Heritage and School Language Literacy Development in Migrant Children Interdependence or Independence?

by Berthele, Raphael; Lambelet, Amelia

• ISBN13: 9781783099030
• ISBN10: 1783099038
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2018-01-15
• Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Summary

This book discusses literacy development in heritage language speakers and presents the results of four different quantitative studies that investigate the transfer of literacy skills in bi- and multilingual language development. The empirical studies focus on different populations of pupils, most of them located in various parts of Switzerland, and emphasise the potential residing in shared or transferred resources between their heritage languages and the languages spoken in the region to which their family has immigrated. The goal of all studies was to gain an understanding of the factors, both linguistic and non-linguistic in nature, that contribute to the development of language skills in both the heritage and school languages. Theoretical assumptions are put to the test via hypothesis testing and the generally shared assumptions on bilingual education are questioned based on the data. Furthermore, methodological problems in the investigation of linguistic interdependence are discussed. This book contributes to the scholarly investigation of potential beneficial effects in academic proficiency across languages in migrant children.

Author Biography

Raphael Berthele is Professor of Multilingualism at the University of Fribourg. He directs the MA programme in multilingualism studies and co-founded the Fribourg Institute of Multilingualism in 2008. His research interests cover different areas, from cognitive to social aspects of multilingualism. Amelia Lambelet is Senior Researcher at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Her research interests include individual differences in foreign language learning, receptive multilingualism and heritage speakers' language development.

Table of Contents

1. Raphael Berthele and Amelia Lambelet: Investigating Interdependence and Literacy Development in Heritage Language Speakers: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations
2. Amelia Lambelet, Raphael Berthele, Magalie Desgrippes, Carlos Pestana and Jan Vanhove: Testing Interdependence in Portuguese Heritage Speakers in Switzerland: The HELASCOT Project
3. Magalie Desgrippes and Amelia Lambelet: On the Sociolinguistic Embedding of Portuguese Heritage Language Speakers in Switzerland: Socioeconomic Status and Home Literacy Environment (HELASCOT Project)
4. Carlos Pestana, Amelia Lambelet and Jan Vanhove: Reading Comprehension Development in Portuguese Heritage Speakers in Switzerland (HELASCOT Project)
5. Magalie Desgrippes, Amelia Lambelet and Jan Vanhove: The Development of Argumentative and Narrative Writing Skills in Portuguese Heritage Speakers in Switzerland (HELASCOT Project)
6. Jan Vanhove and Raphael Berthele: Testing the Interdependence of Languages (HELASCOT Project)
7. Urs Moser, Nicole Bayer and Martin J. Tomasik: Language Skill Transfer Effects: Moving from Heritage Language to School Language in Kindergarten
8. Edina Krompàk: Promoting Multilingualism through Heritage Language Courses: New Perspectives on the Transfer Effect
9. Lea Nieminen and Riikka Ullakonoja: The Development of Russian Heritage Pupils' Writing Proficiency in Finnish and Russian
10. Raphael Berthele: Assessing Heritage Languages and Interdependence: Why and How?