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What are the current societal attitudes towards language and language learning in Australian Bilingual primary schools What are the current societal attitudes towards language and language learning in Australian Bilingual primary schools? What are the power and identity issues involved? PhD Proposal submitted as partial fulfilment for EDPK 5003 Developing a Research Project. Date Submitted: 29.05.06 Ruth Fielding SID 0031001 Introduction and Brief Literature Review The purpose of this study is to add to the empirical research from Australia about Australia’s emerging multiliterate society. Through a close examination of current bilingual programs taking place in Australia, the study will provide a detailed examination of Australia’s current language learning contexts where multiliteracies are contextualised. Recommendations will be made for languages education across Australia, based upon the findings of this study. The study will examine four of the current bilingual programs being implemented in Australia through a survey of key personnel, parents and students. The survey will comprise questionnaires and interviews to provide both quantitative and qualitative data about the bilingual programs. The questionnaires and interviews will provide findings about the motivations and attitudes of bilingual learners and educators towards learning and teaching in a bilingual setting. Gardner has developed the concept of “integrativeness”, that is, the openness of language learners to identify with another language community (Masgoret & Gardner, 2003).This concept forms a significant part of a child’s development of their identity in relation to the new language they are learning. Power and identity factors associated with bilingualism will be examined and also how bilingual schools address the need for academic language. The findings will assist the development of language education policies in Australia as an increasingly linguistically diverse nation. This study will assist development of suitable language and literacy objectives for Australia. Bilingual education research Research into bilingual education is relatively extensive in the Canadian and American contexts (Cummins, 2004; Genesee, 1987; Krashen, 1984, 1997) with a focus upon French/ English bilingualism in Canada (Cummins, 2000, 2004) and Spanish/ English submersion programs in the US (Arce, 2004; Combs et al, 2005; Manis, 2004). In more recent years research in this area has examined the concepts of identity and empowerment of bilingual students. Cummins (2000) investigated power and identity in depth and others have followed his lead in the US and now in Australia (Hones, 2005; Lo Bianco, 2000). It has been shown that conversational and academic registers within a language are distinct from one another and as such proficiency in one register does not equate to proficiency in the other (Cummins, 2000). Therefore students in bilingual programs need access to the academic register necessary for assessments in order to be seen as academically “successful” in the current educational context. The level of linguistic power that students hold poses a major influence upon their educational experience. The Australian context The focus of bilingual education research in Australia so far has predominantly been upon bilingualism through English as a Second Language programs (Blackledge, 1994; McKay, 1999; Rossell & Baker, 1996). Studies have generally looked at bilingual primary schools through case studies (Berthold, 1995; Fernandez, 1996; Hones, 2005). A focus on power and identity in these contexts has not been investigated in any depth. Many studies world-wide that have looked into power and identity in bilingual contexts have used methods which cannot easily be generalised or provide conclusions for contexts other than those used in each particular study. Many of the studies rely heavily upon researcher interpretation of field observation, use convenience sampling or use only one method of data collection; all of which limits the extent to which the findings can be used (Escamilla, 1994; Rymes & Anderson, 2004; Wu and Bilash, 1998;). There is therefore a call for more rigorous research into both bilingual education in Australia and into issues of power and identity. Identity and literacy research Within the field of linguistics research has been conducted into social identity development and the implications for attitudes towards language (McNamara, 1987a, 1987b, 1997). Research has also been undertaken into the links between literacy and educational and social success (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000; Freebody & Welch, 1993; Freebody, 1995; The New London Group, 1995). Attitude and Motivation have been examined with regard to language learning by a number of quantitative researchers in linguistics and psychology (Dörnyei & Schmidt, 2001; Dörnyei, 2005; Gardner, 1985a; Masgoret & Gardner, 2003). Research has yet to be undertaken into attitudes and motivations in elective bilingual education settings in Australia and also to examine power and identity issues as perceived not only by the students, but also by the parents and stakeholders in the schools. Research Questions: The research questions underpinning this study are as follows: RQ1: What are the current societal attitudes towards language and language education in Australian Bilingual primary schools? What are the power and identity issues involved? Sub Q a: What attitudes do language learners have towards their L1[footnoteRef:1] and L2[footnoteRef:2] and what factors are influencing these attitudes? [1: L1 = Language that a person has learnt as their first language ] [2: L2 = Language that a person has learnt as their second language] Sub Q b: What attitudes do parents and teachers in bilingual settings have towards the L1 and L2 and what factors are influencing these attitudes? Sub Q c: What concepts of power and identity arise in regard to the languages in bilingual primary schools? Operational definitions Bilingualism – There are many different dimensions within the term “bilingualism”. For the purposes of this study the bilinguals will be involved in programs of ELECTIVE BILINGUALISM, meaning they select to be in an educational setting which allows them to become bilingual with English usually being their L1 in an Australian context. Some participants may be CIRCUMSTANTIAL BILINGUALS, meaning they may have immigrated to Australia from another country and may have enrolled in a bilingual program as a means to become bilingual with English as their L2 (Baker, 2006). Enrichment bilingualism – in this study this refers to elective bilingualism in Australia. Immersion – This is a type of bilingual program which usually involves students from the majority language background who are taught primarily in a second language with the aim of becoming bilingual for enrichment purposes (Baker, 2006). This differs from and should not be confused with what the US calls “structured immersion” which is what is otherwise called “submersion” of students from a minority language background into classrooms of the majority language (Baker, 2006). Power – It has been acknowledged that patterns of “coercive power relations” exist in many bilingual educational settings (Cummins, 2000) which are subsequently mirrored in societal power relations. This “power” is associated with the societal value placed upon language use and ability. In certain types of bilingual setting power is considered to be withheld from students who are not assisted to develop the required registers of language that are necessary to become a successful member of society. There are also acknowledged forms of bilingual instruction that have the potential to empower bilingual students through pedagogy which confronts previous patterns of negative power relation (Cummins, 2000). In this study the “power” that will be examined is the linguistic power used by children in a bilingual setting. Identity – In this study “identity” is also defined within a bilingual context. The participants in the study are expected to have complex identities associated with the use of the two different languages that they use in everyday life. The contexts within which they use each language will influence the self-identity that they have constructed. Methodology The mixed methods approach used in this study will provide more in-depth data than a single methodological approach. Step 1 A survey strategy will be used; the strategy will consist of a questionnaire and an interview and will be supplemented by field observation and document examination. The questionnaire will be delivered to students currently enrolled in bilingual programs; it will be modelled on a previously tested attitude survey (The Attitude/ Motivation Test Battery, Gardner 1985a). The exact instrument design is yet to be determined. The model was designed specifically to assess attitudes and motivations towards language learning in the bilingual setting of Canada, therefore this instrument could be readily adapted for the Australian context and for languages other than French. Questions will be added to examine students’ concepts of power and identity related to the languages studied. The adapted version will be pilot tested upon a small representative sample and the design of the instrument reassessed before data collection commences. This will ultimately provide more valid and reliable data than a previously untested instrument. Step 2 A questionnaire will also be assigned for staff and parents at the schools to examine attitudes towards language learning, focussing upon the motivation behind parents’ decision to educate their child in a bilingual context, and behind teachers’ motivation to work in this context. The data from these questionnaires will be examined quantitatively through closed response Likert scale questions (Aldridge & Levine, 2001). Open response questions may be added to also obtain qualitative data from a large number of respondents (Aldridge & Levine, 2001). The quantitative data from this questionnaire will be examined using SPSS11 (Oliver, Purdie & Rochecouste, 2005). The mixed methods approach will enable weaknesses in each method to be counter-balanced by the other method, in this way more valid and reliable results will be obtained (Lupton,1999). A solely quantitative study could undervalue or ignore the depth and variety of meaning in some statements (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Equally a solely qualitative study would be unable to make generalisations and so a combination of methods allows increased validity and generalisability (Lupton, 1999). Step 3 The data will be expanded by qualitative interviews with a sub-sample of up to ten of the participants. The interviews will be semi-structured in order to obtain consistent information from all interview participants and to allow for elaboration where applicable through probing follow-up questions to obtain data that can be analysed qualitatively (Neuman, 2006). In order to ensure the clarity and suitability of the questions, a pilot test will be conducted with a smaller sample prior to the main study. This will allow for questions to be altered, removed, or the order of questions to be altered in order to provide the best interview format possible (Wilson, 2006). The interviews will be tape recorded to allow for the full detail of the responses to be transcribed for analysis and all necessary data to be captured fully. Step 4 Before and during the period of data collection field observations will be conducted to observe the interactions taking place in the schools. The early observations will enable operational definitions to be developed for the later observations. The initial observation will therefore be relatively unstructured to allow observation of a wide-range of behaviours and interactions. Behaviours that can be identified as indicators of power and identity exchanges between students will be noted, and structured observations will take place looking for such behaviours in particular. Pupil-pupil and pupil-teacher interactions will be observed. The observations will remain semi-structured in format to enable observation of unexpected phenomena to be recorded.