English language development in bilingual education: a case study of a bilingual primary school in England

Aims/objectives/research questions:

A common concern for bilingual education is that it detracts from students’ progress with the society’s dominant language. Several studies in this area have focused on bilingual educational settings using the dominant societal language and a language that is the native one of the students. Findings are hard to generalise to other educational settings, due to the inherent heterogeneity of bilingual education, including not only the choice of languages used but also the amount and type of exposure to each of them. Here, we investigate English language attainment in the case of a bilingual primary school in England which uses English, the dominant societal language, and French, a language which is not the home language of any sizeable group of students in the school.

Design/methodology/approach:

Early years primary school students were assessed near the beginning and end of the academic year using English language assessments normed in the United Kingdom. Attainment in government-set national-level assessments is also reported.

Data/analysis:

We performed statistical analyses of achievement and progress using linear mixed effects models. Findings/conclusions: Students’ performance and progress with foundational language skills in English were within the expected range, and this was the case both for monolinguals as well as children who had an additional home language. The students also met government-set standards of progress for reading and writing.

Originality:

This study offers a glimpse into a rare educational setting in England, a non-selective English–French bilingual primary school whose students have various home languages other than French.

Implications:

The emerging picture contributes towards dispelling one of the commonly held concerns about bilingual education. Students of any linguistic background in this type of bilingual setting were not negatively impacted in their progress with the dominant societal language, while of course progressing with their additional language learning in French.