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 in the context of the National Languages Strategy (Languages for All: Languages for Life www.dfes.gov.uk/languagesstrategy/) primary schools are developing language teaching which includes community languages as well as the more traditional “Modern Foreign Languages”. CILT (www.cilt.org.uk/primary/).
• Because the Primary National Strategy’s “Learning and Teaching for Bilingual Children in the Primary Years” (DCFS 2006) supports and encourages the development of children’s bilingualism (www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/publications/inclusion/bi_children/) as does the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum (www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/eyfs/site/4/tables/0_2_0_10.htm)
• 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: www.continyou.org.uk/content.php?CategoryID=631 and the National Centre for Languages: www.cilt.org.uk/commlangs/index.htm
• Because reading simultaneously in two languages is a very under-researched area of language and literacy development.

So what are we aiming to do?

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.

Find out more!

If you have examples of work using dual language texts that you would like to bring to our attention, 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 :

New books reviewed:

Fluffy the Vulture / Count Ten - in nine languages (from Belifan)

Quelle heure est-il, Monsieur Loup? / What's the time Mister Wolf (from Bramhall Publishing)

Ijapa ati Aja / The tortoise and the dog (from Lolipops Publications) review by Dr Abiola Ogunsola

 

 

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.

New resources from Alien Languages, see References and Websites

review Dr Abiola Ogunsola.

See Reviews Section in right hand box

CILT: Our Languages Project

Visit this site for information on an innovative DCSF funded project to foster collaboration between complementary and maintained schools and to provide support for community language teaching. www.cilt.org.uk/commlangs/our_langs/

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

See reviews of books in Polish, Bosnian, French and Yoruba and from the BBC Cbeebies site as well as new resources in Welsh and Latvian -

March 2010

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© 2007