By Barbara Grinder
Release Date: July 27, 2001
A multitude of research studies in Canada, the United States and worldwide show that the ability of young children to learn a language is so great, it doesn’t seem to matter how many languages you teach them, even at the same time, as long as you let them hear the language systematically and regularly.
Students who can speak a second language, in addition to their home language, make better progress in other school subjects than students who speak only one tongue. For example, a research project carried out in the American Midwest over several years showed that children who began learning a second language in kindergarten had surpassed the national averages in all subjects by Grade 5, doing particularly well in math.
In an Edmonton study, students who started bilingual or immersion programs when they entered the public school system had significantly better English language skills by Grade 9 than their counterparts who spoke only English.
“The Edmonton Public School Board believes strongly that learning a second language has a positive impact on learning as a whole, including mathematics and English literacy,” says Janice Aubry, supervisor of the board’s Institute for Innovation in Second Language Education (IISLE). “There’s also a very positive benefit for the child’s future employment potential, self-esteem and personal growth.”
Research also shows that second language instruction improves the development of analytical, abstract and creative thinking and enhances problem-solving skills, especially if the second language is taught when the child is very young. Knowing two or more languages also helps children on scholastic aptitude tests, including the tests taken to determine acceptance into postsecondary programs.
According to Aubry, second language education in the province goes back to the early 1900s, when the public schools were given the authority to teach a language other than English. In 2004, Alberta attempted to adopt a ruling to make study of a second language a requirement for all students, but this was never put into effect. Several large school boards, however, went ahead with the concept. Edmonton, the community with the most second language courses, currently has 38 program streams for the study of 13 different languages. More than 30,500 students are studying French, either in immersion or French as a second language programs. There are also 1,085 students taking Arabic courses (either bilingual or language and culture), almost 2,300 studying Chinese, 268 learning American Sign Language, and about 1,000 in German bilingual or language and culture classes.
Wai-Ling Lennon, an Edmonton teacher and president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) Second Languages and Intercultural Council (SLIC) says French is far and away the most commonly studied second language in Edmonton, and in the province as a whole. “But the demand for Spanish programs has grown substantially in the last few years. There are also large numbers of students in the province studying Cree, Blackfoot, Japanese, Punjabi, Hebrew and Ukrainian, and I believe the Edmonton Catholic School Board still offers courses in Polish.”
SLIC is one of more than 20 specialist councils hosted by the ATA to provide support and professional development to teachers in a wide range of subject areas. The council’s objective is to help teachers of second languages develop better teaching techniques and become more aware of the issues surrounding instruction about other cultures. It also promotes second language and intercultural education.
A lot of people, including many parents for whom English isn’t their native language, believe that trying to learn a second language while learning English makes it difficult for children to do well in school, but research shows that, in fact, the opposite is true.
“Children who come from homes where little or no English is spoken have a little more difficulty in Alberta schools from kindergarten through Grade 3, but by the time they’re in Grades 5 and 6 they’re actually more fluent in English than kids from homes where English is the only language spoken,” Lennon says. “And they have a much easier time learning a third language, or a fourth and fifth.”
Contrary to common thinking, only a minority of Alberta children who study a language other than English are from families where the parents speak that tongue as their home language. “Many have a heritage in that language and culture, but there are also many students with Asian heritage studying Spanish, children whose parents speak Cantonese studying Mandarin, and many children from English-speaking homes who take lessons in Japanese and other languages just out of interest,” Lennon explains. “My older daughter speaks English, French and Spanish and is now studying Mandarin. My younger daughter speaks English and French and is planning to study Spanish and Mandarin in the future.”
