The Sunshine Coast Regional LOTE trial 2008

Background notes to the SCR LOTE Trial

·        There is National and State interest in re-focusing on LOTE curriculum delivery and outcomes

·        Provision of language learning has meant and still represents a major financial investment

·        There have been declining and highly variable outcomes

·        There is much interest in exploring delivery options which might deliver better outcomes

·        Background to SCR LOTE Trial: data indicate that approximately 95% of Year 6 and 7 students study a LOTE. This drops to 60% in Year 8, to 8% in Year 10 and up to 12% in Year 12. Currently Queensland has nationally, the lowest percentage of Year 12 students studying a LOTE.

·        There is a need to move away from a compulsory one size fits all approach

·        There is a need to give schools and clusters more flexibility in trialling different models of LOTE delivery

·        Consultation (Term 3) - New regional plans and resource planning (semester 2 2007) – Implementation and monitoring of plans in 2008.

The position at Cooroy State School

The language studied is French. It is taught to all students in Years 5, 6 and 7, by Mr. Oj Rugins (B.Ed., M.A., Grad. Dip. Applied Linguistics). For the most part we have been using a programme based on the BBC Muzzy series (see ‘Notes on Muzzy’ below). As has been documented in Possum Press however, a new programme is being trialled in Years 6 and 7, which has already proven to be very successful indeed in promoting fluency, both at Cooroy and Eumundi State Schools. This is the Accelerative Integrated Method, developed in Canada over the last ten years by Wendy Maxwell.

Noosa District Cluster Activity so far

Language teachers and the Principals in our cluster have been in discussion since 16^th May, following the ‘launch’ of this trial at a meeting at Chancellor State College. Some trialling is already in progress in West Moreton Region. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis indicated that our position is relatively healthy, reflected by good numbers of students taking languages in Years 9 and 10 at Noosa District SHS (where French and Japanese are taught). Clusters were asked to select a model from the following list:

Proposed LOTE offerings for 2008 (after consultation with Staff and Community):

1. Immersion Programme
2. International Baccalaureate/Other Specialised Accreditation
3. Head Start Programmes
4. VET Link LOTE Programmes
5. Intensive Language Programmes
6. KLA LOTE
7. InterCultural Understanding
8. No LOTE Option

Although initial discussion leant towards some combination of options 6 and 7, there is also keen interest, in the Primary Schools, in option 5, if one sees the Accelerative Integrated Method as an ‘intensive language programme’.

The option of studies in ‘InterCultural Understanding’ has emerged as a possible way forward, to accommodate students who do not follow a KLA LOTE course. Some efforts have been made to integrate InterCultural Language Teaching (ICLT) or InterCultural Language Learning (ICLL) with current KLA language courses, but these have thus far not been consolidated.

Community consultation is ongoing, and Mr Rugins will continue to address the related issues at future staff and P. & C. meetings. Any comments or questions about the trial may be emailed to him at french@cooroyss.eq.edu.au or sent by mail to the school.

Notes on Muzzy

The BBC (in the UK) created the Muzzy language learning series but it is currently being marketed by Early Advantage. Here is a selection from their promotiuonal material giving strong support for learning other languages.

The “Window of Opportunity”
Language Acquisition in Children

You may remember watching your toddler picking up words at an astounding pace, naming favourite toys, learning animal sounds, and of course uttering her first “mama” or “dada.” If you have had the joy of experiencing this, or are even experiencing it right now, it probably comes as no surprise that children have an amazing ability to learn language. 

Many experts say that there are unique learning advantages that come with childhood. Others simply point to the native accents and greater proficiency achieved by young language learners. Regardless of the reasoning, researchers agree that earlier is better when it comes to language learning and second languages.

At Early Advantage, we believe that childhood is a unique “window of opportunity” to introduce languages and other new experiences that grow an appreciation for other cultures and foster a lifelong love of learning.

Children’s Brains are Wired for Learning

After years of study, multiple linguists and researchers concur that children’s brains are wired for learning. Circuits and pathways are formed within the brain with each observation and experience.  The ability of the brain to form and reform connections is commonly referred to as plasticity. Connections are built that help make associations between words, objects, sounds and smells.  With children, these connections are formed at an amazing rate. 

Repetition is an important factor in helping to form these connections, especially in learning language.  Children are natural copycats, often delighting in repeating and mimicking sounds and words. They pick up language by first listening and absorbing and later copying what they hear and what they observe.  Children are able to make automatic associations between words and objects, in both first and second languages, with ease.

From around six months of age, children are able to distinguish real words and nonsense words. When first learning language, children are listening to sounds and then reproducing grammatical rules as modelled by their parents and others who provide daily care and interaction. Although they may not yet be able to model what they hear, even in the earliest months, they have an incredible ear for sound. Adults frequently have difficulty understanding and pronouncing the sounds of other languages that are not present in their own because they do not “hear” them in the same way that a child does. Children are simply more receptive to the nuances of sounds within different languages.  This natural openness allows them to distinguish and replicate these sounds in their own speech. Some argue that due to years of experience and deeply rooted connections within the adult mind, mimicking never before heard sounds can be extremely difficult. That’s not to say that we are unable to learn languages as we age, but adults are rarely able to develop the level of proficiency or native accent of those who first learned a second language in childhood.

Early Exposure is Helpful to Learning Multiple Languages

Taking advantage of childhood to encourage children to learn additional languages has many benefits. As our world community grows smaller and smaller, children who are fluent in more than one language may encounter far fewer communication barriers. Learning a second language may also improve a child’s understanding of their native language. In addition to enhancing problem solving skills and creativity, many psychologists also feel that learning additional languages early in life may assist in “sharper thinking” and greater critical thinking skills. Bilingual children consistently perform higher on standardized testing such as the SAT. Scientists have also discovered that learning multiple languages physically changes the brain. Areas in the left side of the brain, which are affected greatly by language, appear to be denser in individuals who speak more than one language. One report shows that the increase in density appears to be directly affected by the age at which individuals begin learning a second language. Those who began learning at earlier ages showed the greatest increase in density.

Don’t worry if you only speak one language. There are many ways to assist your child in taking advantage of the window of opportunity that is childhood. If there are bilingual parents or care providers active in the child’s life, have those individuals speak to the child in their language if not exclusively, as much as possible. Additionally, multimedia programs designed for the way that children absorb language in context are also useful tools in introducing children to a second language. Whatever method you choose to introduce a new language, focusing on keeping language learning fun is the best way to continue that lifelong love of learning that all parents wish for their children.

Neuroscientist Finds “Cognitive Edge”
when Children Learn French.

When children learn French, or another foreign language, they develop more sophisticated minds than their monolingual peers, according to a study of bilingual children presented to the Society for Neuroscience.

The report on bilingual children who learn French and English was presented by Professor Laura-Ann Petitto, PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist at Dartmouth College, who has spent over 30 years researching the biological foundations of language.

“Our findings show that bilingual children can perform certain cognitive tasks more accurately than monolinguals,” Dr. Petitto said, in a press release. “Being bilingual can give you a cognitive edge.”

How much of an edge? When children learn French or another foreign language do they actually become “smarter” than kids who only speak English? So far, the research of Petitto and her colleagues has revealed no quantifiable answers to these questions but the overall implication is interesting.

Granted, most parents who encourage their children to learn French are more concerned with the culture – the chocolat and cinéma – than experiments in cognition. Even so, the science is provocative. By taking a look at recent studies in educational neuroscience, we can better understand the significance of their findings.

What does the “Simon Task” tell us about children who learn French?

Dr. Petitto’s research compared a group of monolingual children who spoke solely English or French, with a group of children who communicated in both languages. The groups were further categorized by age (from 4 to 6 years) and linguistic ability.

The children participated in the “Simon Task,” which involves coloured squares flashing on a computer screen. As the squares jump randomly from side to side, the children are asked to quickly select whether they’re seeing a red or blue square. If red, they press a button on their right. If blue, they press a button on the left. When correctly performed, a child who sees a blue square on the right-hand side of the screen will nonetheless press the left-hand button, signifying blue.

The bilingual children reportedly scored much better than the monolinguals, suggesting that when children learn French and English, they become better equipped to sort through abstract and contradictory information. Such activity requires a significant degree of mental sophistication, especially for a six-year-old.

Petitto attributed the difference in skill sets to the increased cognitive demands when children learn French and English or any other bilingual language pairing. By processing two languages, they develop greater mental flexibility and agility.

“For example, the brain that has been trained for bilingual language must look up and attend to the meaning for, say, ‘cup’ in one language, while suppressing the meaning for ‘cup’ in the child‘s other native language,” Petitto said, in the press release. “This requires heightened computational analysis in the brain.”

Other cognitive benefits when children learn French

Dr. Ellen Bialystok is a professor of psychology at York University in Canada, who collaborated with Dr. Petitto on the “Simon Task” study. For several years, Dr. Bialystok has been conducting her own research on the cognitive effects of learning another language. “There is a lot of fear that exposing children to languages will cause confusion and harm,” Bialystok told Cookie magazine in 2006.

Research led by Bialystok has shown that when children learn French and English or are bilingual in other languages, they consistently outperform monolingual kids on select cognitive tasks. The “Stroop Test,” for example, requires participants to name the color of ink on a flashcard that features a contradictory or confusing word; for example, the word “yellow” written in blue ink. Reportedly, bilinguals tend to be much better at naming the right colour. Performance on the Stroop Test and Simon Task reflect levels of attention control, sorting ability, and the resolution of complex information. Cookie reports that 4-year-old bilingual children are generally more capable of sorting information and performing similar “frontal-lobe ‘executive’ functions” than monolingual children who are a full year older.

While neuroscientists continue to debate the degree of cognitive benefits that come from learning a second language, educators and linguistic experts have determined that there are no benefits whatsoever to withholding second language education. In fact, when children learn French or another foreign language at an early age, they are much more likely to achieve fluency. The minds of prep students are surprisingly capable of acquiring and integrating new modes of communication.

Dr. Bialystok told Cookie that there is “not a shred of evidence” to support the superstition that when young children learn French or another foreign language, it leads to confusion or problems in English.

Dr. Petitto struck a similar chord when interviewed at a linguistics conference sponsored by George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development. She declared: “I hope to make clear with regard to the architecture of the human brain that it is not set to learn only one language. The brain is not a closed system. It was not etched to learn one thing.”

“We have multiple ways and multiple languages,” Dr. Petitto concluded. “The brain can handle that.”