title: Children from bi/multilingual homes in Queensland secondary schools: an exploratory study of their experiences and learning environments
Creators: name: Gilmour, Lynette Ann
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: Bilingual
subject: Multilingual
subject: Queensland secondary schools
subject: English-speaking classroom
subject: Migrant families

description: The face of the average Australian is changing from monolingual English speaker of British heritage to one more multicultural and diverse in heritage and home language as a result of increasing migration to Australia of people from non-English speaking backgrounds (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2017a; Queensland Government, 2013). This migration to Australia, and the children of established migrants, brings with it increasing numbers of students in Australian schools for whom English is not their first language (Adoniou, 2013; Hammond, 2014). This places additional pressures on their learning in the English-speaking classroom and may lead to their not developing the appropriate skills, such as reading, that are needed throughout their school life (Haager &amp; Windmueller, 2001). The implications of such constraints, in lesser outcomes and thus limitations on lifelong outcomes, are also well known. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017a) over 300 languages are now spoken in Australian homes with about 28% of the population speaking another home language besides English. While Australian and Queensland education policies aspire to meet the unique needs of all students, including those from linguistically diverse backgrounds, a first step in achieving this aim must be a clear identification of such children. Many children from previous migrant families as well as new arrivals to Australia come from homes where at least one parent is from a language background other than English and where this other language is one of the languages spoken in their homes. Some of these children move through the different levels of education and receive little, if any, additional Standard Australian English support because their linguistic diversity is unknown. While education systems acknowledge the additional needs of these students, a first step in implementing such strategies is a full appreciation of actual student needs. This exploratory research, undertaken in five Queensland state high schools, firstly sought to identify if there were students in the schools from homes where languages other than English were used. All students classified as having English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) were profiled, providing a comparison between those identified and those not identified through the system. Finally, the school organisational and learning experiences of these students were then considered from both student and teacher perspectives, including the identification of possible challenges to the children and also particular strategies and classroom environments seen as conducive to learning. The study accessed survey responses from 2,484 students and 337 high school staff from the five schools included in the study. Additionally, interviews were undertaken with 68 students and 21 staff completed emailed surveys to explore and provide an understanding of the learning environments and experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse students within Queensland junior secondary classes. Results showed that 79.5% of the students were from homes where only English was spoken. Of the remaining 20.5%, 10.5% were classified by their schools as having EAL/D and the remainder of the students were also from bi/multilingual homes. These findings, complemented by additional details obtained from school records and individual interviews, were used to profile the characteristics of students in junior secondary classrooms. This exploratory research provided a rich picture of the cultural and linguistically diverse composition of five Queensland state high schools. While the recognised inclusion of a marked proportion of students identified as EAL/D was found, a further group of students from bi/multilingual homes was also identified. The student groups covered a diverse range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds and student achievement profiles. Examination of these two groups, their backgrounds, and school experiences provides insights into the support that such students might receive and the strategies that support their learning.