Page 288 - Second language development of newly arrived migrant kindergarteners - Frederike Groothoff

The population in primary schools in the Netherlands is rapidly changing. Teachers welcome more and more multilingual pupils into their classes. Researchers all over the world investigate the language development of second language learners from different angles, but often only include 2nd or 3rd generation migrant pupils or pupils who already have had considerable exposure to the second language. This dissertation investigates specifically the second language development of newly arrived migrant kindergarteners in different educational settings in the Netherlands (separate language schools, language classes, and mainstream schools). In this dissertation, data is collected via a receptive vocabulary task, a narrative instrument, and classroom observations. These different methods were used in order to gather a variety of language data, but also to be able to take into account the pedagogical practices these pupils encounter in their classes. Results show that the various language aspects that were analyzed have different developmental trajectories and that age and amount of exposure influence second language development of newly arrived migrant kindergarteners. Furthermore, the outcomes suggest that the organizational structure of a school as such is less influential than teacher behavior and pedagogical practices in the classroom. ISBN: 978-94-6332-595-0