Bilingual Education in Minority Language Contexts: When a high level of linguistic competence is not enough.

Abstract

In the last 25 years, the topic of learning strategies has attracted a great deal of interest, quite often to analyse the use first (L1) and second language (L2) learners make of these strategies and how they can be helped to improve strategy knowledge. Although it is true that there has been considerable research on strategies, a smaller number of studies have attempted to explore the strategies that learners use in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) contexts, and even fewer when learning a third language (L3). This article seeks to fill that gap by reporting the findings of an intervention study into reading comprehension among young learners of English as an L3 in a multilingual (Spanish-Basque-English) context in the Basque Country.Much of the debate on bilingualism and interculturality has focused on the cultural and linguistic diversity of indigenous populations in regions such as South America. In Europe and North America, the educational rights of migrant children have been emphasised. The needs of speakers of regional, minority or lesser-used languages have tended to be overlooked and hence received less attention in the literature. The most distinctive differences between minority language speakers and their compatriots are, on the surface at least, linguistic rather than cultural. This paper explores current discourse and research about the linguistic identity of speakers of minority or lesser-used languages, living in communities where world languages predominate. My background inIrish-medium education in Ireland has been a driving force in questioning and understanding the factors within schools and across the wider ELIA Mon. I, pp. 39-64 estatus forman parte de la lengua dominante y los estudiantes pueden considerar que el idioma minoritario es redundante con una función limitada. Los últimos descubrimientos sugieren que el entorno escolar probablemente tenga una influencia limitada en la configuración de la identidad bilingüe de los adolescentes y este artículo explorará por qué su nivel de competencia no es suficiente.Palabras clave: Inmersión, lengua minoritaria, identidad, educación bilingüe, intercultural ELIA Mon. I, Notes 1 199 primary (10-11 yr old) and 171 (15-16 yr old) post-primary students.