Page 68 - Second language development of newly arrived migrant kindergarteners - Frederike Groothoff

68 Chapter 3 The consent form parents filled in at the start of the study included some background questions about the children, their languages, and their migration history. We collected data on their birth date, country of birth, and the age of arrival in the Netherlands. We also asked which languages the child spoke with his/her mother, father, and siblings. We also asked to provide us with a short migration history stating in which countries the child has lived. Some participants had a refugee background fleeing from war; others were for example labor migrants. The children came from twenty-four different countries (see Table 3.5). Table 3.5: Country of Origin, the Country the Pupil Lived Longest Before Moving to the Netherlands. Poland Syria China Somalia Latvia, Libya, Romania, Spain Aruba (Dutch Antilles), Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Curacao (Dutch Antilles), Egypt, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Philippines, Portugal, and South Korea. Total Frequency Percent 8 19.0 4 3 3 8 (2 each) 16 ( 1 each) 42 9.5 7.1 7.1 19.0 (4.8 each) 38.0 (2.4 each) 100.0 The main language of communication at home was a language other than Dutch. At home twenty-six different language combinations were found, involving twenty-two different languages (see Table 3.6). Thirteen pupils were reported as having a monolingual language situation at home. The two major languages heard or spoken by the children were Arabic and Polish. For ten pupils it was reported that the mother, father, siblings, or extended family member spoke Dutch (in addition to another language).