Embedded Files
This webpage was created in September 2018 to support briefings on home language maintenance in Arabic for staff, volunteers and clients of the Refugee Council in North Yorkshire. The materials were prepared, and briefings delivered, by Sam Hellmuth and Rana Almbark (University of York) and Ghada Khattab (Newcastle University).
Three things we know about multilingualism from linguistic research:
Three things we know about multilingualism from linguistic research:
becoming multilingual has positive effects
becoming multilingual has positive effects
cultural and socio-economic advantages
(Pert 2016; Danielsson 2017)cultural and socio-economic advantages
improved communication and social functioning in children with autism
(Uljarević et al 2016) improved communication and social functioning in children with autism
becoming multilingual does not have negative effects
becoming multilingual does not have negative effects
no long-term language delay
(McLeod et al 2016)no long-term language delay
maintenance of home language promotes proficiency in all languages
(Durán et al 2016; Persici et al 2017; Méndez et al 2018)maintenance of home language promotes proficiency in all languages
not using the home language can have negative effects
not using the home language can have negative effects
long term effects of lack of early rich linguistic input
(Anderson 1991; Montrul 2008)long term effects of lack of early rich linguistic input
loss of cultural fluency
(Unganer 2014)loss of cultural fluency
If the home language is Arabic, research shows it is beneficial to maintain the spoken home dialect, as well as providing access to the written formal language.
(Albirini 2014) If the home language is Arabic, research shows it is beneficial to maintain the spoken home dialect, as well as providing access to the written formal language.
“It is important that the home language is not given up in the belief that using English will support the child at school. Using just English will mean that your child only speaks English and will lose their home language.
Children spend more time at home than in school over a year at any age. Children also receive the best language input from people who speak a home language. When speaking a home language, adults are able to provide a very rich language model for children.
Children who can speak more than one language have access to others in the extended family and community and are able to understand themselves and their heritage more fully.”
Source: Pert, S. (2016) Bilingualism [Glossary]. Afasic England. URL: https://www.afasic.org.uk/download/28/
Three ways to support Arabic-speaking families raising bilingual children in the UK:
Three ways to support Arabic-speaking families raising bilingual children in the UK:
accurate information
accurate information
get leaflets and videos translated into Arabic
briefings with other groups in Yorkshire
share links to resources for learning Arabic
ongoing support
ongoing support
materials for play groups and youth clubs
materials for parent/carer support groups
training for volunteers to become home language maintenance champions
informed policy and practice
informed policy and practice
briefings for schools/SLTs/social workers
briefings for local councils/agencies
What three things should we do first?
What three things should we do first?
Please complete our feedback survey: https://goo.gl/forms/1Ril6fZc6cQir6462
Please complete our feedback survey: https://goo.gl/forms/1Ril6fZc6cQir6462
All responses are anonymous.
رجاءً أكمل إستبيان الرأي على الرابط التالي: https://goo.gl/forms/Jda5nSz9B31IOf012
رجاءً أكمل إستبيان الرأي على الرابط التالي: https://goo.gl/forms/Jda5nSz9B31IOf012
كافة الردود مجهولة الهوية
Useful links
Useful links
A blog post on home language maintenance strategies: https://blog.languagelizard.com/2018/03/20/home-language-maintenance-strategies/
What to do when a child doesn't want to use the home language: http://www.languageonthemove.com/bilingual-children-refusing-to-speak-the-home-language/
An app for children learning Arabic [free trial available]: http://www.lamsaworld.com/
A list of Arabic language complementary schools in Sheffield: http://sheffieldcomplementaryschools.org/sheffield-complementary-schools/contact-details/
Suggestions for home language teaching: http://sheffieldcomplementaryschools.org/teaching-heritage-languages/resources/
Leeds Syrian Arabic school: [facebook group]
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