Abstract
Population mobility is at an all-time high in human history. The movement of people from one country to another has resulted in a significant increase in linguistic diversity in urban schools in countries around the world. This increase in diversity has given rise to numerous issues related to educational policies and classroom pedagogy for immigrant students. For example:
-
What patterns of educational achievement do immigrant children show in school?
-
How long does it take immigrant students to catch up to native speakers of the school language in both conversational and academic language skills?
-
What role does students’ home language (L1) play in their learning of the school language (L2)?
-
Should immigrant students be totally immersed in the school language or is there a role for bilingual education, which uses students’ L1 as a medium of instruction for part of the school day?
The present paper focuses on the latter two questions. However, in order to understand the potential roles of L1 promotion for immigrant students, the general patterns of immigrant student achievement will be briefly reviewed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
August, Diane/ Shanahan, Timothy (Eds.) (2006): Developing literacy in second-language learners. Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
California State Department of Education (Ed.) (1981): Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework. Los Angeles: Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center, California State University.
Christensen, Gayle/ Stanat, Petra (2007): Language policies and practices for helping immigrant second-generation students succeed. The Transatlantic Task Force on Immigration and Integration convened by the Migration Policy Institute and Bertelsmann Stiftung, www.migrationinformation.org/transatlantic/ (15.10.2007).
Cummins, James (1979): Linguistic interdependence and the educational development of bilingual children. In: Review of Educational Research, Vol. 49, No. 2, 222–251.
Cummins, Jim (1981): The role of primary language development in promoting educational success for language minority students. In: California State Department of Education (1981).
Cummins, Jim (2000): Language, power and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Cummins, Jim (2001): Negotiating identities: Education for empowerment in a diverse society. 2nd Edition. Los Angeles: California Association for Bilingual Education.
Cummins, Jim/ Bismilla, Vicki/ Chow, Patricia/ Giampapa, Frances/ Cohen, Sarah/ Leoni, Lisa/ Sandhu, Perminder/ Sastri, Padma (2005): Affirming identity in multilingual classrooms. In: Educational Leadership, Vol. 63, No. 1, 38–43.
Dressler, Cheryl/ Kamil, Michael L. (2006): First-and second-language literacy. In: Shanahan, Timothy (Eds.) (2006): Developing literacy in second-language learners. Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers August/Shanahan (2006): 197–238.
Esser, Hans (2006): Migration, language, and integration. AKI Research Review 4. Berlin: Programme on Intercultural Conflicts and Societal Integration (AKI), Social Science Research Center, www.wzb.eu/zkd/aki/files/aki_research_review_4 (21.12.2007).
Francis, David J./ Lesaux, Nonie/ August, Diane (2006): Language of instruction. In: Shanahan, Timothy (Eds.) (2006): Developing literacy in second-language learners. Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers August/Shanahan (2006): 365–413.
Genesee, Fred/ Lindholm-Leary, Kathryn/ Saunders, Bill/ Christian, Donna (Eds.) (2006): Educating English language learners: A synthesis of research evidence. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Ladson-Billings, Gloria (1994): The Dreamkeepers. Successful Teachers of African American Children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Ladson-Billings, Gloria (1995): Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. In: American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 32, No. 3, 465–491.
Ladson-Billings, Gloria (2006): From the Achievement Gap to the Education Debt. Understanding Achievement in U.S. Schools. In: Educational Researcher, Vol. 35, No. 7, 3–12.
Lindholm-Leary, Kathryn/ Borsato, Graciela (2006): Academic achievement. In: Lindholm-Leary, Kathryn/ Saunders, Bill/ Christian, Donna (Eds.) (2006): Educating English language learners: A synthesis of research evidence. New York: Cambridge University Press Genesee et al. (2006): 176–222.
Ogbu, John U. (1978): Minority education and caste. The American System in Cross-Cultural Perspective. New York: Academic Press.
Ogbu, John U. (1992): Understanding cultural diversity and learning. In: Educational Researcher, Vol. 21, No. 8, 5–14/24.
Portes, Alejandro/ Rumbaut, Ruben G. (2001): Legacies. The story of the immigrant second generation. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Schofield, Janet W. (2006): Migration background, minority-group membership and academic achievement: Research evidence from social, educational, and developmental psychology. AKI Research Review 5. Berlin: Programme on Intercultural Conflicts and Societal Integration (AKI), Social Science Research Center, www.wzb.eu/zkd/aki/files/aki_research_review_5.pdf (21.12.2007).
Schofield, Janet W./ Bangs, Ralph (2006): Conclusions and further perspectives. In: Schofield (2006): 93–102.
Stanat, Petra/ Christensen, Gayle (2006): Where immigrant students succeed. A comparative review of performance and engagement in PISA 2003. Paris: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Steele, Claude M. (1997): A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. In: American Psychologist, Vol. 52, No. 6, 613–629.
UNESCO (1953): Monographs on fundamental education VIII. The use of vernacular languages in education. Paris: UNESCO, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0000/000028/002897eb.pdf (22.05.2008).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften | GWV Fachverlage GmbH, Wiesbaden
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cummins, J. (2008). Total Immersion or Bilingual Education? Findings of International Research on Promoting Immigrant Children’s Achievement in the Primary School. In: Ramseger, J., Wagener, M. (eds) Chancenungleichheit in der Grundschule. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-91108-3_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-91108-3_4
Publisher Name: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften
Print ISBN: 978-3-531-15754-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-531-91108-3
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Science (German Language)