Learning English as an Additional Language: The Onset of Multiculturalism in Early Years - Essay Example

? Learning English as an Additional Language: The Onset of Multiculturalism in Early Years TOPIC AREA In the current of affairs, it has come tonotice of various researchers that a large number of problems are originating in the educational sector of the UK due to multiculturalism. Amongst these issues lie multiculturalism, and in many different manners it is influencing the educational system of UK, which is more negative than positive. The major factors that have been found reasonable for this negative influence are lack of teaching methodologies, biases, and integration issues. Theories with reference to practices in this regard will be applied to find whether these causes are justified or not. Furthermore, by reviewing the literature with relation to UK, structuring a qualitative study with the help of questionnaires and analyzing observational findings, this paper will put forth the patterns of issues for which, resolution measures will be provided. Methods of observation have not been selected because this is a qualitative research and it is strictly based upon results acquired through observations, analysis or in this case survey through questionnaires. As the aspect under discussion and study in this paper is ‘Learning English as an additional language by children of an early setting,’ hence, problems which are being faced by this sector and its system with reference to multiculturalism need to be studied and analyzed. 1.1. AIMS & OBJECTIVES As provided before, this problem, its effectiveness, and its causes are under assessment with the help of a literature review, a qualitative research, and a detailed critical analysis, because there is a need to provide a base for the topic and its resolution. Following are the objectives of this research: To find out issues in the early setting of EAL children due to multiculturalism To characterize the system of integration amongst EAL children To provide solutions for these issues and to advance the positive aspects of multiculturalism Thus, with the help of questionnaires a qualitative research will be carried out for surveys. The target groups for the questionnaire production will be parents, practitioners and the manager of the setting because it is important to go deep into this study. As the above provisions have put forth a background evaluation of the issues, they will be elaborated with regard to the integration of children who learn English as an additional language. Thus, further evaluations will be put forth for future aspects that will relate to what could have been done better in order to gain the required results. Therefore, this research aims at: Gaining proposed results to understand this topic Bettering the system of education for EAL children Providing a detailed literature and qualitative base for other studies in the same field Developing an understanding amongst parents for multiculturalism 1.2. RESEARCH STATEMENT There is a need to promote the idea that learning English in this current era for children in their early years shall not prove as a problem as it may cause social disorganization and not just the stance of multiculturalism. It is important that every step shall be taken to ensure that the system of education under this aspect is analyzed and evaluated for understanding its deficiencies. In this study, research problems, which are to be discussed are related to the effects multiculturalism has caused on this sector. Therefore, the questions which will be studied in this research are: How multiculturalism is affecting EAL children of an early setting? How much role is played by the integration system and structure in this issue? Through what steps can a better frame be structured for this system? If a solution for this influence is not found, it can lead the entire educational sector towards havoc. There is also a need to diversify this fast paced transition, and it is necessary to understand that it has a positive elevation as well. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Different education institutions in UK encourage various methods for integrating children who learn English as an additional language for aiming at a long term success rate. For this purpose, specified strategies are used and implied by them. In the light of different literature and their review, this paper puts forth different strategies which could be adopted in order to make sure that problems from this part of learning in UK are prevented. Thus, integration of children belonging to different cultural and traditional backgrounds, through steps like cultural festivals and presentation of traditional backgrounds, is yet another verification of multiculturalism. This also specifies the fact that multiculturalism has its onset from the early settings of learning and education. The important part that has been gained from the below provided literature review also indicates what problems are influencing this onset, and how they can be eliminated. In a study conducted by Johnson and Newport (2004: pp. 70), problems faced by children of English as an Additional Language (EAL) were targeted for evaluation, and it was found that even though learning a language is a critical procedure, it could be easily carried out starting from infants until puberty. But, it was stated that learning an additional language, specifically English, is much more of an intense procedure, which requires a great deal of efforts by children as well as practitioners and parents. A collective hypothesis was presented in order to specify this learning procedure, and it was established that the phase in which children come together from different backgrounds to learn the same language is the most significant one for a teacher as well as the children. It was learned after analyzing a test performed on children aged between 3-26 years that senior children who are learners of English as an additional language shall be appointed to teach the young ones as they play a vital role in understanding what a child requires and what complex procedures can be broken down into for them. Similarly, on the other hand a study conducted by Probyn (2010: pp.252) stated the stance of institutions that taught English as an additional language in South Africa. The sessions of practices and procedures for teaching English were videotaped in this study and analyzed. Use of English as an additional language for subjects like mathematics, accounting, science, business economics, and history was taped. The same point of consideration was noticed in this research as well, when practitioners in UK were interviewed about their experience of having learnt English additionally; they had none. Due to this, they were unable to understand through what systems of learning the children could have succeeded, despite the fact that they were experts in teaching. The Department of Education and Science has verified that the first report that was structured by the government of UK called ‘The Swan Report’ supported a curriculum that was multicultural and addressed the provision of an organized system of learning for EAL children (1985: pp.49). This satisfies the fact that multiculturalism has dug down deep into the roots of education, specifically amongst children who learn English as an additional language in a nursery setting. Therefore, the above studies equally satisfy the results and analysis of Saracho and Spodek’s (1983: n.pg) case regulation, which puts forth the fact that every educational sector has the element of multiculturalism in its nature. Leung (2010: n.pg) has labeled the stance of English as an additional language as a teaching and learning issue and this, as mentioned in the study, is due to the abundance of multiculturalism in the curriculum. When people are not willing to let their children engage in multicultural activates, the process of learning English as an additional language is mostly either dropped or never chosen in the first place. In accordance to a wider context of methodologies for educational strategies to handle multiculturalism in institutions that teach English as an additional language, this paper is a development of classroom practices. Hence, as Saracho and Spodek’s (1983: n.pg) verification discussed, learning second language in early childhood needs to be assessed in the light of activities that neither go against nor propagate multiculturalism; rather they should keep the functioning of institutions intact and maintained. What needs to be kept in mind is that teaching children a specific language is a process which must be carried out without bigotry, discrimination, or favoritism, all of which are the most important issues that have been noticed as they rise amongst children who learn English as an additional language. Hence, development of an understanding of the potential issues caused due to such sensitivity by practitioners is necessary through cooperation with parents. It has been proved by Flewitt and Nind (2007: n.pg) that if parents and practitioners won’t cooperate with each other, the negativity that is caused by multiculturalism in early years setting of children that learn English as an additional language, will continue to expand. Flewitt and Nind (2007: n.pg) in their report, presented how parents and practitioners must approve of services that should be implemented in nursery settings for children to remove such biases and issues. Along with these services, it was discussed in the report that parents must keep in mind how their expectations can be fulfilled and meet the terms that need to be applied in the setting. They further evaluated on a small scale, how parents and teacher were working cooperatively to assess these services and terms to be met. A decrease has been measured by Hawkey and Kuehn (2004: pp.1) in the enrollment of children for learning English as an additional language as represented by the following chart. 2.1. ESSENTIAL STRATEGIES Along with creating bilingual children, educational institutions of not only UK but all other countries hall also focus on the development of bicultural children. Cultural sensitivity thus needs to be kept in mind for practice by practitioners as this would help children understand other cultures and expound multiculturalism in a positive manner. Therefore, the common method, which can be used for the verification of adopting this positive aspect of multiculturalism, is the interactive read out method. An important question which has been raised in the Early Years Self Evaluation Form addresses the development of an enjoyable and learning plan for these children. Hence, this plan needs to be structured without any ethnic, cultural, language, learning difficulty or gender perimeters (2009: n.pg). The method, as presented by Newfoundland Labrador Education (2009: pp.2), has been structured into a diagram and presented below, which if adopted during class formulation, can play a vital role in equal performance. The Early Years Foundation Stage considers multiculturalism as an important part of the English Society and has played a continuous role in promoting Britain as a multicultural society. This is mainly because of a well developed parent teacher relationship and the centralized focus on providing high quality education to children despite their cultural background (Edwards, 2009: pp.7). What needs to be provided to the parents is that learning a new culture is not a negative thing; instead it helps a child form a base for avoiding future issues like racism and cultural biasness. This implies that with the help of practitioners’ and parents’ cooperation with early year children, who face multiculturalism in such a setting of learning English, can have more culturally variant experience. 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1. RESEARCH DESIGN There was a need to choose a study design in order to specify propositions of results. Hence, a qualitative research will be carried out to evaluate the research questions. Therefore, a survey will be created containing 8 closed ended questions for the targeted practitioners and parents, because it will be easy to analyze fewer questions of wider contexts for the study. These questions will bring forth answers aiming to prove the reality of the impact of media on these children as they confront various means of it. They will be essential to make sure that this research would be strictly qualitative due to identified qualitative nature of the aim of this study. Therefore, the basic aim of this type of methodology will be to find out from observations and surveys how multiculturalism is affecting children of EAL in a nursery setting and their integration. 3.2. SAMPLE This aspect for research has been chosen as I belong to a different cultural background and speak English as a second language. There is also an enormous contribution from my workplace experience of 7-8 years in this research, which is a setting of early year children, 85- 90% of whom are from Ghana, Latvia, Albanian, Arabic, Turkish, Polish, Czech Republic and many other regional backgrounds. This way, the place where I work is a multicultural setting and parents and practitioners of children belonging to 10-15 different backgrounds will be selected for both the primary and the main observation as well. Practitioners along with the management authority belong to different backgrounds as well. This multicultural setting is actually a private day care that is close to centre of the town. Hence, with the help of selecting such a setting, this research will be carried out in a better manner as it addresses multiculturalism and its influence on children of an early year setting who learn English as an additional language. 3.3. Validity For ensuring the validity and accuracy of the procedure, it will be endorsed that the above mentioned primary observation must be formulated before any steps for the final research are taken. This observation will be carried out in this multicultural setting, on practitioners and parents less in number from those in the actual research plan. The next step after primary observation will be secondary observation after which questionnaires will be distributed. The facts that will be achieved from observation will help in assessing the nature of the results for the final survey. As for the proposed results, what will prove as a plus point is that this observation will give a potentially valuable insight into it, proving it valid. 3.4. Reliability The impact of this subject will be calculated for reliability with the help of observations. Aspects in which conflict is found during the observation will be studied further before including them in the final survey; it will be made sure that results are categorized on the basis of its importance so that time is kept from being wasted. Therefore, a constantly maintained database is also important for this research. Following will be the measures to be kept in mind: Result categorization Maintaining focus throughout the research Avoiding ethical issues Structuring a solution based assessment 3.3. ACCESS Proper communication is important to make sure all aspects for the required research are accessed. ‘Approach’ will play an important role in gaining access to all participants and the institution’s authority. The approach which will be adopted is the non-judgmental attitude practice. Bryman (2008: pp.284) has stated that it is necessary to assess various psychological, sociological, philosophical and historical aspects of a research because this helps in developing a single specified approach for the entire research method. This non-judgmental approach of research has been selected because Opie and Sikes (2004: pp.244) stated that when social aspects of a research are being worked upon with a link to institutional facets, such approach shall be used. 3.4. RESULT ANALYSIS After results are obtained from the questionnaire, its analysis will help in measuring performances and in deciding whether or not proposed performances fulfilled these tests for reliability and validity. For this analysis, the literature review will again be evaluated after the research is complete to avoid deviation. The literature review will provide a base for the performance of these participants, which will be structured later for analysis. A critical analysis will be carried out at the end in order to justify the presence of issues using tools like SWOT. This will also prove whether or not this research would be a success. 4. PROBLEMS & LIMITATIONS It is a fact that any research is incomplete and curtailed if its limitations are not gathered thus, any sorts of unacceptable aspects of implementation will be discarded. Gary (2009:pp.68) has stated that the method by which information gathered from a research is compared to other reviewed researches is what is important. This is due to the fact that a researcher can configure limitations and fit all of the findings together with its help. Hence, limitations and strengths of the process will be kept in mind and assessed side by side on every level, specifically from primary observation. It is clear, that new systems for such set ups will be important, hence, at many phases, resistance will be confronted. It is important to eliminate this resistance for which it is important to keep in mind different modules for change implementation. 5. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS It is important to consider ethical issues before a research is conducted. Therefore, in this research I deemed it important to obtain approval from participants; that included practitioners and parents of children. Also it was important to introduce the research plan before it started. These queries were of significant importance as they helped this research in avoiding conflicts or ethical issues of any nature. A research paper conducted by Tracy (2010: n.pg) endowed that problems were faced due to the dilemma of gaining informed consent and regarding the risk of imposition when conducting research on people. To ensure that no divergences were created in working of the management authority in future circumstances, an ethical review form was filled out and provided to the management. Participants can be harmed in many unintended ways which can be psychological as well as social. It is important to make sure that participants are not offended in any way during the research; hence no private information, without the consent of practitioners or parents, will be inquired. Most important is to make sure that the institution shall not be harmed in any manner; be it social or financial. As it is necessary to maintain an open conversation, specifically in this scenario, therefore, professional ethics will also be kept in mind so that they prevent me from applying any emotional or personal attachments during the research. References Bach, S. and Grant, A., 2009. Communication and interpersonal skills for nurses (transforming nursing practice). Exeter: Learning Matters. Bryman, A., 2008. Social research methods. New York, Oxford University Press. Edwards, D., 2009. Watcombe Primary School. [Pdf] Available at: < http://www.watcombe-primary.torbay.sch.uk/docs/ofsted-may09.pdf>. Flewitt, R. and Nind, M., 2007. Parents choosing to combine special and inclusive early year’s settings: the best of both worlds? European Journal of Special Needs Education, 22(4), pp. 425-441. Hawkey, C. and Kuehn, L., 2004. Education staffing cuts—Year 2: A threat to B.C.’s top-ranked public education. [Online] BCTF RESEARCH REPORT. Available at: < http://bctf.ca/publications/ResearchReports.aspx?id=5588> [Accessed 18th April, 2012]. Johnson, J.L. and Newport, E.L., 2004. Critical period effects in second language learning: The influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language. Cognitive Psychology, 21(1), pp. 60–99. Leung, C., 2010. English as an additional language: Distinct language focus or diffused curriculum concerns? Language and Education, 15(1), pp. 33-55. New Foundland Labrador, 2009. Using children’s literature with ESL students. [Pdf] Available at: < http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/curriculum/guides/esl/literature_esl.pdf>. Ofsted, 2009. Early years online self-evaluation form (SEF) and guidance - For settings delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage. [Online] Available at: < http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/early-years-online-self-evaluation-form-sef-and-guidance-for-settings-delivering-early-years-foundat> [Accessed 13th May, 2012]. Opie, C. and Sikes, P.J., 2004. Doing educational research: A guide to first-time researchers. California, Sage. Petersen, J., 2007. Why don't we listen better?: Communicating & connecting in relationships. Tigard: Petersen. Probyn, M., 2010. Teachers’ voices: Teachers reflections on learning and teaching through the medium of English as an additional language in South Africa. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 4(4), pp. 249-261. Saracho, O.N. and Spodek, B., 1983. Understanding the multicultural experience in early childhood education. Washington: National Association for the Education of Young Children. The Department of Education and Science, 1985. The Swann Report (1985): Education for All. Scotland: Crown. Thomas, G. (2009). How to do your research project: a guide for students in education and applied social sciences. London: Sage. Tracy, S.J., 2010. Qualitative Inquiry. New York: Sage. Read More