Towards an integrated second-language pedagogy for foreign and community/heritage 1 languages in multilingual Britain

A key issue, which has undermined the development of community/heritage language teaching in the UK over recent decades, has been the need to define an appropriate pedagogical approach which takes account of the bilingual and bicultural background of the majority of learners studying these languages. Within the National Curriculum, community languages fall under the umbrella of modern foreign languages, where the assumption is that the language and culture represent something new and unfamiliar. Clearly, this an inappropriate starting point for bilingual learners. On the other hand, the idea that the majority of such learners have high levels of competence with regard both to oracy and literacy in the community language, and that they should therefore be regarded as mother tongue learners, is not appropriate either. This paper seeks to explore ways in which resulting misconceptions may be overcome, through a better understanding of learner backgrounds and needs, and by drawing on recent developments in theories of second language acquisition, bilingual development and communicative language teaching as well as on more general pedagogical theories. These theories emphasise both cognitive and affective dimensions of the learning process and pay greater attention to the development of intercultural competence. Such an approach offers the prospect of a much more integrated language policy and the basis for meaningful dialogue between colleagues working in different areas of language teaching, including EAL and English as a mother tongue.