The Importance of Literacy in the Home Language

Susana A Eisenchlas,Diana Guillemin,Andrea C Schalley

doi:10.1177/2158244013507270

Abstract

While advantages of literacy in the home language have been widely documented, the Australian education system has not been proactive in providing institutional support for its development. This paper investigates the impact of (il)literacy in the home language on the academic, affective, and social development of bilingual/multilingual children and proposes principles that home-language-literacy programs should meet to be effective. It discusses programs that, although designed to develop literacy or second-language proficiency mainly in classroom contexts, could be easily adapted to address the needs of the linguistically and culturally diverse Australian context. We argue that the cost of not investing in successful home-language-literacy programs will be higher in the long run than their implementation costs and recommend that Australia should consider supporting grassroots home-language-literacy programs in a push to improve overall literacy outcomes for Australian home-language speakers.

Highlights

Australia, a country intensely populated by migrants from the 18th century onward,1 is still one of the strongest targets of migration.2 According to the 2011 Census, almost 6 million migrants born in more than 200 countries live in the country
While mastery of the English language by migrant children is undoubtedly a crucial aim, it is still to be noted that languages other than English are neglected in the Australian education system
Parents wishing to raise their children bilingually have very few venues—other than classes offered by Community Language Schools in a limited number of languages—to ensure that their children become literate in their native language(s), or that they can maintain literacy in the home language if the process of literacy development has been interrupted by migration

Summary

Introduction

A country intensely populated by migrants from the 18th century onward,1 is still one of the strongest targets of migration.2 According to the 2011 Census, almost 6 million migrants born in more than 200 countries live in the country. These include fostering the development of linguistic skills in the home language to high levels of proficiency, supporting the acquisition of literacy in the majority language, easing the transition into the school environment, and enhancing the child’s general academic achievement.

Results

Conclusion