Building self-beliefBuilding self-belief

““Every bilingual child matters”Every bilingual child matters”

Sarah Cartwright, Project LeadSarah Cartwright, Project LeadOur LanguagesOur Languages, CILT, CILT

Percentage of secondary school children in Percentage of secondary school children in London whose first language is not English:London whose first language is not English:

Islington 47.8% Ealing 49.2% Brent 50.7% Harrow 51% Kensington &

Chelsea 51%

School Census reported

Redbridge 52.2% Hounslow 53.3% Westminster 64.9% Newham 65.7% Tower Hamlets 70.4%

in The Guardian 23/06/11

Mainstream schoolsMainstream schools• 16.8% of primary school children speak a

language other than English at home (13.5% five years ago) and 12.3% of secondary pupils (10.5% five years ago)

• To what extent is this bilingualism celebrated as an asset?

• Benefits of bi/plurilingualism may not be fully appreciated by all staff at school

• Pupils’ “knowledge about language” (kal) may not be tapped by their teachers• We need to “disable” the EAL label

Profile of Complementary schoolsProfile of Complementary schools

• Approx 3,000; one in three are based in London• Pupils derive self-esteem from mixed age +

mixed level teaching• Emphasis on cultural activities enhances social

skills and self confidence• Translanguaging is normal • Positive confirmation of multi-cultural identity is life-enhancing • Young adults, even sixth-formers, benefit from

taking on the role of mentor and teacher in their communities

Our LanguagesOur Languages: : Bright and bilingualBright and bilingual video clips in video clips in “About us” and “Teaching and Learning”“About us” and “Teaching and Learning”

SezanSezan

“Whenever people ask me where I'm from, or ‘what nationality are you?’, I always always say I’m half Turkish Cypriot, a quarter English, a quarter Irish – because I’m proud of the mixture of cultures that I have, and I feel like it defines me and makes me a little bit different.”

JadeJade

“Most of my family comes from Mauritius, so when I go over there I feel a lot more confident in talking to my younger cousins. Because I feel we can actually have a proper conversation, that helps me to have a closer relationship with them compared to my sisters who don’t speak Creole that well. So they find it much harder to relate to our family, whereas I find it a lot easier, so I get to enjoy my holiday a little bit more.”

DhruvniDhruvni

“the (complementary) school doesn’t only teach the language, it teaches other aspects of my culture. It was more to do with things about bettering yourself, because the school tries to aid children in their physical and holistic development as well as mental... So not only did they teach us language, but they taught the other things in life that we need to learn in life that the people in our culture believe we should know, I mean, they teach us life skills; they teach us public speaking, we also have prayers where we are given time to reflect…– we don’t necessarily have to be religious to do them, but its useful – and at a certain age we are given a certain responsibility to look after some other people, and we are taught how to be organised and how to take on this responsibility. So it’s a lot more than just language.”

SilviaSilvia

“I think that learning Cantonese has helped me master other languages. For example, I speak German at school, and although the two languages are really different, I think having learnt a different language before has helped me be able to think in a different language and pick up things more naturally. So I think it helps me pick up things from just listening because that’s how I first learnt Cantonese.”

Where are they now ?Where are they now ?Sezan: about to graduate in Classics from Royal

Holloway

Jade: about to enter third year of Social Sciences degree at Cambridge

Dhruvni: about to enter third year of Sociology at Warwick

Silvia: about to graduate in Biology from Oxford

Way ahead…Way ahead…• More partnerships between mainstream and

complementary schools• Academic support for accreditation of all

language skills• Positive embrace of diversity & all languages • Role models to help young people aspire• Policy informed by educational research eg

cognitive benefits of bilingualism• Pedagogy to meet needs of today’s multi-level

learners• Careers advice on progression routes &

imaginative choices that value plurilingualism

Our Languages ToolkitOur Languages Toolkit

promoting collaboration between promoting collaboration between complementary & mainstream sectorscomplementary & mainstream sectors