Beyond Balanced and Dominant : The Limited Usefulness of Bilingual Labels in Basque Education
Maria-José Ezeizabarrena, Leire Diaz-de-GereñuAims:
This paper aims to answer two research questions: (a) Do traditional labels of bilingualism reflect pupils’ actual language proficiency in the language(s) of instruction in Basque bilingual education programs? (b) To what extent are traditional bilingualism labels useful for assessing and monitoring students’ linguistic development in these programs?
Approach:
By reviewing and contextualizing the use of traditional labels such as native, early, simultaneous or balanced Basque bilinguals across studies, the authors discuss their usefulness for researchers and professionals in education in minority languages.
Data:
This paper contextualizes and reviews the terminology used in psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic, and educational studies to identify profiles of Basque-speaking children (and adults) living in this territory, which is divided into three administrative areas, two in Spain and one in France, each with its own education system.
Conclusions:
Labels of bilingual profiles are neither consistently delimited nor permanent, and consequently, their usefulness is very limited in education. Bilingual education systems, particularly those involving a minority language such as Basque, require a proper identification of the language profiles of bi-/plurilingual pupils. This identification should go beyond labels such as early or late L1 and L2 speakers, which are usually based on the age at which languages are acquired, or on holistic or indirect assessments conducted to determine whether individuals perform as balanced or dominant, in a similar or different way to ideal native speakers, disregarding language exposure and usage.
Originality:
A key feature of this research is its interdisciplinary approach to studying early bilingualism and bilingual education from the perspective of a minority language, where labels such as L1, L2 and “dominant” are often unstable, or less clearly defined than in hegemonic languages.
Implications:
Rather than relying on indirect estimations, the identification of bi-/plurilingual pupils’ profiles in education requires more accurate labels, based on the competence level determined through the multidimensional assessment of pupils’ (receptive and expressive) performance in the languages of instruction.