Strengthening Linguistic Bridges Between Home and School: Experiences of Immigrant Children and Parents in Iceland

Abstract

Heritage language education (HLE) problematizes issues of second language studies and culturally responsive pedagogy (Gay. Culturally responsive teaching: theory, research, and practice. Teachers College Press, New York, 2000), as it provides some answers to the sensitive topic of quality education of students of foreign background in mainstream schools (Trifonas and Aravossitas. Rethinking heritage language education. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2014). HLE and plurilingualism receive increased attention and recognition worldwide, especially in North America and in the European Union (Council of Europe. Plurilingual Education in Europe. 50 Years of International Cooperation. 2006 cited 2016 Jun 18]. Available from http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/source/plurinlingaleducation_en.pdf; Cummins. Mainstreaming plurilingualism: restructuring heritage language in schools. In Trifonas and Aravossitas (eds) Rethinking heritage language education. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2014; García and Wei. Translanguaging. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2014). This qualitative research paper provides insights into experiences and views of parents of foreign origin and their children who attend Icelandic compulsory schools and study their HL in a nonformal system; it presents students’ attitudes toward their developing linguistic repertoires and parents’ experience of their participation in this process, including communication and cooperation with their children’s schools. The information from the participants is situated within the context of national and local policies. The findings reveal discrepancies between official statements and parents’ and students’ needs, on the one hand, and the school practices, on the other hand. We argue that building on the resources of the students, their backgrounds, cultures, and especially languages promotes students’ success and that school is missing out on considerable educational opportunities. Furthermore, considering how difficult it is for parents and students of foreign origin to take an extra initiative to build bridges between their original culture and the compulsory education, the lack of schools’ active approach to culturally responsive pedagogies and promoting students’ linguistic repertoires has significant influence on students’ social and academic outcomes in the mainstream schools.