Processes and outcomes in the European schools model of multilingual education

Bilingual Research Journal, Spring 2002 by Housen, Alex

Figures 3 and 4 further show that although L2 progress in the ES is generally a gradual and incremental process, a developmental "spurt" can be observed between the fifth and the seventh grade (i.e., at the transition from primary to secondary school), particularly in the domain of grammar learning. Housen (2002) attributes this spurt to two developments in the L2 curriculum. The first is the increase from Grade 6 onward in the use of the L2 as a medium of instruction, first in content lessons such as arts, music, and complementary activities, and later in history, geography, and Social Studies. This development not only increases the amount of input available for language learning but also, and perhaps more importantly, the opportunities for pupils to produce the kind of comprehensible output which Swain (1985) has proposed as necessary for grammatical growth in a L2. Classroom observations in the ES have revealed that there is little opportunity for pupils to produce such comprehensible output in the lessons at primary school, given the early emphasis on the development of receptive skills in the L2. This is in contrast to the L2-subject and L2-content classes in secondary school, where pupils must regularly produce self-sustained oral and written discourse in their L2, thus promoting lexical and particularly grammatical processing of the language.

A second possible explanation for the observed developmental spurt is the provision of analytic and form-focused instruction in the L2-subject lessons in secondary school. Previous research has identified this type of instruction as necessary for the acquisition of lexical precision and grammatical accuracy in an L2 (Harley, 1993; Hammerly, 1991). As we have seen earlier, this type of instruction is rare in L2-subject classes in primary school, where the focus is on the L2 as a means for language play and for exchanging meaning and content. However, it becomes an important component of L2 teaching in secondary school.

Synthesis of Program Outcomes

Although there remains much to be learned about the processes and outcomes of the ES program, the combined information from internal assessments and external research warrants a positive evaluation, particularly of the languages component of the program. Research on L2 learning in the ES system suggests that global levels of L2 proficiency are at least comparable to those attained in other tried models of bilingual/multilingual education and probably close to monolingual native speaker norms by the end of secondary schooling (with some variation depending on the availability of the L2 in the wider context). This is achieved at no apparent cost to the pupil's Ll or their academic development. As the number of pupils who attain high levels of proficiency in a third and perhaps a fourth language becomes known, the ES program may be referred to as an additive multilingualism program.

The studies reviewed here further provide evidence of ES pupils' ability to produce their own independent, grammatically accurate, and lexically precise sustained discourse in an L2, even in contexts where additional, outof-school support for L2 learning is absent (e.g., English-L2 in the ES in Brussels). This is one of the most impressive achievements of the ES program and stands in sharp contrast to many Canadian immersion programs. Pupils of these Canadian programs by the end of secondary education continue to reveal striking grammatical inaccuracies in their writing and speaking (Swain, 1985; Hammerly, 1991). The L2-subject teaching throughout the ES program, the component of analytic, form-focused L2-instruction in secondary school, and the general concern with accuracy, precision, and appropriateness that permeates all classes in the ES, contribute to this outcome.