social actor in his or her own right, actively constructing his or her own childhood • (present orientation) • the becoming child: an adult in the making (future orientation) • Uprichard, E. (2007): Children as ‘Being and Becomings’: Children, Childhood and Temporality • Children and Society, 22: 303-313

18. Conflicting Goals? • Curriculum for Excellence • Early Level • Process-orientation: • Child-centred • Active • Play-based • Holistic • GM Pre-school and Primary Education • Goal-orientation: • Language revitalisation-centred • Rapid, substantive growth in numbers of Gaelic speakers • Fluency BeingBecoming

19. Some Answers • Linguistic advantages and disadvantages • Educational advantages and disadvantages • Maximising the benefits • Supporting practitioners ‘This is real writing’