L1 as language of instruction in L2 acquisition

L1 as language of instruction in L2 acquisition The Utrecht pilot as a part of the Dutch integration policy Jonneke Prins prins.j@hccnet.nl

Content of the presentation • The Utrecht pilot as a part of the Dutch integration policy • Purposes in the Utrecht pilot • L1 in the curriculum: 7 designs • Methodological problems • The first results • Further research

Dutch Integration Programme • Mandatory for new arrivals and long-term residents without Dutch citizenship • Purpose: ‘inburgering’ or civic integration • To prove that your civic integration is on a basic level, you have to pass a Integration Exam: • Test of knowledge of the Dutch Society (KNS) • Test of written functional Dutch A1/A2 • Test of oral Dutch A2 • Portfolio with proofs of acquired skills and/or results of practice assessments A2OGO or Work

The PaVEM project as a part of the Integration Programme • Purposes PaVEM whole country • To encourage parental involvement in children’s education (focus in Utrecht) • To increase job opportunitiesfor women • Target group in Utrecht: • 220 women, illiterate or low educated • long-term residents, however: • having few or no oral skills in Dutch

Purposes in the Utrecht pilot Could the use of L1 as language of instruction enhance the learning process? • Literacy acquisition unto literacy level B in 200 hrs • Second language acquisition in 500 hrs • oral skills should be on level A2 • written skills should be at least on level A1 • 90% participating in the exam • 40% passing the exam

Using L1 as language of instruction • Several models of using L1 as language of instruction in Utrecht • observed by the monitor • not planned by the project management • Differences in • the way in which the teacher is using the language of instruction in the lessons • planning / organisation

Ways of using L1 • encouraging the students to reflect on learning processes • what was happening when I was doing this task • what was easy to me, what was difficult, how to do it next time? • explaining the meaning of words • explaining grammatical structures in Dutch in contrast with the structure of the L1 • (could that enhance the leaning process in L2 literacy classes or in D2L classes in which low educated adults participate?) • encouraging the students to become more acquainted with Dutch society (the exam KNS)

Planning L1 as language of instruction • Planning the period: • How many hours in the curriculum? • How to bring in the L1 and the L2 teacher: • successive • parallel • Lessons D2L given by • L1 teacher • L2 teacher

literacy acquisition unto level B instruction in L1 by L1 teacher Design 1 max 200 hrsunto literacy level B students from the north of Morocco the language of instruction has to be the students first language: Tarifit Choosing the language of instruction

D2L by L1 teacher extra support in L1 by L1 teacher every lesson in L1 with L1 teacher Design 2 200 hrs literacy acquisition 300 hrs unto CEF A2D2L increasingly in L2 extra explanation and reflection in L1 codeswitching in lessons D2L if necessary Choosing the language of instruction

D2L by L1 teacher extra support in L1 by L1 teacher every lesson in L1with L1 teacher Design 3 from < A1 unto A2 CEF 100 hrs lessons in L1 400 hrs lessons in L1 and L2 if necessarycodeswitching in lessons D2L Choosing the language of instruction

D2L by L2 teacher extra support by L1 teacher Design 4 from < A1 unto A2 CEF L1 and L2 teacher are working together during the whole program (500 hrs) D2L by L2 teacher L1 teacher has time to explain and gives room for reflection Choosing the language of instruction

D2L by T1 teacherD2L by L2 teacher extra support by L1 teacher Design 5 unto CEF A1 250 hrs D2L in L1using codeswitching andextra support by L1 teacher in L1 from CEF A1 250 hrs D2L in L2 by L2 teacher Choosing the language of instruction

D2L by L1 teacher D2L by L2 teacher extra support by L1 teacher Design 6 unto A1 250 hrs D2L in L1using codeswitching extra support by L1 teacher from A1 250 hrs D2L by L2 teacher extra support by L1 teacher Choosing the language of instruction

D2L by L2 teacher instruction in L2 by L2 teacher Design 7 Start at CEF A1 unto CEF A2 the language of instruction is Dutch Choosing the language of instruction

Observed differences between students in the 7 curricula • Students in a curriculum with a L1 teacher: • their mean age is higher • their mean level of education is lower • their mean level D2L when starting the course is (far) below A1 • Students in a curriculum in which a L1 teacher has a little task or no task at all: • their mean age is lower • their mean level of education is higher • their mean level D2L when starting the course is (almost) A1

Consequence when doing this research A valid comparison between • students participating a course with a L1 teacher and • students participating a course with instruction in Dutch only is not possible. results of the ANOVA on a extra handout

L2 Literacy classes. Word Reading

The first results from D2L curriculum after 500 hrs

D2L classes: Portfolio at the end

Relationship results with hours L1/L2 instruction Adjusted to: the D2L level at the start

Relationship results with hours L1/L2 instruction Adjusted to: age, level of education and the D2L level at the start

Further research: a plan Is there a relation between the design of the curriculum and the result D2L? A plan: • to count the hours of support in L1 in design 4 and in 2nd half of design 6 separately • to look for comparable cases • age, level of education, level D2L at the start • to compare the mean result in 2 samples • a sample of students having support in L1 with a L1 teacher (design 3) • a sample of students having support L1 with a L1 teacher while learning D2L with 2L teacher (design 4,6)

L1 as language of instruction in L2 acquisition