Family language maps: bridging the gap between home and classroom

1. Family language maps: bridging the gap between home and classroom IATEFL: Liverpool 2013 Sheila Macdonald Doctorate in Education Programme, University of Sheffield ESOL Skills for Life Lecturer, Kent

2. Aims of the workshop • Set the scene - research context • Explore language maps • Discuss potential for classroom and research • Summary: a creatively critical tool

3. Research context • 12 years “Skills for Life” • 1 million students • 2/3 women • majority are mothers

4. Participants: ESOL students • women with young children • 185 survey responses (38 languages) • 47 questionnaires (EU: non EU/ 50:50) • 20 interviewees • 18 language maps (31 children)

5. Research Questions • What do women say about their experiences of learning English and its place in their lives? • What is the socio-economic context in which this learning is taking place and how do these discourses impact on women students? • Are women’s narratives congruent with the political and policy context within which ESOL is provided?

6. Piotr My Father (husband) My in-laws Marcin Diana (2 y - son) (5m - daughter) E: English P: Polish R: Russian U: Ukrainian Tina’s language map Trying Polish or use Ukrainian R: 100% My Mama U: 20% P:95% R: 100% P: 100% R: 1% R: 80% R: 4% U: 70% E: 1% R: 30% Tina U: 50%-50% R R: 100% P: 100% R: 70% P: 30%

7. Group Task 1 What does this map tell you about Tina and her family?

8. Group task 2 • How could language maps be used with individuals, or with groups, in the ESL classroom? • What might be the difficulties or disadvantages? • How could they support tutors to set appropriate learning goals with people in different educational settings?

9. Cantonese Don Ex-husband 100% English 90% English 10% Chinese John10 Diana8 80% Chinese 20% English 80% Chinese 20% English Winnie 100% English Winnie’s language map NB: Children's father: Chinese background but came to UK age 1. Paternal grandparents live in London. Little contact.

10. Winnie said: “I hope my children speak Chinese but they don’t/ when they go nursery they already speak English because my child 2 and a half don’t speak anything and then the health visitor let me take the children go to the nursery and then start learning from nursery, start speaking English, I want they come back and start speaking in my language but they don’t.”

11. Later Winnie said: “ Now I got a hole in the middle now/ sometimes I talk Chinese a little bit they can’t understand but I talk English, try to talk English, they say ‘Mummy I can’t understand what you talking about’ so that’s the hole inside.”

12. The government says: “…frankly incomprehensible situation … where, according to the 2011 census, no one speaks English as their main language in five per cent of households.” The Communities Secretary 15/01/13

13. A creatively critical response • Quantitative and qualitative research into multilingual households • Class mapping to make multilingualism visible and build beginners’ confidence • Use as basis for learner debate as part of citizenship courses • Support for women-only spaces where mothers can share experiences

14. Contact details For further discussion, please contact: Sheila Macdonald tefl@sheilamacdonald.co.uk +44 (0) 7971 682085 Thanks