Chaired by Fiona Copland, the UKLEF SIG papers session took place during the BAAL 2011 conference. I presented a paper on children’s multilingual and multi-ethnic identity in a primary school context. The audience was warmly participative and it was great to hear their comments and suggestions. Hania Salter-Dvorak raised the question about the conversations teachers have regarding these bilingual children while Charlotte Franson stressed the importance and need of research that involves talking to these multilingual/bilingual/EAL children about their learning, identity, etc.

 

Abstract

 Investigating Primary School Children’s Multilingual Identities: A Case Study 

Author(s): Deivis D. Pothin

This paper investigates the negotiation and construction of ethnic and linguistic identities of four bilingual children in a primary school in England. By interviewing them, the teacher-researcher explores (1) how they define what ethnic and linguistic group(s) they belong to, (2) how they deal with inherited cultural heritage;  and (3) how they use language to establish their ethnic identity.  Reporting on the data collected in this one-form inner-city multicultural primary school in London, this qualitative pilot case-study takes into account the discursive practices of two boys and two girls aged 9 years old. The interview with the children took place after they watched a video of another boy who talked about how he felt being half-English and half-Polish. This was used as a hook to engage the children in the conversation.

In this talk, we examine some extracts of this teacher-initiated conversation and reflect on some of the discursive practices of these children from a social and ethnographic approach to the study of multilingualism. Drawing on Blackledge & Creese’s (2010) views on researching multilingualism as well as Edward’s (2009) views on language and identity,  this paper is approached by taking into account the fact that although languages are social constructs, they are, at the same time, dimensions of one’s sense of self.