Provision for the Development of the Linguistic Proficiency of Young Immigrants in England and Wales and France: A comparative study

During the last 40 years or so, England and Wales and France have had to face the challenge of trying to educate a significant number of young immigrants whose mother tongue is not that of the host country. This paper compares and contrasts the approaches adopted and the measures taken to develop the linguistic competence of these young immigrants in the two countries, with particular reference to Toulouse in France and the London borough of Brent in England. Initially segregationist, the approach in both countries is now more integrationist, particularly in Brent. The differences in approach and provision reflect the differing educational traditions of the two countries. The degree of individual attention which immigrant pupils may receive differs in Brent and Toulouse. There are indications of success in developing second language skills in France, but national data on the effectiveness of second language teaching in England and Wales are lacking. Little mother-tongue tuition takes place in either country.     

Using the Phono‐Graphix reading programme as a literacy support intervention strategy

The study outlined here was an attempt to investigate the effectiveness of using the Phono‐Graphix reading programme with a group of four struggling readers/non‐readers. The children selected were in Primary 2 and had already had one‐and‐a‐half years of mixed reading instruction strategies – primarily Jolly Phonics with a ‘look and say’ approach. The children were taught in twice weekly ‘pull out’ sessions in addition to learning with their peers in their normal, daily classroom lessons. Results showed that they had improved in all literacy sub‐skills being assessed. Two of them also improved on standardised assessments. All children were observed to be reading (and spelling) more accurately than at the beginning of the project.