Sites of Multilingualism: Complementary Schools in Britain Today

Here is cutting edge research on complementary schooling in Britain. The book brings together new and innovative language-focused research on complementary schools that serve the linguistic, cultural and social needs of a wide range of ethno-linguistic communities in Britain. It examines the language and literacy practices, the policy and curricular innovation that pertain in complementary schools in Britain today, and the experiences of the children who attend them. Complementary schools have been on the margins of educational policy as research sites in their own right but recently this has changed. Now recognized as "safe spaces" in which young children can explore their identities, they are seen as central to policy initiatives for promoting the languages of Britain. This book picks up on the spate of recent research to explore: the range of language and literacy practices in complementary schools; their innovations in policy and curriculum; and how the pupils, teachers and parents negotiate social identities and affiliations. It also demonstrates the importance of complementary schools in the lives and learning of bilingual pupils.

Sites of Multilingualism is essential reading for researchers and students in the fields of bilingual education and bilingualism, sociolinguistics, sociology and anthropology. It will also be relevant to teachers and teacher educators in complementary and mainstream schools and also to policy makers.

The contributors are: Salman Al-Azami, Louise Archer, Taskin Baraç, Olga Barradas, Arvind Bhatt, Adrian Blackledge,Tony Clyne, Jean Conteh, Angela Creese, Becky Francis, Eve Gregory, Charmian Kenner, Li Wei, Vally Lytra, Peter Martin, Ada Mau, Efstathia Pantazi, Evangelia Prokopiou, Leena Helavaara Robertson, Mahera Ruby, Ana Souza, Raymonde Sneddon and Chao-Jung Wu.

Here is cutting edge research on complementary schooling in Britain. The book brings together new and innovative language-focused research on complementary schools that serve the linguistic, cultural and social needs of a wide range of ethno-linguistic communities in Britain. It examines the language and literacy practices, the policy and curricular innovation that pertain in complementary schools in Britain today, and the experiences of the children who attend them. Complementary schools have been on the margins of educational policy as research sites in their own right but recently this has changed. Now recognized as "safe spaces" in which young children can explore their identities, they are seen as central to policy initiatives for promoting the languages of Britain. This book picks up on the spate of recent research to explore: the range of language and literacy practices in complementary schools; their innovations in policy and curriculum; and how the pupils, teachers and parents negotiate social identities and affiliations. It also demonstrates the importance of complementary schools in the lives and learning of bilingual pupils.

Sites of Multilingualism is essential reading for researchers and students in the fields of bilingual education and bilingualism, sociolinguistics, sociology and anthropology. It will also be relevant to teachers and teacher educators in complementary and mainstream schools and also to policy makers.

The contributors are: Salman Al-Azami, Louise Archer, Taskin Baraç, Olga Barradas, Arvind Bhatt, Adrian Blackledge,Tony Clyne, Jean Conteh, Angela Creese, Becky Francis, Eve Gregory, Charmian Kenner, Li Wei, Vally Lytra, Peter Martin, Ada Mau, Efstathia Pantazi, Evangelia Prokopiou, Leena Helavaara Robertson, Mahera Ruby, Ana Souza, Raymonde Sneddon and Chao-Jung Wu.

Peter Martin was, until his death, Professor of Education and Linguistics at University of East London.

Vally Lytra is a Visiting Research Fellow at Kings College London.