Shaping the bilingual advantages from early ages: for whom, when and how?

1. Seventh Heritage Language Research Institute:
Heritage Speakers and the Advantages of Bilingualism June 17-21, 2013 Shaping the bilingual advantages from early ages: for whom, when and how? María Luisa Parra Harvard University

2. Advocating for bilingualism • Cognitive • Social and • Cultural advantages

3. Different social circumstances under which a child can become bilingual (Skutnabb-Kangas, 1984). • Children belong to the (elite) group where parents choose to give them the opportunity to learn languages as part of their education. • Others belong to linguistic majorities that because of linguistic policies of their government, their education is in a different language that the one spoken at home. • Children belonging to bilingual families. • Children from linguistic minorities that, along with their parents do not have another choice but to learn the main stream language.

4. Language maintenance and Bilingualism: Advantage or disadvantage? • Itmust be borne in mindthatthedevelopment of language, and hencebilinguality, ispart and parcel of thesocializationprocessthroughwhich a childbecomes a member of a given social group. • “Thebilingual’sdevelopment and behaviorcannot be consideredindependenlyfromsociety, itsstructure and its cultural dimension.(Hamers & Blanc, 2001. p.198 ). • Hakuta (1986): The field of bilingual development and heritage language maintenance should deal with the individual and the circumstances that surround him at the onset and beyond of her bilingual development.

5. Central concept The active child…Child develops (cognition, social, skills, language) through participation in cultural contexts, socialization practices and meaningful interactions through dialogue with significant others (parents, siblings, teachers, peers).

6. Language development: process intertwined with other aspects of development Social / cultural development Cognitive development Emotional development Language B Language A Anchored in daily practices and interactions

7. Importance of family for child’s socialization and language maintenance (Fishman, 2006) • “ Family is the very building-block of intergenerational transmission” • “It is in the family that social support and transactions with the community have traditionally been initiated and nurtured. It is also in the family that social commitments have traditionally been nurtured” (p.104).

8. School programs for immigrant children • Regular English program • ESL • Sheltered English • Bilingual programs • Two way • Transitional • Early exit • Late exit

9. Objetctives • To present data from a one-year longitudinal study of four Latino children in a transitional bilingual kindergarten program in the Boston area. • To show how the interplay between home and school relations shape bilingual advantages from early ages. • Will use an ecological framework (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) to conceptualized Spanish maintenance and English acquisition as part of the school adaptation process (García-Sellers, 1996).

10. The Ecological Model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) Community Culture

11. Mesosystem: Interaction between the Home-School microsystems Language Language Family System School System Culture • History • Structure • Roles • Expectations • Values • SES • Stability • Overall satisfaction Culture Organize behaviors through System of believes (Super & Harkness, 2002) • Structure • Roles • History • Expectations • Values • Resources Organize behaviors through System of believes Attitudes towards other cultures and languages Attitudes towards host cultures and language

12. Conceptual Model of Home-School Relations Garcia Sellers, MJ (1996) Home In the modal U.S. family, there is a large overlap between home and school culture that facilitates the child’s adaptation to school. For immigrant families there is little or no overlap, thus requiring significant adjustment by the child in order to adapt. Child School Home Home Home Home Child Child Child Child School School School School Adapted Unadapted Transferred Adapted with Support

13. Transitional bilingual programs:“In theory” aim to provide continuity between home and school through instruction in the home language. Home Child Spanish Spanish School

14. However… García-Sellers, Liva-Stein & García (2000) found in a longitudinal studythree developmental patters of Spanish/English bilingual development within transitional bilingual programs: • Both languages develop • English develops / Spanish stagnates • Both languages develop • Patterns of language preference and proficiency change over time. Spanish is the language with most variability and the language at risk.

15. The Home-School Connection Program (Tufts University) Goals • To facilitate school transition • To promote school success of children • To strengthen communication between teachers and parents through common goals

16. Where to start building support for immigrant children? Defining Common Goals Family Child School Teacher Family Academic and social success: A triangular process Wellbeing and development From The Home-School Connection Program, Tufts University I

17. Methodology • Developmental Psychology (Ecological model, Bronfenbrenner, 1979):Child development in context. • Sociolinguistics: Language(s) use in society and power relations. • Ethnography: the nuances of school and families realities and interactions (Home visits and classroom observations). • Mediation between parents and teachers.

18. Three sources of information

19. Concepts • Continuity and communication between home and school • Child’s transition from home to school. • Role of perception (parents, teacher, mediator) in assessing child’s language development, academic achievement and social behavior.

20. Important dates in the year

21. Four case studies • Santos • Krissia • Leonard • Bryan

22. Santos • Only child • Shy, obedient. • Parents from El Salvador (4 years in the US). • Both parents speak Spanish to Santos (Mother doesn’t know English). • Mother's education: 2nd grade • Father: No formal education. Poor relation with Santos

23. Krissia • Youngest sister. • Active, rebellious, very social • Mother from Honduras (15 years in the US) • Mother's education: Paraprofesional in Honduras (Equivalent to US high school). Owner of a daycare center at her house. • Both parents speak Spanish and English but only speak Spanish with girls.

24. Leonard • Second son on three children • Quiet, serious, even sad look. "Good boy" "Sometimes doesn't listen." • Parents left him in Peru with grandmother. • Mother’s education: High School • They brought him to the US with them after 2 years. • Moved three times in a year and a half.

25. Bryan • 6 years old • Good boy, loving, active. • Born in Honduras. Arrived to the U.S at 2. • Mother has 6 years in US • Mothers education: College • Parents and Bryan live at uncle's house

26. All four mothers… • Spoke only Spanish to children • Wanted children to go to college • Expected children to maintain Spanish and learn English • Supportive

27. Language use at home (reported by mothers) (September)

28. Things that child and mother did together

29. Fist home visit assessment (reported by mediator)

30. At school

31. School experience previous to K

33. Classroom observation: Language use in classroom activities/outside classroom activitieswith peers(reported by mediator) (November) At home At School

34. Child’s language in interaction with teacher (reported by teacher) (March/April)

35. Child Interview (January)

36. Child language preference

37. Preference and Proficiency in Spanish and English (Picture Naming)

38. Miss Peterson retired…Krissia and Leonard go to Miss Díaz classroom

39. Language use (reported by teacher): Language use un classroom activities/outside classroom activities (April) At home At School Miss Díaz adds information: Santos speaks English (mother and mediator reported Spanish only). She also reports only Spanish for Krissia and Leonard (mother and former teacher reported use on both Spanish and English).

40. Teacher Interview (April)

41. Phone follow up: Academics and social skills (reported by mother) At the beginning of the year Follow up late March

42. Follow up: Academics and social skills (reported by mother) At the beginning of the year Follow up late March

43. Follow up:Language changes over time (Reported by mothers) At the beginning of the year By late Macrh

44. Language changes over time (Reported by mothers) At the beginning of the year By late March

45. Academics at the end of the year (reported by teacher)

46. Mother-Teacher relations

47. Individual and social factors that shaped Spanish development and English acquisition and academic success • Within social contexts (immigrant population/bilingual families) there are important individual differences that result from: • Child temperament • Family circumstances • Relationship between parents and child (supportive?) • Schooling options and parental choices (would support parents expectations?) • Relationship between parents and teachers (continuous? / agreement in perception of child’s linguistic and academic abilities?) • Relationship between teacher and child (supportive?)

48. Ecological perspectiveHornbergerand Wang (2008) • : “[...] [Heritage language learners] do not learn or use one, two or more languages in isolation. Consequently, there is no single profile of [heritage language learners]. • Taken from this perspective, these individuals, their interactions with the people around them, and their dynamic interface with the social, educational, cultural, economic and political institutions constitute an ecological system. • In such system, individuals are the center of inquiry, but they are also always a part of a larger system which they shape and are shaped by various factors in the system.” (p. 6).

49. An interdisciplinary and integral approach to language maintenance and to educate the next generation of heritage parents and teachers.

50. THANK YOU!