A cognitive view on bilingualism and "bilingual" teaching and learning

Authors

  • Susanne Niemeier University of Bremen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18172/jes.48

Abstract

Foreign language teaching and learning may profit substantially when discussed from a cognitive point of view. The paper deals with the situation of a new direction of foreign language teaching and learning in Germany, where in the last years so-called "bilingual" approaches have been implemented. This means that subjects such as history or biology are taught in English instead of in the mother tongue, thus exposing the learners to the foreign language to a degree that can not be offered by traditional English lessons. Furthermore, in those content subjects, the foreign language is used in a much more authentic and holistic way. So far, the results have been very promising. Combining some reflections on this new kind of teaching with insights from cognitive linguistics seems to be a way of introducing the learners not only to more exposure to the language, but also offers a way to provide the learners with insights into the way language works as well as with insights into the conceptual world behind the foreign language, and it tries to prevent the students from generating an indiscriminate mixture between their home culture and the foreign culture

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Artigal, J.M. 1991. The Catalan Immersion Program: A European Point of View. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex.

Baetens Beardsmore, H. (ed.). 1993. European Models of Bilingual Education. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Baker, C. 1988. Key Issues in Bilingualism and Bilingual Education. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Butzkamm, W. 1992. “Zur Methodik des Unterrichts an bilingualen Zweigen”. Zeitschrift für Fremdsprachenforschung 3, 1: 8-30.

Canadian Education Association 1992. French Immersion Today. Toronto: Canadian Education Association.

Cole, R. 1975. “Divergent and convergent attitudes towards the Alsatian dialect”. Anthropological Linguistics 17: 6.

Corder, S. P. 1981. Error Analysis and Interlanguage. Oxford: OUP.

Cummins, J. 1978a. “Bilingualism and the development of metalinguistic awareness”. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 9: 131-149.

Cummins, J. 1978b. “Educational implications of mother-tongue maintenance in minority-language groups”. Canadian Modern Language Review 34 (3): 345-416.

Cummins, J. 1984. “Linguistic minorities and multicultural policy in Canada”. Bilingual and Multicultural Education: Canadian Perspectives. Ed. J. Edwards. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. 55-67.

Davis, K.A. 1994. Language Planning in Multilingual Contexts. Policies, Communities, and Schools in Luxembourg. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Fantini, A. 1985. The Language Acquisition of a Bilingual Child. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

García, O. (ed.). 1991. Bilingual Education: Focusschrift in Honor of Joshua A. Fishman. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Grosjean, F. 1982. Life with Two Languages. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Hoffmann, C. 1991. An Introduction to Bilingualism. London: Longman.

Holmes, J. 1992. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. London: Longman.

de Houwer, A. 1990. The Acquisition of Two Languages from Birth: A Case Study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lambert, W. E. & R. Tucker. 1972. Bilingual Education of Children: The St Lambert Experiment. Newbury House: Rowley, Mass.

Lambert, W. E. 1974. “Culture and language as factors in learning and education”. Cultural Factors in Learning. Eds. F. Aboud & R. D. Meade. Bellingham: Washington State College.

Lebrun, N. & H. Baetens Beardsmore. 1993. “Trilingual education in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg”. European Models of Bilingual Education. Ed. H. Baetens Beardsmore. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. 101-120.

Lier, L. van. 1996. Interaction in the Language Curriculum. Awareness, Autonomy and Authenticity. London: Longman.

Mäsch, N. 1993. “The German model of bilingual education: An administrator’s perspective”. European Models of Bilingual Education. Ed. H. Baetens Beardsmore. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. 155-172.

Mäsch, N. 1995. “Bilingualer Bildungsgang”. Handbuch Fremdsprachenunterricht. Eds. K. Bausch et al. Tübingen: Francke. 338-342 McClure, E. 1977. “Aspects of code-switching in the discourse of bilingual Mexican- American children”. Technical Report No. 44. Center for the Study of Reading, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Niemeier, S. 1998. “Colourless green ideas metonymise furiously”. Kognitive Lexikologie und Syntax. Rostocker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 5. Ed. F. Ungerer. 119-146.

Pohl, J. 1965. “Bilinguismes”. Revue Romaine de Linguistique 10: 343-349.

Pütz, M. 1994. Sprachökologie und Sprachwechsel. Frankfurt am Main: Lang.

Rampillon, U. & H. Reisener. (eds.). 1994. Bilingualer Unterricht (= Der fremdsprachliche Unterricht: Englisch) 28, 15.

Reyes, R. 1982. “Language mixing in Chicano English”. Spanish in the United States: Sociolinguistic Aspects. Eds. J. Amastae & G. Elías Olivares. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 154-165.

Sankoff, D. 1998. “A formal production-based explanation of the facts of code-switching”. Bilingualism, Language and Cognition 1: 39-50.

Saunders, G. 1982. Bilingual Children – Guidance for the Family. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Schmid-Schönbein, G. & B. Siegismund. 1998. “Bilingualer Sachfachunterricht”. Englisch Lernen und Lehren. Ed. J.-P. Timm. Berlin: Cornelsen. 201-210.

Selinker, L. 1992. Rediscovering Interlanguage. London: Longman.

Skutnabb-Kangas, T. 1984. “Children of guest-workers and immigrants: Linguistic and educational issues”. Linguistic Minorities, Policies and Pluralism. Ed. J. Edwards. London: Academic Press. 17-47.

Timm, J.-P. (ed.). 1998. Englisch Lernen und Lehren. Berlin: Cornelsen.

Vihman, M.M. 1985. “Language differentiation by the bilingual child”. Journal of Child Language 12 (2): 297-324.

Vygotsky, L. 1962. Thought and Language. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Downloads

Published

29-05-1999

How to Cite

Niemeier, S. (1999). A cognitive view on bilingualism and "bilingual" teaching and learning. Journal of English Studies, 1, 165–185. https://doi.org/10.18172/jes.48