The Acquisition of Colloquial Terms by Western Australian Primary School Children from Non-English-speaking Backgrounds

Abstract

This paper reports on language variation research carried out in Western Australian primary schools. It addresses differences in the acquisition of vocabulary, in particular the acquisition of colloquial Australian English vocabulary by students from English-speaking backgrounds (ESB) and from a range of non-English-speaking backgrounds (NESB). The data show differences which are attributable to a lack of familiarity with terms and the objects that they represent, which promoted strategies such as generic terms of circumlocution and which may have resulted from partial word knowledge. Other differences were attributable to cultural influences and were evident in varied patterns of word usage among the different non-English-speaking background groups. The findings of this paper suggest the importance of knowing a word not only in its semantic sense but also in its pragmatic and sociolinguistic sense.

Migrant Girls in Australian Schools: Voicing Their Mathematics Learning Experiences

“…Mathematics appeared in the girls' narrative as in literature, a subject focused on individual achievement and competition (Terzian 2006), difficult for most, while for instance, English was viewed as a social subject with friends' support being fundamental to learning (Yuen and Cheung 2013; Oliver, McKay and Rochecouste 2003), becoming even easy. Therefore, even though most of the girls were more familiar with Mathematics than English when they arrived in Australia, besides Bernadette, they found an environment in learning English that possibly incidentally, mostly catered to the qualities often associated with femininities and girls in both countries (Povey 2004).…”

Gender and multiculturalism at school: the NESB girls’ voices

“…Such stereotypes (when not examined) guide teachers' and students' expectations and influence the set-up of such disciplines, reinforcing the students' perception of gender as somehow natural and the girls' perception that they are often outsiders in these subjects (Hanson, 1996;Kenway et al, 1997;Macdonald, 1997;Povey, 2004a;Shaw & Frisby, 2004;Terzian, 2006;Svender et al, 2011 (Hanson, 1996;Terzian, 2006), while English was viewed as a social subject with friends' (usually females) support being fundamental to learning (Oliver et al, 2003;Yuen & Cheung, 2013). Therefore, even though most girls were originally more familiar with mathematics than English, they found an environment in learning English that possibly incidentally, mostly catered to the qualities often associated with femininities and girls in their country of origin and Australia, namely, collaboration and sociability (Povey, 2004a).…”

“…Research shows job applicants from minority backgrounds still attain fewer interviews, it is still difficult to validate certification acquired overseas and the market penalises cultural differences instead of identifying value in it (Collins, 2013). Some schoolteachers also appeared to have difficulties in managing and embracing multiculturalism including having difficulties in identifying and addressing students' needs that result from migration and/or cultural background and understanding students' ways to manage their new environment (Tsolidis, 2001;Oliver, McKay, & Rochecouste, 2003;Saavedra et al, 2009). Such difficulties are often due to a lack of multicultural content in the teachers' graduation courses (Hickling-Hudson & McMeniman, 1993;Cruz-Janzen & Taylor, 2004;Ensign, 20009;Harreveld, 2012) and/or individual resistance to some multicultural ideas, in particular, supporting immigrant children to connect with their cultural heritage (McInerney et al, 2001;Collins, 2013).…”