Page 23 - Second language development of newly arrived migrant kindergarteners - Frederike Groothoff

Introducing the context 23 depends on various individual and external factors and thus not all second language learners can be expected to catch up at a similar rate or to a similar level. One of the external factors which might influence second language development of migrant children is the type of school learning environment they enter after arrival to the new country. The educational landscape for young newly arrived pupils in the Netherlands is quite diverse, ranging from totally separate classes or semi-separated classes, to immediate full inclusion into a mainstream class. It is important to know in what way these different approaches influence the pupils' development of the second language. If specific characteristics of the learning environment that influence second language development of newly arrived migrant pupils are detected, policy makers, local communities, and schools can use this information to better accommodate the needs of this group of pupils. When the needs of migrant pupils are better accommodated, they can close the educational gap with their peers more quickly and effectively. Importantly, the over-representation of this group in lower tracks of secondary education and the high rate of early school leavers among this group, which is now the case, could change in more equal opportunities (European Union, 2013). Currently, three forms of educational settings are in place in the Netherlands for newly arrived migrant pupils: in the first form, pupils are totally segregated for one or two years; in the second form pupils are semi-segregated for one or two years; and in the third form the pupils are mainstreamed after arrival. However, to date and to our knowledge, there is no scientific evidence to support to choose any form over the other. The aim of this dissertation is therefore to understand how the language learning environment influences the development of the second language of newly arrived migrant pupils. To this end, I analyzed the language development of forty-two newly arrived migrant pupils aged 4 to 6 and I studied different aspects of their language development in Dutch, namely receptive vocabulary and narrative ability, over a period of two-and-a-half years. Additionally, I compared the pedagogical practices between the settings focusing on teacher behavior and on experiences of the focal pupils, considering that the circumstances in which the second language was taught may be of influence on the second language development of these pupils. In this introduction chapter, the context of the research is framed. This first chapter starts with the introduction of the population in focus: newly arrived migrant pupils (Section 1.3). Then the Dutch educational system is outlined in general, and the specifics of the educational settings that exist for newly arrived kindergarteners in the Netherlands are discussed (Section 1.4). Subsequently the focus, aim, and main research question of this dissertation are presented (Section 1.5). Chapter 1 ends with the general outline of the dissertation (Section 1.6).