Findings from the first phase of developing a receptive vocabulary test for the Irish language (original) (raw)
Related papers
Schools in Ireland vary in how they introduce reading in the two official languages, Irish and English. There is particular variability within immersion (Irish medium) schools. Some introduce Irish reading first (IRF) and others English reading first (ERF). This study compared the development of Irish and English skills in children attending different school types, assessing word reading, decoding and vocabulary at three time points (second, third and fourth year of schooling). Children attending Irishmedium schools and a school in an Irish-speaking (Gaeltacht) community performed significantly better than children attending an English-medium school on the Irish tasks. Differences between the IRF and ERF school children were evident only at the first time point, with IRF children showing an early advantage in decoding. Differences between the school groups on the English tasks were largely resolved by the fourth year of schooling. Comparing the Irish-medium groups on English reading, the Gaeltacht group initially lagged behind the others, but there was no difference by the fourth year of schooling. These findings suggest that the language in which reading is formally introduced is not critical to later reading attainment. Furthermore, teaching through Irish was associated with Irish language advantages, without detriment to English reading skill as measured here.
Designing a Normed Receptive Vocabulary Test for Bilingual Populations: A Model from Welsh
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2008
The purpose of this paper is to propose an applied model for the assessment of bilingual children's language abilities with standardised tests. We discuss the purposes of such tests, especially in relation to vocabulary knowledge, and potential applications of test results for each of those purposes. The specific case to be examined here is that of Welsh vocabulary, but the principles are relevant to any other bilingual population and any other aspect of language. Our proposal is that all standardised language tests for bilinguals should take into account children's exposure to the language in question and should report both a general score comparing a given child to all children – bilingual or monolingual – and a score that indicates the child's placement relative to (bilingual) children who have similar language exposure profiles.
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2013
Previous studies have highlighted early differences in bilinguals' rate of language acquisition in comparison to monolinguals. However, these differences seem to disappear with increasing age and exposure to the language, and do so quicker in dominant community languages than in minority status languages. This study aimed to replicate these findings in relation to literacy development. Three groups of Welsh-English bilinguals (L1 Welsh, simultaneous bilinguals, and L1 English) were given receptive vocabulary tasks and reading tasks in Welsh and in English. An additional group of monolingual English-speaking controls was given the English tasks. Results revealed differential performance among the bilinguals in relation to the English tasks, with the L1 English bilinguals and monolinguals performing closer to age norms than L1 Welsh and simultaneous bilinguals by the end of primary school education. No differences were found between the L1 English bilinguals and the monolinguals on either task. On the Welsh measures, performance mirrored those of previous studies, on both tasks, demonstrating higher levels of performance relative to increasing amounts of exposure to Welsh. The implications of these findings for bilingual education strategies, particularly in relation to the development of bilingual language competence in minority language situations, are discussed.
Educational Review
The philosophy of comprehensive education embedded in Scottish policy has long been recognised as an exemplary feature. The commitment to language learning is evident in recent policy supporting primary pupils who will learn two languages as well as the language of their school. For most children, this will involve English and two other languages, one of which could involve Gaelic. For children enrolled in Gaelic medium education, Gaelic is identified as the first language, coupled with English and a further modern language. Although this policy can be applauded, it may further complicate Gaelic medium education provision where the outcome is to provide pupils with an equal footing in Gaelic and English languages. The paucity of research focused on assessing and diagnosing language difficulties in Gaelic is particularly concerning. This paper approaches this need by reviewing available research and literature around this topic. A summary of policy, research and related fields is provided, including suggestions for potential future activity. This paper identifies compelling evidence that the development of support resources for children becoming bilingual through Gaelic medium education should take place as a matter of urgency.
Language Models in Gaelic Medium Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education
2012
Context and background vii Results Preschool (3-5 years) 8. Overall levels of Gaelic use when teaching the curriculum in preschool settings are high, though not as high as in the immersion phase in the first three stages of primary school. 9. In the less formal school domains of the playground, the corridors, etc, pupils in preschool are reported to use less Gaelic than pupils at primary school, but adults in preschool settings are reported to use more Gaelic than adults in primary schools. 10. Preschool settings use more Gaelic on signs and on notices for Gaelic-medium pupils than do primary schools. 11. Gaelic use in extra-curricular activities is on average higher in the preschool Gaelic-medium settings than in primary schools which provide Gaelic-medium education. 12. There is little difference between preschool and primary school contexts in relation to language use in communication with parents: this is predominantly in English in both contexts. Primary school (5-12 years) 13. The cluster analysis identified four main categories of Gaelic-medium primary providers: 13.1. One large group (about 30% of all Gaelic-medium providers) in which Gaelic is the medium of instruction of nearly all teaching time throughout the primary school stages. Toraidhean Ro-sgoil (3-5 bliadhna)
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 2021
BackgroundAn increasing number of children in the UK and Ireland are growing up speaking more than one language. The many advantages of bilingualism are acknowledged; however, this increased linguistic diversity presents particular challenges for speech and language therapists (SLTs). The case is often more complex with speakers of minority languages such as Welsh and Irish, which are acquired almost exclusively in bilingual contexts. Lack of appropriate standardized assessments for bilinguals is a key issue for SLTs internationally; however, little is known about the practices, personal perspectives or wider challenges faced by SLTs in assessing minority language skills. We focus on SLTs working with English–Irish bilinguals across Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) where status, use and exposure to Irish differ significantly.AimsTo investigate the perceptions and practices of SLTs in NI and the ROI in the assessment of bilingual English–Irish‐speaking children...