What if students aren’t strong in either language?

Semilingualism

As discussed in the inquiry What is bilingualism? , bilingual people may vary widely in the degree of bilingualism they demonstrate. These varied bilingual patterns are likely to be evident among your Pasifika (and other) bilingual students. (See the investigation in What is bilingualism? for an activity that can highlight and explore these differences.) In most cases, the varied bilingual patterns are quite normal, although this should not stop teachers from trying to improve students’ ability in both of their languages wherever possible. Sometimes, though, particular students may appear to have little competence in either language. In the research literature, this has been called semilingualism .

The idea of semilingualism tends to reflect a social and political value judgment rather than corresponding to a phenomenon that is actual or commonplace (Baker, 2006). It accords with the tendency of many monolingual speakers who are unfamiliar with bilingualism to construct bilingual students in deficit terms. (See the inquiry Attitudes to bilingualism for further discussion.)

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Why is the notion of semilingualism such a problem?¹

1. The term is clearly a deficit label, focusing on the language limitations of a particular bilingual person rather than on the language skills they already have. Such deficit labelling can reinforce expectations of underachievement and act as a self-fulfilling prophecy. We should see the language skills of bilingual students as strategic accomplishments rather than as deficits (May, 2002).
2. The reasons for a bilingual student’s languages being relatively undeveloped may have very little to do with their bilingualism or even their ‘ability’, but rather with the subtractive bilingual contexts that limit the appropriate development of the student’s bilingualism. (See the inquiry Attitudes to bilingualism .)
3. Many bilingual people use their two languages for different purposes and events. Language use may also be specific to a context. A person may be competent in some language contexts but not in others. (Of course, this is also true for monolingual learners.) We need to find out the contexts and purposes for which a bilingual student’s language ability is most well developed and build on this expertise. For example, a student may exhibit extensive language and literacy skills in relation to the language of technology or popular culture (for instance, hip hop), which could then provide a basis for learning classroom language.
4. We need to be cautious in interpreting school-based language tests, particularly in relation to bilingual students. (See the ESOL Progress Assessment Guidelines (Ministry of Education, 2005.) Language tests may measure a small, unrepresentative sample of a student’s daily language behaviour. The apparent deficiencies may simply reflect the assumptions of specific tests and fail to recognise the wider language competencies of students. (See 3 above.) Also, because tests used in schools are generally based on ‘standard’ academic language, there is an implicit bias against speakers of different varieties of that language and against second language learners, who take longer to learn the academic language register of a second language. This latter phenomenon is called the second language learning delay and is discussed further in the inquiry What is academic language? .
5. It may not be fair or appropriate to compare bilingual with monolingual speakers. Bilingual people may well use their languages in qualitatively and quantitatively different ways from monolingual people. For example, code switching , where bilingual people move easily between two languages, sometimes in the same sentence, is often seen by monolingual people as a problem, but it is a natural part of being bilingual and is used for a wide range of often highly complex and sophisticated purposes. (See the inquiry Why do bilinguals ‘switch’ languages? for further discussion.)

As teachers, we need to be cautious when assessing the language abilities of bilingual students, particularly if we are not bilingual or multilingual ourselves.

This is not to say that the language abilities of bilingual students don’t differ. Some students may be at earlier stages of language development than others, although the reasons for these differences may, in many cases, be external (for example, they may result from the influence of subtractive bilingual contexts), as discussed earlier. The key point for teachers to note is that, instead of highlighting apparent deficits in language development, it is much more useful to focus on the conditions necessary to maximise opportunities for bilingual students to improve their language skills and develop them to high levels. This means taking every opportunity to promote an additive bilingual context for bilingual Pasifika (and other) students, as discussed throughout this section. More specifically, you might:

• encourage your students to talk in their Pasifika (or other) language in class as well as in English, to encourage the development of oral proficiency (particularly in relation to classroom language) in both languages. (See the inquiries Affirming Pasifika languages in the mainstream and What is academic language?
• encourage your students to read and write, in class, in their Pasifika (or other) language as well as in English, to promote biliteracy. (See the inquiries Affirming biliteracy and Affirming Pasifika languages in the mainstream )
• encourage your students and their families to talk, read, and write in either or both languages in contexts outside school
• actively encourage a student’s parents or caregivers who are stronger in a Pasifika language than in English, or who usually use a Pasifika language at home, to continue speaking, reading, and writing in the Pasifika language with their children at home. This will help the students to become literate in the Pasifika language and make it easier for them to become literate in English. This is because of the principle of language interdependence . (See the inquiry Are languages linked? .)

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