Children learning community languages have a positive sense of identity, according to a research study at the University of Southampton.
Case studies of six children between the ages of 5 and 12, with a Brazilian mother and a father of another nationality, showed that children had their own criteria for categorising people in relation to their identity. The children initially mentioned two features of identity to describe other people and themselves: place of birth and language. The children considered as English someone who was born in England and who spoke English. They considered as Brazilian someone who was born in Brazil and who spoke Brazilian Portuguese.
Their awareness of the issues involved in being children of intermarriage became evident when they had to describe themselves. The ones born and raised in England speaking both English and Portuguese recognised they were more than only English. They used their mother’s place of origin to explain how language added to their identity. The ones born in Brazil and being raised in England speaking more English than Portuguese experienced some conflict of identity, which attendance at Portuguese classes helped them to resolve.
Ana Souza, research student, comments: ‘These results show that being bilingual brings benefits to children of intermarriage. Children naturally make the connection between the languages people are able to speak and who they are. Promoting the teaching of community languages fosters a positive sense of hybrid identity among these children. Some mothers are already aware of these benefits and organise community language lessons for their children through Saturday schools.’
A detailed summary of the research is available on request:
ana_souza@hotmail.com
Please contact: Ana Souza
0208 354 3816
ana_souza@hotmail.com
Notes to Editors:
1. The six children studied were learning Brazilian Portuguese at a community language school and English at their mainstream school in London.
2. Illustrative data on another six children not attending the community language school were also used.
3. Activities were designed especially for the children in order to find out their feelings about ethnicity through individual interviews.