Bilingualism in the Primary School: A Handbook for Teachers

Over the past few years bilingualism has come to be seen not as a hindrance, but as an asset which, properly nurtured, will benefit children's linguistic awareness, cultural sensitivity and cognitive functioning. "Bilingualism in the Primary School" gives primary teachers a window on the experience of the bilingual children in their care. It helps them to make the most of what the children and their parents have to offer, giving those children a good start in the National Curriculum. The book covers three main areas: first, the ways in which bilingual children in school can learn English and at the same time have their first languages incorporated naturally into the curriculum; second, various approaches to the assessment of oral language (including children's mother tongue) and finally the bilingual experience of children, teachers and parents within the wider community. Many of the contributors to the book are themselves bilingual and are thus able to understand the children's experience from within, but they are also particularly careful to show monolingual teachers how to make use of children's mother tongue experience.