‘Excellence and Enjoyment’ or Exclusion and Underachievement? A Study of the Issues Facing an Immigrant Russian-Speaking Pupil in an English Primary School

The paper presents the initial findings from a research project into the learning experiences of middle childhood (7-11 years old) English as an additional language (EAL) migrant children with Russian as a first language (L1) in London state primary schools. The aim of this paper is to present the preliminary results from a pilot case study based on a qualitative multiple case study investigation focusing on the following research questions: 1. What experiences/issues does a Russian-speaking migrant child face in a L2 (second language) English school environment in middle childhood? 2. Why does a Russian-speaking pupil have certain experiences? Research into the area of Russian-speaking migrant children with EAL is pertinent to schools given that the percentage of newly-arrived EAL students with Russian as first language in the UK state-funded primary schools has nearly tripled in just 8 years (from 3,511 pupils to 9,722 pupils) (Department for Education, 2016; Makarova and Morgunova, 2009). Research related to this has been undertaken in other European countries such as Finland (Räty et al., 2010; Laihiala-Kankainen, 1998) and the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) (Šumskas et al., 2012), but to date there is no known L2 study of this in English primary schools. The methodology comprises an interpretive paradigm employing a qualitative multiple case study research approach with embedded ethnography and interviews with creative techniques. The study’s theoretical framework is constructed by using a combination of overarching and narrower focused theories (Hammersley and Atkinson, 2007). The overarching theory is provided by Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural theory which elucidates a broad based social level or macro-substantive dimensions (Ibid., p. 188). The international significance of the study is that it aims at developing an understanding of the place and influence of Russian-speaking migrant pupils which can be compared to other linguistic minority groups in the diverse cultural realities (Holliday, 2011) of the classrooms in other age groups, school settings, and contexts of other countries.