Bilingual Education at Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS): Suggestions for overwhelmed families. 

 

“The gardener does not make a plant grow. The job of a gardener is to create optimal conditions.”

Sir Ken Robinson (s.f.)

 

Introduction

Welcome to this article designed to assist families who are starting their journey into bilingualism in Early Years Foundation Stage.

With the aim of making their children's learning a pleasant and satisfactory experience, our goal is to help those families overwhelmed by doubts and worries about bilingualism at this stage, as the Infant Education period coincides with one of the most important phases in the development of children's language.

Many educational centres offer bilingual training. Therefore, several uncertainties arise in families when choosing a school that can provide optimal academic and personal development for their children. From this point onwards, we will present the main concepts regarding bilingualism in Early Years in order to answer those queries from families.

Convenience of the Bilingual Programme of the Community of Madrid

There is unanimous support for the idea that the progressive interdependence among countries, as well as the gradual process of globalisation in all areas: technology, economy, politics, culture, and society, increasingly requires citizens to move between different countries.

For this transfer of information and experiences to occur, there must be a social transformation that facilitates this mobility, in which the demand for knowledge of languages that enables the necessary flow of people across borders, must be emphasised.

The mastery of a plurality of languages has become one of the most sought-after skills in the professional field, hence the socio-educational relevance that second or third language learning has acquired, opening up a new field of research that has been mainly addressed from a didactic approach.

Aware of the growing demand for the mastery of a second language, and the need to improve foreign language skills of students as fundamental elements for their professional and personal development, the Community of Madrid established its own Bilingual Programme in the 2004-2005 academic year, laying the foundations for what has subsequently been considered one of its most emblematic features.

 

¿What is bilingual education? What does it mean to be ‘bilingual’?

In general terms, bilingual education refers to that in which “contact with the second language occurs as a pedagogical option for schooling, that is, the second language as a vehicle for access to general knowledge”, as pointed out by (Loaiza & Galindo, 2014).

The concept of bilingualism is debatable, and there are a multitude of definitions of the term, ranging from the minimalist one of (Diebold, 1964) for whom bilingualism only requires knowledge of minimal phrases used in the business or tourist environment, the broadest one of (Baker, 2011) who defines it as the “act of using two languages in a constant and intermittent way”; the maximum bilingualism of (Bloomfield, 1935) for whom bilingualism entails “control of two or more languages like a native”. Likewise, we find definitions more focused on the achieved competence, such as that of (Grosjean, 1985) for whom a bilingual person is one who can use each language according to their needs. In the same sense (Siguán & Mackey, 1986) call ‘bilingual’ those individuals who can handle their first and second language with similar efficiency.

At this point it is important to highlight that linguistic competences evolve or devolve throughout life; therefore, the concept of bilingualism does not correspond to a static term.

Similarly, it should be noted that it is difficult to find bilingual people at the highest degree of bilingualism indicated by (Bloomfield, 1935), since it is rare for someone to have the same level of competence in both languages. In addition,  the degree of language proficiency and fluency depends on factors such as frequency of use or context, so it is difficult for a person to use both languages at the same level.

Finally, it is relevant to refer to the fact that bilingualism not only involves learning a language but also requires an approach to a new culture.

Language acquisition process in bilingual students

Several authors have developed theories about the stages and process of language acquisition in childhood. In this way, (McLaughlin, 2013) considers that if a child acquires a second language before the age of three, we are dealing with a so-called simultaneous bilingualism, while if he does it after this age, it is called successive bilingualism. In this sense, numerous studies on language acquisition conclude that most bilingual children learn their second language after the age of three and that less than 20% do so simultaneously.

In the same way, the rate at which a child learns his second language, as well as the fluency he can achieve in it, also depend on factors such as the quantity and quality of language he hears, the needs and opportunities to use the language he has, and the role and attitude of the family and the school.

Taking into account these aspects, the conditioning factors of use and the exposure of children to a second language, they could be distributed in the following categories taking into account their starting position for their subsequent bilingual development:

• Children with parents who have different mother tongues. Each one speaks to the child in his own language.
• Immigrant child of pre-school age in Spain, who listens to Spanish in his day to day, and uses his mother tongue only in daily communication.
• Children who learn English in Spain in a bilingual school.
• Children who learn English in Spain in a non-bilingual school.

 

It is important to point out that children who learn a second language, around the age of 3, 4 or 5, have usually already developed the fundamentals of their first language. That is, they know many words, know the basic grammatical structures and have begun to learn when, where and with whom to use a certain language. However, when they begin their schooling in a bilingual school, they are challenged by a new language with its own vocabulary and other grammatical, morphological or language use rules.

According to (Tabors, 1997) and (Ninio & Snow, 1988) language development occurs slightly differently in children who learn a second language successively. The authors explain that children go through four different stages: first they will try to speak in their mother tongue, then they go through the so-called "silent or non-verbal period", a third stage that begins when they are ready to formulate their first grammatical structures and finally, they enter a more productive stage of the use of the second language, being able to produce their own sentences.

As in any other process of language development, the different stages are flexible and not exclusive. Children can advance to the next stage, without abandoning the previous one, and may even return to the previous stage. Let us not forget that each child requires a differentiated and unique period of time to reach the productive stage of the second language.

To conclude, it should be borne in mind that children who learn two languages simultaneously, go through the same stages of language development as those who acquire only their mother tongue, although at certain times one language may dominate over the other.

Benefits and drawbacks of being bilingual

At present, the numerous benefits enjoyed by bilingual people are undeniable, both cognitively, socially, personally, culturally, professionally, or economically, offering them a wide range of possibilities.

Competence in a second language is an extraordinary tool for the development of cognitive skills by increasing cognitive flexibility (Wiseheart, Viswanathan, & Bialystok, 2014), improving the ability to concentrate and focused attention, as stated (Costa, Branzi, & Ávila, 2015), problem solving, analytical thinking, creativity, spatial vision, memory and the capacity for linguistic abstraction. In general, instruction in an additional language supports the efficient performance of cognitively demanding tasks (Morales, Calvo, & Bialystok, 2013), with the promotion of divergent thinking.

In the same way, bilingual learning is a stimulus to overcome problems such as low self-esteem, shyness, or lack of confidence.

In the social and cultural field, bilingualism allows contact with diverse cultures. It also fosters the generation of multicultural thinking and greater openness to difference, improving the ability to adapt to life in other countries. As well as breaking cultural barriers, that impede establishing relations with other countries or cultures, while promoting tolerance, since the bilingual student develops an important capacity to adopt different points of view.

This model enriches the individual in a great way, since it facilitates direct access, without intermediaries, to all kinds of information, literature, or films, in addition to providing opportunities for professional and economic improvement, since the mastery of a second language has become a sine qua non requirement to reach certain positions of responsibility.

However, are all advantages in bilingualism? Once the comparison between monolingual and bilingual children of the same age range has been established, it should be noted that generally, the number of words known in each of the languages is lower in bilingual children, especially in the initial moments. This is largely due to the context in which you have the need to use the words and the type of experiences that the student has in each language. In any case, if the acquisition of vocabulary is adequately stimulated with varied and rich inputs, children get an extensive lexicon in both languages.

Slight difficulties have also been detected in the reading fluency of bilingual students, reading less quickly in their second language, which can be corrected with an enhancement of early phonological awareness that promotes reading in the new language.

Model of bilingualism at the Early Years Stage in the Community of Madrid:

Aware of the growing demand for the mastery of a second language as a fundamental element for the professional and personal development of Madrid students, the Community of Madrid was a precursor of the implementation of a pioneering Bilingual Programme in the 2004-2005, which has become one of its main hallmarks.

Bilingual education by municipalities in the Community of Madrid. 2020-2021

(Dirección General de Bilingüismo y Calidad de la Enseñanza. Consejería de Educación y Juventud Comunidad de Madrid, 2019)

 

In line with the sensitivity of the Community of Madrid towards language learning at an early age, the Bilingual Programme has also been extended to the Early Years, with an increasing number of centres that provide bilingual education throughout the Early Childhood Education stage. (Order 1120/2022, of May 6, which regulates the extension of the Spanish-English Bilingual Programme to the Second Cycle of Early Years in all bilingual public schools of Early Childhood and Primary Education of the Community of Madrid, 2022). Continuing with the objectives expressed in article 7 f (Royal Decree 95/2022, of February 1, which establishes the organization and minimum teachings of Early Childhood Education, 2022) students at this stage must "develop communicative skills in different languages and forms of expression" the Community of Madrid develops this standard in the (Decree 36/2022, of June 8, of the Governing Council, which establishes for the Community of Madrid the organization and curriculum of the Early Childhood Education stage, 2022) implementing the extension of the Bilingual Programme to the second cycle of Early Childhood Education in all bilingual public schools.

In this way, the teaching of the English language is articulated in daily sessions of English as a foreign language, reinforced by sessions of other curricular areas taught in English. The extension phases of the Spanish-English Bilingual Programme to the second cycle of Early Years will follow the following calendar.

Calendar phases of extension of the Spanish-English Bilingual Programme to the second cycle of Early Years.

 

Frequently asked questions by families on bilingualism in Early Childhood Education

The Community of Madrid has shown to be sensitive to the fact that knowledge of languages is essential for students in Madrid to be able to develop to the full in their professional and personal lives. In this regard, families in the Community of Madrid have a wide range of bilingual training, beginning with the Early Years stage, which can sometimes raise some doubts when choosing a bilingual educational centre.

In the following paragraphs we will answer the most common questions that families raise before opting for a centre with a bilingual educational model for their children.

Is it important for families to participate in bilingual education in Early Years?

The mastery of plurality of languages has become one of the most demanded competences in the professional field, hence the socio-educational relevance that the learning of second or third languages has acquired.

Families are the backbone of today's society. Numerous studies highlight that the learning of skills such as reading or speaking is done through social interaction, particularly with the family, the main educational agent, together with the school. The family is the "first socializing agent of the values acquired by its members (García Hernández, Ramírez Rodríguez, & Lima Zamora, 2000).

The support received from parents has a crucial influence on how effectively the student acquires reading and verbal skills, so the active participation of families in the school is a highly powerful tool. In addition to participation in the centre, the role of parents within bilingual education should focus on trying to promote a bilingual environment for their children in which they can make a practical application of their knowledge, generating the greatest possible exposure to the second language, through everyday situations that allow them to apply what they have learned in the classroom. This provides the opportunity to stop and reflect on the importance that the family has in the development of their sons and daughters, since the family space is the closest and most intimate; The first. Therefore, the interest that parents show towards the second language will determine the behaviour and attitude of their children towards it.

How can I help my child if I do not know English?

It is not an easy task, since it will be very complicated for parents to interact with their children in English, either because their level is very limited or because they do not know it completely. In this case, it is absolutely essential to show a positive attitude towards the language. Within the specific circumstances of each family, it is key to be aware that for children to become truly bilingual they must have as much exposure as possible to the target language. The learning of a language is intimately linked to the affective world and to the lived experiences related to that language. Parents should try to provide as many second language interactions as possible. The opportunity to have quality experiences can be provided through caregivers, with native nannies or au-pairs who bring not only contact with the language, but with their culture. You can also select television programmes in English or materials from the Internet, which are a great source of stimuli for language development.

Can bilingualism cause a delay in first language acquisition?

The answer is clearly negative. Learning a second language benefits the acquisition of their first language, although they will follow a different process (Genesee, 1994) going through four consecutive stages until reaching the productive stage of formulating complete sentences (Snow & Tabors, 1994).

Similarly, there are no conclusive studies that establish the relationship between language disorders or delays and the knowledge of two languages, however, "we should not expect their acquisition process to follow exactly the route that when they only learn one language" (Halbach & van Wechem, 2014) although there are no major discrepancies between language development between bilingual and monolingual students. The acquisition of a second language gives all kinds of advantages in the cognitive, cultural, social, and even, in the future, in the labour market.

What if my child mixes the two languages?

Mixing the two languages is an absolutely common process in the early stages of bilingual development. Although it is usually one of the main causes of alarm in parents, it is an absolutely normal fact called "contact phenomena" to which they already refer (Ferguson, 1959), (Grosjean, 1985) or (Appel & Muysken, 1996). According to (Grosejan, 1989). A bilingual person can act in "bilingual mode" or in "monolingual mode" depending on the person with whom he is communicating, a phenomenon that usually occurs unconsciously and random mixtures between the two languages can occur.

In the case of children in the Early Years stage, researchers argue that discrimination between the two languages begins around the age of three and the mixtures between them occur because of the linguistic gaps they have in their knowledge.

Can bilingualism be detrimental to my child's overall learning?

Insisting on what has been developed previously, bilingualism is commonly linked to benefits in the cognitive area, such as greater memory capacity, creativity, or development of multitasking skills, which ultimately results in an improvement in school performance in general.

In this line, numerous studies such as the one carried out by (Antón, Thierry, & Duñabeitia, 2015) support the thesis that the proposed bilingual methodology does not harm the learning process, as was corroborated by the results obtained by the groups of students under investigation. In both groups, success in explicit fixation of concepts and semantic integration were similar, regardless of the language used to explain the concepts.

Likewise, the parallel use of two languages translates into the generation of a large number of opportunities that promote the development of linguistic competence (Kovelman, Baker, & Petitto, 2008).

Suggestions for families of students starting Bilingual Early Childhood Education.

1.    Learn about bilingualism: the best way to enjoy this bilingual path is to be sure of our choice as parents. For this, it is essential to know what bilingualism consists of and what its advantages and disadvantages are.

2.    Establish a strategy in which the objectives to be achieved regarding the language to be acquired are defined, remembering that the established guidelines must be flexible, so that they can adapt to the linguistic development of our children.

3.    The error is positive: mistaking structures or mixing words falls within what is expected in a normal development of language. We must avoid approaching the error as a negative experience and correct in an extremely subtle way, making the child see that the error provides new opportunities for learning and overcoming.

4.    Maximise exposure to the language you want to learn, providing the greatest number of possibilities to use and listen to the language in varied contexts.

5.    Immerse in the language through songs, television programmes, internet channels, nursery rhymes, etc. since before being able to actively use a word, children have the need to hear it many times and in different contexts.

6.    Provide as many language opportunities as possible, such as socialising with other children in bilingual settings, extracurricular and leisure activities, etc. following the principle of "the less English the student has at home, the more he will need abroad".

7.    Families must be especially careful so that family life does not become an extension of school hours with which students end up saturated.

8.    Accompany and support their learning, valuing their efforts, without forgetting that emotions and affection are intimately linked to language. A positive attitude on the part of families towards bilingualism immediately favours the pupil's good predisposition towards the new language.

Suggestions for families starting out in Bilingual Early Childhood Education

Conclusion:

As a result of the gradual globalization experienced in today's world and with the aim of responding to the growing need to develop students' language skills, the Community of Madrid has incorporated bilingualism into the education system, so that children acquire basic communicative skills, as well as understand simple messages and handle situations of daily use of a foreign language.

In this article we have answered the main doubts and concerns raised by families whose children begin their journey in Bilingual Early Childhood Education, contributing our extensive personal experience as bilingual teachers in public schools in the Community of Madrid, as well as literature regarding the state of the art in the analysis of school bilingualism.

We are confident that we have been able to help families overcome their concerns about bilingualism in Early Childhood Education, as well as to convey the high value of the bilingual educational proposal in the Community of Madrid.

Translation by Ana Alzaga Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) reference number 1662477 United Kingdom.

María José Rodríguez Rus.
Maestra de Educación Primaria.
 Especialista en nuevas herramientas pedagógicas en el aula de lengua inglesa.
Actualmente ejerce como docente de la especialidad de lengua extranjera inglés.

Ana Alzaga

Ana es diplomada en Organización de Eventos, Protocolo y Relaciones Institucionales.
Asistente de Dirección Internacional Trilingüe,
Maestra de Educación Primaria.
Máster en TIC para la Educación y el Aprendizaje.
Máster en Inteligencia Emocional y Máster en Función Directiva.
Actualmente ejerce como docente de la especialidad de lengua extranjera inglés.

References:

Antón , E., Thierry, G., & Duñabeitia , J. (2015). Mixing Languages during Learning? Testing the One Subject—One Language Rule. Plos One.

Appel, R., & Muysken, P. (1996). Bilingüismo y contacto de lenguas. Barcelona: Ariel.

Baker, C. (2011). Foundation of bilingual education and bilingualism (5th Edition ed.). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Bloomfield, L. (1935). Language. London: Compton Printing.

Costa, A., Branzi, F., & Ávila, C. (2015). Bilingualism: Switching. En Neurobiology of Language (págs. 419-430). Academic Press Ltd.

Decreto 36/2022, de 8 de junio, del Consejo de Gobierno, por el que se establece para la Comunidad de Madrid la ordenación y el currículo de la etapa de Educación Infantil. . (2022). Decreto 36/2022, de 8 de junio, del Consejo de Gobierno, por el que se establece para la Comunidad de Madrid la ordenación y el currículo de la etapa de Educación Infantil. Consejería de Presidencia. Comunidad de Madrid.

Diebold, A. (1964). Incipient bilingualism. In D. Hymes (Ed.) Language in Culture and Society. (pp. 495-511). New York: Harper and Row.

Dirección General de Bilingüismo y Calidad de la Enseñanza. Consejería de Educación y Juventud Comunidad de Madrid. (2019). Datos y cifras de la educación. . Obtenido de  http://www.madrid.org/

Ferguson, C. (1959). Diglossia. Mitford.

García Hernández, M., Ramírez Rodríguez, G., & Lima Zamora, A. (2000). La construcción de valores en la familia. Madrid: Alianza.

Genesee, F. (1994). The whole child, the whole curriculum, the whole community. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Grosejan, F. (1989). Neurolinguists, beware! The bilngual is not two monolinguals in one person. Brain and Language(36), 3-15.

Grosjean, F. (1985). “The Bilingual as a Competent but Specific Speaker-Hearer”. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 6 (6), pp. 467-477.

Halbach, A., & van Wechem, M. (2014). British Council, Delegación en España de la Fundación British Council. Obtenido de www.britishcouncil.es

Kovelman, I., Baker, S., & Petitto, L. (2008). Age of first bilingual language exposure as a new window into bilingual reading development. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 11(2), 203-223. .

Ley Orgánica 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de Educación. (2006). Ley Orgánica 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de Educación(106, de 04/05/2006). BOE.

Loaiza, N., & Galindo, A. (2014). Estilos de aprendizaje de segundas lenguas y formación bilingüe consecutiva en educación primaria, secundaria y superior: hacia un estado del arte. Lenguaje, 291-314.

McLaughlin, B. (2013). Second language acquisition in childhood: Volume 2: School-age Children. Psychology Press.

Morales, J., Calvo, A., & Bialystok, E. (2013). Working memory development in monolingual and bilingual children. Journal of experimental child psychology, 187-202.

Ninio, A., & Snow, C. (1988). Language acquisition through language use: The functional sources of children's early utterances. Categories and processes in language acquisition.

Orden 1120/2022, de 6 de mayo, por la que se regula la extensión del Programa Bilingüe Español-Inglés al Segundo Ciclo de Educación Infantil en todos los colegios públicos bilingües de Educación Infantil y Primaria de la Comunidad de Madrid. (2022). Consejería de Educación, Universidades, Ciencia y Portavocía. Consejería de Educación, Universidades, Ciencia y Portavocía.

Ramírez, O. M. M., & Patiño-Agudelo, S. (2022). La práctica pedagógica del inglés en la educación rural. Un análisis de política pública y metodologías de enseñanza. Revista Electrónica en Educación y Pedagogía, 6(11), 83-101.

Real Decreto 95/2022, de 1 de febrero, por el que se establece la ordenación y las enseñanzas mínimas de la Educación Infantil. (2022). BOE.

Rosselli, M., Ardila A. (2021). Bilingüismo, Cognición y Plasticidad Cerebral. Revista Neuropsicología, Neuropsiquiatría y Neurociencias, 21(1), 1-24.

Siguán, M., & Mackey, W. (1986). “Educación y bilingüismo”. Madrid: Santillana.

Snow, C., & Tabors, P. (1994). English as a second language in preschool programa. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Tabors, P. (1997). One child, two languages. Baltimore: Brookes.

Wiseheart, M., Viswanathan, M., & Bialystok, E. (2014). Flexibility in task switching by monolinguals and bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 141-146.

 

María José Rodríguez Rus. Maestra de Educación Primaria. Especialidad de lengua extranjera inglés.	Ana Alzaga Maestra de Educación Primaria. Especialidad de lengua extranjera inglés.