Adult Minority Language Learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin J. Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Minority Language

scholarly journals The development of English grammar and reading comprehension by majority and minority language children in a bilingual primary school

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-442
Author(s):  
Anja K. Steinlen
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Language Background ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Language Groups

Both for the first language (L1) and for all additional languages (L2 or L3), grammatical knowledge plays a vital role in understanding texts (e.g., Grabe, 2005). However, little is known about the development and interaction of grammar and reading comprehension in beginning foreign language learning, especially with respect to children with a minority language background. This longitudinal study, therefore, examined minority and majority language children’s English grammar and reading comprehension skills. The children attended a German-English partial immersion primary school and were tested at the end of Grades 3 and 4. As expected, we found grammar to affect reading comprehension but also reverse effects. Most importantly, the results did not reveal any differences between the two language groups, irrespective of the test. Therefore, immersion primary school programs seem to be suitable for minority language children, and these children do not automatically represent an at-risk group for foreign language learning.

The social identity of Welsh learners

1986 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol S. Trosset
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Welsh Language ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Linguistic Groups

ABSTRACTThe process of the attempted acquisition of spoken Welsh by English speakers in Wales is examined ethnographically in relation to the native association of Welsh-language speech with a Welsh cultural identity. Perceptions of Welsh learners by members of other linguistic groups reveal the symbolic significance of the learning of a minority language. The status of learners as verbal performers is investigated, together with the psychological impact of that status and of the ambiguity of the learners' identity on the learning process. (Bilingualism, language learning, Wales/Welsh)

scholarly journals Early Childhood Bilingualism: The Myths, Truths, and Implications in English Language Learning in Pontianak

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Teddy Fiktorius
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
English Language ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
West Kalimantan ◽  
Time Investment ◽  
Library Research ◽  
Descriptive Method

The paper explicates the immediate concern of gaining a deeper insight of language acquisition in the early childhood bilingualism in the setting of Pontianak city, a multi-ethnic city located in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is written through descriptive method or library research to provide the readers, especially the parents and teachers with better insights into a basis for decision making about raising and educating children bilingually. The first part elaborates on four myths, namely the myth of the monolingual brain, the myth of time investment, the myth of bilingualism and language impairment; and the myth of minority language children. It is followed by the argumentative support by the experts in the fields based on the literature review. Next, discussions are presented as a whole, pointing out some of significant implications for parents and teachers. Finally, an overall conclusion of the paper coverage is provided.

scholarly journals Transatlantic Context for Gaelic Language Revitalisation

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Stuart S. Dunmore
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
North America ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Current Policy ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
New Speakers ◽  
Language Revitalisation

Abstract The notion of the ‘new speaker’, and its salience particularly in relation to minority language sociolinguistics, has become increasingly prevalent in the last decade. The term refers to individuals who have acquired an additional language to high levels of oracy and make frequent use of it in the course of their lives. Language advocates in both Scotland and Nova Scotia emphasise the crucial role of new speakers in maintaining Gaelic on both sides of the Atlantic. As a result, Gaelic language teaching has been prioritised by policymakers as a mechanism for revitalising the language in both polities. This article examines reflexes of this policy in each country, contrasting the ongoing fragility of Gaelic communities with new speaker discourses around heritage, identity, and language learning motivations. Crucially, I argue that challenging sociodemographic circumstances in Gaelic communities in Scotland and Nova Scotia contrast with current policy discourses, and with new speaker motivations for acquiring higher levels of Gaelic oracy in North America.

scholarly journals Early bilingualism: children of immigrants in an English-language childcare center

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roma Chumak-Horbatsch
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Children Of Immigrants ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Immigrant Parents ◽  
Language Practice ◽  
Childcare Center

Early bilingualism: children of immigrants in an English-language childcare center In this study, language views and home language practice of sixteen immigrant parents were documented and related to the dual language behaviors of their young children (ages 1:09 to 3;06) who were enrolled in a Toronto English-language childcare center. De Houwer's (1999) model of early bilingualism was applied to the minority language context and external factors were used to explain the short-lived active bilingualism of the younger children and the passive bilingualism of the preschoolers. Presenting mothers and fathers with separate questionnaires proved to be a valuable methodological tool, which revealed similar language thinking but different home language practice. Immigrant mothers were more committed to their children's L1 development than were fathers, a finding, which supports and extends the parental gender difference noted in earlier work (Gleason, 2005; Lyon, 1991; Lyon & Ellis, 1999). Negative effects of early L2 exposure on minority language children's incomplete L1, reported in earlier studies, were confirmed. A concrete outcome of the present study was the creation mylanguage.ca, a website intended to help immigrant parents understand their children's dual language learning. Even though the study presents a somewhat bleak picture of the continuation of L1, it concludes on an optimistic note, encouraging immigrant fathers to join forces with their L1-committed spouses and to help provide a nurturing L1 environment for their young children.

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