Page 33 - Second language development of newly arrived migrant kindergarteners - Frederike Groothoff

Theoretical perspectives 33 wider environment, such as the learning environment at school. Bronfenbrenner (1979) noticed that in developmental psychology studies dyads, or two-person systems, are common, but that in experiments the traditional focus was still on a single experimental subject, instead of the relationship between two participants, for example mother–child, or as in the present study teacher–pupil, or focal pupil–peer. Bronfenbrenner used the term “ecosystems” to explain how human behavior and development goes beyond a single person because it is nested within and across a set of interdependent structures. Bronfenbrenner initiated a shift in approach from only focusing on the child’s characteristics to an incorporation of the wider environment surrounding the child. Van Lier (2002) continued to develop this idea of Bronfenbrenner in the field of educational linguistics. He also put great emphasis on the wider context in language learning. According to Van Lier, “the educational linguist must observe the living entity, and learn to understand critically what it does to whom, by whom, and for whom in the multiplexity of semiotic ecosystems in which it (language) operates, or rather co-operates with other meaning-making processes” (Van Lier, 2002, p. 145). Translated to the second language research in an educational setting an ecological view on second language development would mean relating pupil outcomes to the school context and to teacher behavior outcomes. Furthermore, interactions with peers should also be considered as possible factors of influence on the second language development. With a more ecological view second language developmental research becomes socio-linguistic research. First of all, to look at multiple aspects of language in a more natural context of data elicitation the language assessment becomes more ecologically valid (Botting, 2002), this can for example be done by using narratives, as will be explained later on in Section 2.6. Second, when relevant child characteristics, like Exposure to Dutch, are related to language development the context in which the child grows up is taken into account. Finally, the inclusion of the educational setting and the interactions with teachers and peers allows us to investigate the language development within an even broader context. The present study is an attempt to look at the second language development of newly arrived migrant pupils from an ecological viewpoint. We will consider many child factors and we will look at the influence of the school learning environment. Pupil’s language outcomes will be related to teacher behavior and language interactions in the classroom. By doing so this current research looked at the second language development of newly arrived migrant kindergarteners from an ecological and interdisciplinary perspective. Both linguistic and sociolinguistic factors were considered, as well as classroom and second language educational perspectives.