The name is absent

"catches up" with the monolingual child after increased
exposure, and has a positive effect on the child's social
development.

4. Bilingualism: The way forward for Anglo-Indian schools

One purpose for this study was to offer examples of
successful implementation of bilingual policies in other
contexts. Research studies have demonstrated that
bilingualism can influence a child's cognitive development.

Bilingual learning programmes introduced to children of
comparable intelligence and differing∕similar
socio-economic backgrounds have been shown to have helped
to develop a flexible attitude. This was the result of
having to frequently switch between one's two languages.
Four significant studies of this are from Australia,
Canada, Europe and the United States.

AUSTRALIA: Evidence has emerged in Australia, that at
Milingimbi in the Northern Territory, Aboriginal children
taught at school both English and Gupapuyngu (an Aboriginal
language) performed significantly better than children in
an English-only programme. The measures used were English
reading, English written composition, oral English and
Arithmetic. (48)

CANADA: In a landmark study in Canada it was found that
French-English bilingual children performed better on both
verbal and non-verbal intelligence tests than a group of
French speaking monolingual children. In the Anglo-Indian
context this can be compared with the bilingual skills of
Indians compared to the monolingual skills of
Anglo-Indians. (49)

The Indian students are "immersed" into L2, because it is

280

<<   277   278   279   280   281   282   283   >>

More intriguing information