Judith Oller

Interdependencia entre conocimiento de catalán y castellano y efectos de la lengua familiar en la adquisición de las lenguas escolares

Resumen La realidad sociolingüística de Cataluña hace de este entorno un buen observatorio para el estudio de la adquisición de la lengua de la escuela del alumnado extranjero ya que, a diferencia de otros países, no acostumbra a coincidir la lengua escolar y la lengua mayoritaria de uso social. En este artículo presentamos los datos obtenidos en la evaluación de conocimiento de catalán y castellano de 396 alumnos extranjeros de tres grupos lingüísticos, árabe, español y rumano, con diferentes tiempos de estancia al finalizar sexto de primaria, así como los efectos que tienen la lengua familiar y el entorno sociolingüístico en la transferencia de habilidades lingüísticas entre las lenguas que este alumnado aprende en la escuela, catalán y castellano. Las conclusiones señalan que cuando existe continuidad entre la lengua escolar y la lengua del entorno se favorece la transferencia de habilidades lingüísticas con propósitos académicos.

Student and teacher perceptions of school involvement and their effect on multicultural education: a Catalonian survey

In multilingual schools students have diverse identities, cultural backgrounds, perceptions, capacities and linguistic experiences. The space for teaching and learning is also mediated by stereotypes and prejudices associated with this diversity. Diversity, stereotypes and prejudices shape how teachers and learners operate in a world of complex social relationships. In this survey we explore the hidden attitudes of immigrant students and teachers in secondary education in Catalonia (Spain). The research uses the distinction between explicit and implicit attitudes to analyse immigrant students’ perceptions and teachers’ subconscious perceptions about school involvement. The sample includes 4078 immigrant students with more than six months of residence in the host country that were attending linguistic support classes in secondary schools of Catalonia during the year 2006–2007, and also their regular classroom teachers and support teachers. The survey aims to establish if is there any statistically significant associations between the attitudes of newcomer students and teachers, and the linguistic and geographical origins of the students. We wanted to know if teacher and student perceptions agreed or differed and to characterise stereotypes and prejudices affecting positive or negative attitudes about the organisation of teaching while learning. The results show how the teachers’ perceptions about newcomer students’ involvement differ in many cases from the views of the students, and how lower expectations and subjective manifestations of racism are evident with some groups, especially with students of African origin.

Empowering immigrant women through bilingual fairy tales: linking family and school literacy practices / Empoderar mujeres inmigrantes a través de los cuentos bilingües: trazando puentes entre las prácticas de alfabetización en la familia y la escuela

Abstract This paper presents the theoretical and methodological foundations of the Teixint Cultures ‘Weaving Cultures Together’ project: a communitarian research-action programme aimed at providing literacy skills in Catalan for African immigrant women, which uses their ‘Funds of Knowledge’ to develop bilingual books in Catalan, Arabic and Mandinka for their children. The results show the benefits of implementing projects that promote literacy activities at home as well as the empowerment of immigrant women.