RUMACCC Projects 2002
RUMACCC Activities 2002
Linked on this page
- Research support for the LOTE Analysis
- Wheeler's Hill Secondary College Greek Program
- Sprachförderung von Zuwanderern in Deutschland
- Evaluation of a bilingual Auslan-English program at Princess Elizabeth Junior School for the Deaf
- Evaluation of a pilot Italian-English bilingual program at Caulfield Montessori School
- Raising Children in more than one language
Research Support for the LOTE Analysis
Researchers: Professor Michael Clyne, Irene Liem and Jarmila Moan
RUMACCC undertook research for the Department of Education, Employment and Training in connection with the LOTE analysis (review of Languages in Government Schools).
Wheeler's Hill Secondary College Greek Program
Researchers: Professor Michael Clyne and Tina Isaakidis
Completion date: December 2002
Funding: DE&T.
This action research program was completed on the Wheeler's Hill Secondary College Greek Programme. Utilising class observation, questionnaires and language data collection and analysis, as well as interviews with students and teachers, the research was part of a DE&T initiative to revive and evaluate a Greek program (phased out in 1995) over a three-year period from 1999.
Sprachförderung von Zuwanderern in Deutschland
Researchers: Professor Michael Clyne and Dr Gillian Wigglesworth
Funding: The University of Ösnabruck.
This project provided a component on the Australian situation and experience to a project conducted by the Institute of Migration and Intercultural Studies in Ösnabruck, Germany. The recent declaration of Germany as a country of migration has significant implications for language policy, and a contribution on the Australian experience (particularly in relation to adult ESL) was requested and provided.
Evaluation of a bilingual Auslan-English program at Princess Elizabeth Junior School for the Deaf
Researchers: Meredith Bartlett, Professor Michael Clyne and Sandra
Leane
Funding: Victorian Education Department
This project monitored and evaluated student progress during a bilingual program, funded by the state government as part of their commitment to increase the number of schools in which teaching is conducted in English and a language other than English (LOTE). The research has been particularly complex because the children are aged from 2.5 years to 7 years and they may attend school for only one day in their first year and increase this to full time in their last years, depending on whether they live in the metropolitan or country area. Very few of the children have Auslan as their first (home) language, as the majority have hearing parents who tend to use spoken English in the home, with some signing that ranges from occasional signs to fluent Auslan. In addition many children have other disabilities, including physical, intellectual, psychiatric, emotional, and severe medical issues. All of these issues impact strongly on the language development of the children. The researchers attempted to evaluate the bilingual program and its success on the language and communication development of the children, as well as assist the PEJS staff with developing resources to assist with ongoing in-school assessments. These resources included a checklist of Auslan features noted in the language of L1 Auslan children, and a draft Stages of Development for assessment and intensive language modelling with some of the children who were delayed in using some Auslan features.
Evaluation of a pilot Italian - English bilingual program at Caulfield Montessori School
Researcher: Renata Aliani
Completion: December 2002
Funding: Association of Independent Schools of Victoria (AISV)
The School Board at the Caulfield Montessori School requested the evaluation of the pilot Italian - English bilingual program implemented with one group of students in Cycle 1 (three to six year olds). To provide a comprehensive picture of the program, data and information were gathered from a variety of sources. These included classroom observations, conversations with students and teachers and parents' questionnaires.
Raising Children in More than One Language
Four workshops on raising children in more than one language were held in 2002, with funding from the Victorian Multicultural Commission. Two of these were in Darebin, one for professionals working with NESB (non-English-speaking background) clients and one for parents. The first workshop was mainly attended by staff from the Darebin library, the latter attracted 67 parents and was well received. A very successful workshop was also held at Shepparton, a regional centre with a significant multilingual population, with an attendance of 125. Simultaneous interpretation into and from Arabic was provided and the workshop received local media attention. The University of Melbourne also hosted a workshop in 2002, and this was attended by 115 parents. Although workshops are typically attended by families using the 'one parent, one language' approach, there are also families where both parents are second generation speakers of a particular language (usually one parent with better language skills than the other) and more recent migrants. Professor Michael Clyne and Dr Susanne Döpke spoke at all of the workshops.