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Complementary schools are voluntary schools that provide a space for young people from linguistic minorities to study their home language, religion, heritage and culture. While each school differs greatly in provision of classes, organisational structure and processes, size, teaching style and curriculum, they provide a setting for young people to interact and form beliefs and identities. This sociolinguistic study by the University of Birmingham, University of East London, Birkbeck College and Kings College London investigates the multilingual practices and identity formation of young people and their teachers at complementary schools. It examines four case studies, focusing on Bengali schools in Birmingham, Chinese schools (Cantonese and Mandarin) in Manchester, Gujarati schools in Leicester and Turkish schools in London.

Key Findings

• Complementary schools offer young people a social, linguistic and cultural resource that challenges the dominance of the single-language (in this case, English) mainstream and offers them an alternative to the current UK political debate of 'minority language as a problem'.
• The schools provide a space for young people to learn collectively and allow alternative discussions on history, heritage, culture, language, globalisation, economy and identity, in contrast to the discussions in mainstream schools and individual homes.
• There are generational differences when it comes to language beliefs and uses: teachers are more likely to keep languages separate and preserve language boundaries, whereas young people are more likely to mix and blend languages.
• Students used their bilingualism to adopt highly stylised language in representation of the voices of others, sometimes setting themselves against the tightly controlled and repetitive classroom teaching process. They introduced voices from popular culture and used these to contrast with the formal procedures of classroom activities.
• Some of the participants held strong heritage and culture identities, but generational differences were evident: teachers believed that teaching about 'language' and 'heritage' essentially meant reproducing 'national' identities in the students, yet students often contested this and took up a different position.
• Teachers viewed culture as linked to a large national geographic entity rather than to the urban lives of teachers and young people. Young people were negotiating their own understanding of these notions and did not always accept the static version of 'heritage' that the school taught. The values of 'heritage' that were taught and learned may be accepted, contested, subverted, appropriated or negotiated.
• The schools encouraged a 'successful learner identity' for their students and while many adopted this, some young people resisted learner identities imposed by the schools, negotiating other identities. They were able to challenge the order of classroom interaction and resist the control of classroom form and content by teachers. 

About the Study

The data from the four case studies were collected simultaneously and shared by the research team over a 10 week data collection period. In each case study, participants in two complementary schools were observed, recorded and interviewed. Key documentary evidence was collected and photographs were taken. In each school, two participant children were selected after four weeks and they were audio-recorded during the classes observed and also for 30 minutes before and after each class, where possible, over a six-week period. Key stakeholders in the school, such as teachers and administrators, were also interviewed, as well as the participant children and their parents.

Keywords

Multilingualism, bilingualism, complementary schools, identity, linguistic minority communities

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