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Rose Drury
Staffordshire, UK: Trentham Books (2007)
This is an important book for all educators working with bilingual children and families. On the basis of sound ethnographic research practices, the author powerfully illustrates how competent the bilingual children in her study are at home, and how less than competent they are judged to be at nursery school and in subsequent grades.
The book is organised into two parts: Part 1 sets the context for researching and understanding young children's learning through the stories of Nazma, Samia and Maria; Part 2 introduces the sociocultural perspectives which emphasise the child as an active agent in their learning.
There are a number of insights, including how perceptive the girls are about what is going on in their schooling, both at the time and in retrospect; how aspirational each mother is for her daughter and future prospects; and how invisible the children's learning is to most observers both at home and at school.
To recognise repetitive patterns of behaviour and interaction and to understand the values, culture and social life underpinning children's learning requires prolonged, intimate contact with children and families. The research methodology therefore includes participant observations, audio recordings, interviews and documentary data.
Linguistic diversity is often viewed by the education system as a barrier to listening and learning, and children are 'marked down' in early assessments. In some cases, a child's behaviour may be regarded as 'stubborn and recalcitrant', when, in fact, the child may be in the 'silent period' of learning a new language and accommodating to the new culture of schooling. The author acknowledges these behaviours as intelligent responses to new situations and evidence of children taking control of their own learning. She also points out that a child's apparent lack of engagement reflects the fact that they have just been socially, culturally and linguistically dispossessed through the move away from their mother tongue and home practices.
In Part 2, the book valuably examines a range of sociocultural approaches and concludes that Gregory's (2001) model of 'reciprocity' most accurately describes the relation between novice and experienced learner. This captures the 'synergy' of quality mediation and includes peers and siblings as legitimate mediators of learning.
A bilingual adult is also recognised as a crucial mediator of the new language and culture. Yet, the author suggests, bilingual staff are often professionally isolated and not incorporated in planning and pedagogical delivery.
Finally, the book explicates six implications for practice:
- develop home understandings
- make the rules and routines explicit
- support mother tongue development
- provide opportunities for one-to-one interaction with adults
- provide opportunities for language learning in teacher-led small group work, and
- seek ways of supporting social interaction (between children).
This detailed picture of young bilingual children's learning provides a significant new perspective to inform educational practice in our increasingly culturally diverse society. While the research occurred in the UK, the findings are extremely pertinent for all practitioners working in multilingual environments. Thoroughly recommended.
Jenni Connor
Jenni Connor has worked in the fields of early childhood and literacy education for many years. She has managed programs relating to ESL, Indigenous Education, Gender and Special Needs.
Australian Journal of Early Childhood – Volume 33 No 2 June 2008, p. 57.
Don't forget, Australian Journal of Early Childhood is tax deductible for early childhood professionals
You can read more from this issue of the Australian Journal of Early Childhood now.
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AJEC is changing its name ...
To reflect its diverse readership and commitment to international early childhood debate,
the Australian Journal of Early Childhood will soon be changing its name to
the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood. Follow the link to learn more. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 June 2009 )
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