Language Inclusiveness in Education: Implications for Immigrant Students in France and New Zealand

Abstract

Since 2016, educational environments all over the world are being precipitated towards change and adaptation, in response to mass global immigration and increasing numbers of newly-arrived plurilingual children in schools. France and New Zealand provide two examples of populations that are highly linguistically diverse, yet take differing approaches to the inclusion of immigrant languages in the educational environment. This article compares the effects of language policies in a francophone/anglophone context on the inclusion of plurilingual immigrant children in schools, on three tiers: the language of schooling (French/English), second language options in schools, and the treatment of immigrant languages. Two main questions are explored: (1) How inclusive are language education policies in France and New Zealand? (2) How are educational environments responding to greater numbers of newly-arrived plurilingual students in schools, as well as the demand for language inclusiveness from established immigrant communities? A number of similarities emerge (school systems essentially dominated by monolingualism in the language of schooling), as well as differences (visible trends towards language inclusiveness in policy and practice in 2020). Findings support the argument that plurilingual approaches to teaching and learning improve educational outcomes for immigrant students, and therefore that educational environments that cultivate “language inclusiveness”, particularly during the newly-arrived phase, are better equipped to support learning for immigrant students in schools.