Lethargic learners and catastrophic curricula? What SLA research has to say about education for immigrant schoolchildren

Abstract Summary

Abstract :

Educational models for newly immigrated children are subject to many expectations and inevitably strain under the burden of providing high-quality social support combined with language and subject education under typical constraints such as minimal support for teachers, lack of curricular guidelines and supplementary materials, and highly diverse and dynamic learning groups. It is thus unsurprising that many teachers are uncertain how best to approach language and subject teaching of immigrant students.







In my talk, I will discuss two main considerations for educational policy. First, research on the long-term learning trajectories of students is necessary. This includes the amount of time students might need to reach grade-equivalent norms, as well as whether some forms of schooling are more successful than others. Regarding time frames, a common assumption seems to be that students will “catch up” with grade-level academic norms within 5-7 years after immigration (Cummins 2000). However, newer studies, for example in Canada (Paradis/Jia 2017) and Germany (Marx/Gill 2019), suggest that this assumption may be far too optimistic, and that without continuous support throughout their school career and beyond, students may be left at the wayside. As well, certain educational models such as bilingual programmes might be more supportive and influence this time frame, as evidenced by the long-term study by Collier/Thomas (2017).







On the basis of this research, I will then consider how educational models for immigrant students might, even in the face of monolingual programmes carried out in highly heterogenous groups, better support academic development through the integration of content and language learning. I consider two models, one from the USA (Clark[quotrightB?]