Don’t turn multilingualism in education into a caricature

As linguists and education specialists, we wholeheartedly agree with the argument made in an opinion piece published in this newspaper (DS, 9 May) that all pupils in Flanders should learn Dutch as well as possible. In fact, each of us has spent years advocating for higher-quality teaching both in Dutch and of Dutch. We do this by conducting our own research and translating scientific insights on language acquisition into accessible guidance for teachers. We also provide practical ideas on how those insights can be turned into classroom techniques. Much of our research focuses on pupils who are raised in a language other than Dutch.

Nearly 30 per cent of pupils in Flemish primary education grow up in households where Dutch is not the dominant home language. That does not mean Dutch is absent from their lives: in many cases, children also consume Dutch-language media or speak Dutch with brothers and sisters. Their home environment is naturally multilingual. When watching a Dutch-language video clip and encountering a word they do not understand, they may turn to a quick translation provided by a sibling or by a digital tool. Just as many of us do when travelling abroad or struggling to follow an English-language instructional video.

In the classroom, these children often struggle with the Dutch used by teachers and found in textbooks. Teachers try to make difficult terms accessible through illustrations, examples and gestures, all in Dutch. Our research shows that a growing number of teachers in schools with a high proportion of non-Dutch-speaking pupils are grappling with the question: how should we deal with the multilingualism of our pupils? Can it be beneficial, under clear agreements, to allow pupils immersed in Dutch to occasionally add a drop of their home language to that language bath?

The authors of the opinion piece mentioned above are opposed to this approach. We, by contrast, advocate making intelligent use of pupils’ linguistic repertoire — which is not the same as arguing for systematic and consistent “home-language teaching” in Arabic or Ukrainian. The debate on multilingualism in Flemish education deserves greater nuance.

‘Luna’ and ‘sol’

The example given by education professor Els Consuegra of the De Afspraak speaks volumes. As preparation for a project about space, nursery pupils at a Dutch-language school in Brussels are asked to discuss the topic at home with their parents and produce a drawing including the words for “sun” and “moon” in their own language. Proudly, the children bring their drawings to school and connect the Dutch terms with those from their home language (“luna”, “sol”). In this way, Dutch vocabulary becomes anchored in concepts and words already present in the child’s mind, while the pupils simultaneously feel more at home at school. Several meta-analyses show that looking up the translation of a new word in one’s own language, or asking a classmate for it, is particularly efficient and effective in expanding vocabulary in the language of instruction. Moreover, in this example, parental involvement in classroom activities is increased. For some, however, even this bridge towards other languages appears to be a bridge too far — despite the fact that it concerns only a handful of words, five minutes within a fully Dutch-speaking school day lasting eight hours.

Teachers do not need polarisation or simplistic analyses in which educational success is determined solely by language spoken at home. They know better than that. What they need is support. They benefit from clear and realistic guidance. Our advice — echoed by the Council for the Dutch Language and Literature — is as follows: make very clear agreements with pupils about when they may use their home language as a support tool, and when they may not. Treat pupils’ home culture and home language with respect. Inform yourself about the most effective methods for improving pupils’ acquisition of Dutch. Encourage parents to talk with their children at home, tell stories and read picture books aloud in every language they can. And yes, maximise interaction in Dutch by engaging every individual pupil in rich conversations in Dutch. To make this possible, our nursery teachers are asking for greater classroom support and assistance. We support that call. More helping hands in Dutch-language classrooms — and more languages too, where they serve a practical purpose.

Watch education expert Els Consuegra on De Afspraak from 11 April.