Multiliteracy in Action:

Using and Researching Dual Language Books for Children

A Resource for Teachers and Researchers

What are they?

Dual text books are published in two languages. Texts for children may have both languages on one page or two languages facing each other on alternate pages. Books published in the UK generally have English as one of the languages.

The Cass School of Education at UEL is in the process of building a substantial collection of these books for teaching and research.

Why?

• Because more than 300 languages are spoken in London (Philip & Baker, 2000) and there is a growing interest in building on and developing the language skills of London children.
• Because the value of community languages is being increasingly recognised in education. See Positively Plurilingual.
• Because, although the National Languages Strategy is no longer active, language learning is being encouraged and languages are included in the e-bacc. Primary schools are developing language teaching at KS2 which includes community languages as well as the more traditional “Modern Foreign Languages”. CILT ( http://www.cilt.org.uk/primary.aspx ).
• Althoug no longer active, the Primary National Strategy’s “Learning and Teaching for Bilingual Children in the Primary Years” (DCFS 2006) supported and encouraged the development of children’s bilingualism as does the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum
• Because the range of languages available at GCSE, A Level and in MFL PGCEs is widening and the DCFS are recognising the important role played by complementary schools in developing community language skills. Visit the site of the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education for further information and the National Centre for Languages: see Our Languages.
• Because reading simultaneously in two languages is a very under-researched area of language and literacy development.

So what are we aiming to do?

Dual language books:

We are working to build on the success of a small action research project carried out by MA students and interested teachers in the Cass School of Education (2002-2004), on the extensive language skills of the School’s student body and to make use of the very multilingual contexts of schools in east London to stimulate further practitioner and academic research in this area. The collection of dual language books that the School is developing aims to

• promote the use of dual language books and other language materials in the classroom with a view to creating a bank of shared ideas and resources for teachers
• encourage undergraduates, student and trainee teachers and post graduate and research students who have an interest in bilingualism and multilingual issues to explore the potential of such materials as part of their research projects and to make their findings available to others

• work with publishers to evaluate multilingual materials and to stimulate the publication of new resources to meet the needs of pupils, parents and teachers.

Multiliteracy in Action:

While promoting the use of and research into dual language books have been the prime aims of this site, there are many interesting initiatives in the wider field of multiliteracy that promote the learning of languages, the development of biliteracy, creative writing, the translation of literature, the development of community language teaching in both complementary and mainstream schools. For new information on such developments, please check out Multiliteracy Info and Networking in the right hand box at the top of this page.

Find out more!

If you have examples of work using dual language texts that you would like to bring to our attention, if you have information or experience of interesting projects to develop bilingualism and multiliteracy, or you require further information about the Cass School of Education’s projects, please contact Dr Raymonde Sneddon at r.m.sneddon@uel.ac.uk

STOP PRESS :

Networking:

Find out about the Arvon Foundation's Mother tongue Project

and Translation Nation

See Info and Networking, top right-hand of this page.

New section: YOUNG AUTHORS

"This is so much fun. It's been a great experience to actually make a book and we are proud of ourselves." (Magda and Albana, 2010)

First e-book on the site: The Computer Geek / Geek Computri (English/Albanian)

This new area of the website will be devoted to young authors and aims to share the experience of making dual language books in the classroom. See top right-hand box on this page.

We are looking for new talent - if pupils in your school are writing their own dual language books, we would like to hear about it and make their work known. Contact me at r.m.sneddon@uel.ac.uk

New section: STUDENT AND PRACTITIONER ACTION RESEARCH NETWORK

For colleagues to: network - seek advice - build on each other's experience - make their findings known - promote their work - encourage further practitioner and student research. Visit the Network to see current work by Iwona Macalka and Jana Synek.

The Multilingual Resources and Websites section has been completely updated.

New books reviewed:

See Reviews Section in top right hand box for Des Loups Partout / Wolves Everywhere and My First Twi Picture Book.

Now available: Raymonde Sneddon

 

Bilingual Books - Biliterate children - Learning to read through dual language books. Trentham Books - publication September 2009

 

 

 

Tales in Translation. An exploration of the translation of ten dual language picture books in English and French.

Don’t forget to check out WHAT’S NEW top right hand box !

October 2012

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© 2007