There is a slight distinction between a scenario in which an immigrant child attends school in the majority language (e.g. a Dutch child living in Sweden goes to a local Swedish school) and when a family chooses a school where the language of instruction is not the local language (e.g. a Dutch child in the Netherlands goes to an international school where the language of instruction is English).
The difference I am trying to show here with the above example is this: in the first case the child is learning in a language at school which will help them socialize and assimilate in the society outside of school. In the second case the child will also become bilingual, but it is not driven by the need for assimilation to a new country. Parents might choose a school with a different language of instruction for multiple reasons. For example to provide a wider range of educational opportunities to their children, the family might plan to move to another country in the future or the curriculum offered by an international school is appealing to the parents.
In the following I am going to highlight three points that I find important when choosing a school where a child is learning in a second/another language (e.g. in English):
The school’s language policy
A language policy is a document written by the school that informs everyone in their community (teachers, staff, students, parents, etc.) on how they view languages. Unfortunately, most international- or bilingual schools don’t have a written language policy.
As a teacher (and as a bilingual parent) I think they should have one. But at least there should be visible signs of what the school’s beliefs are about languages. This can be as simple as having signs in different languages, greetings or flags from different countries at the entrance or showcasing traditions from different cultures in the hallways.
A language policy (written or not) is important, because the school should acknowledge and celebrate all the languages that its community speaks. It should view bilingualism as an asset and not a hurdle. If teachers are knowledgeable about the process of language learning and about bilingualism, they can support the students better in their learning.
Home language literacy
In a nutshell, it is important that the child is literate in their home language because it guarantees that they will not lose it. You don’t have to be able to read and write in a language to be considered bilingual. However, being able to read and write in a language will help you access more information. It also provides opportunities to expand your vocabulary, which then can be used in conversations.
Language status
The success of school based bilingualism has a strong correlation to language status. Most of the research on bilingual education comes from Canada and the US. In the case of the Canadian French immersion schools the students are bilingual in two high-status languages (French and English). In the US there is a lot of research on Spanish-speaking immigrants attending English-speaking schools, where Spanish has much lower status than English.
Research has found that school-based bilingualism is usually successful if the two languages both have a high-status. This is not necessarily the case when the child comes from a low-status language. I don’t aim to show you the entire complexity of this issue, I only want to draw attention to one important aspect of it. Children whose home language is viewed as low-status are often not encouraged by the school to speak it. Besides, parents often prioritize that children learn the high status language as quickly as possible.
In the situation explained above, it is no wonder that the children don’t feel proud of their home language. They often hide it from their peers and speak it less frequently even when they have the opportunity.
This is not to say school based bilingualism is not a wonderful opportunity. I am only trying to highlight this challenging aspect from a linguistic point of view. The family plays a huge role in supporting the raising of the status of the home language, especially in the case of young children.
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Bio
Vera has over 15 years of experience as an international educator. She has been teaching in Sweden since 2016. She holds a Master’s degree in English Literature and Linguistics, a Bachelor’s degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and a postgraduate degree in Teaching Students with Special Educational Needs. She speaks four languages and has worked with dozens of international families over her career. She is an English as an Additional Language specialist teacher and has extensive knowledge about language learning, maintaining the home language, education as well as special educational needs. Read more about her here.