Young Bilingual Learners in Nursery School

This book presents the findings of an ethnolinguistic study of the language and social behaviour of a group of three-year-old British-born children from families of settled migrants who speak languages other than English in their homes and communities. The study draws from a number of research disciplines, including linguistics, anthropology and ethnography to provide an analytical description of the social and linguistic behaviour of the children during their first term in kindergarten. Although the study was located in the UK, the findings have implications for children in other societies where English is the formal language of education. The book will be of interest to teachers, parents and others interested in the lives of young children.

Linda Thompson was a primary school teacher for many years before becoming a teacher educator. She is currently Senior Lecturer at the University of Durham, UK, on leave to the Department of English Language & Literature at the National University of Singapore. Her main research interests are in the field of young children learning language(s). Books include: The Teaching of Poetry: European Perspectives (Cassell, 1996) and Children Talking: The Development of Pragmatic Competence (Multilingual Matters, 1997).