This study examines the impact of multilingualism and socioeconomic status on academic performance within the UK, utilising data from 3,213 pupils from the National Pupil Database who also took part in the Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (SCAMP). We employed multilevel modelling to analyse the relationship between language…

Embodied cognition posits that processing concepts requires sensorimotor activation. Previous research has shown that perceived power is spatially embodied along the vertical axis. However, it is unclear whether such mapping applies equally in the two languages of bilinguals. Using event-related potentials, we compared spatial embodiment…

Picture book reading is widely regarded as an activity that promotes multiple aspects of children's language acquisition, including their vocabulary development. Historically, researchers interested in what underlies the link between picture book reading and vocabulary development have investigated a suite of caregiver behaviors during picture…

This study investigated the translanguaging practices of 12 students and a teacher rehearsing a German play as part of an extra-curricular UK university theatre group comprising different European nationalities. Our aim was to understand how these practices support foreign language and literacy development in the context of a script-based,…

While there is some evidence of a gap in English writing achievement between children with English as an additional language (EAL) compared to their monolingual English-speaking (EL1) peers, the source of this gap remains unclear. This study examines whether writing presents a specific challenge for children with EAL beyond their oral language and…

Over the past few decades, there has been a sharp increase in the number of international students enrolling in postgraduate courses at UK universities, with students from China making up the single largest national group. At the same time, there has been a gradual increase in Chinese teachers and faculty members, as these same students continue…

According to the latest report of the (Office for National Statistics [2018]. "Births by Parents' Country of Birth, England and Wales: 2017." UK: Statistical Bulletin), 34% of children born in Britain have at least one parent from another country. With nearly 20% of children in primary schools categorised as speakers of English as an…

Previous research reported bilingual cognitive strengths in working memory, executive function and novel-word learning skills (Bialystok in Psychol Bull 143:233-262, 2017; Kaushanskaya and Marian in Psychon Bull Rev 16:705-710, 2009). These skills should also support bilingual children's vocabulary and reading development, yet bilingual children…

Bilingualism has been the subject of a lot of research in the last century. Bilingualism is having the competence to speak two languages. The reasons for bilingualism of individuals may differ. Some of them may have parents from different languages, some may be children of ethnic minority or immigrants. In daily life it is possible to encounter…

This study explores the way in which bilingual children of primary school age who have become dominant in English are learning to be literate in the language of the home using dual language books provided by the school. It reports on how the mothers and their children used both texts to transfer skills from one language to another; to negotiate…

This paper explores what happens when bilingual learners come together to play a board game specially designed to facilitate an interactive context in which the learning of English as a second or additional language is promoted. An example of the interactive behaviour of one group of bilingual learners is then presented in order to illustrate such…

This paper reports on the results of a small-scale study into the ways in which two bilingual boys attempt to manage the discontinuities between their identities at home and as members of an early years class at a mainly white primary school in the UK. To do this, a number of semi-structured interviews were undertaken with the boys and their…

Describes the value of bilingual students' talk, presenting examples from British elementary classrooms. Diverse students' talk about their language and cultural experiences can influence policy by highlighting the centrality of talk in supporting children's thinking and learning, the positive cognitive effects of bilingualism in different…

Examined the relationship between bilingual students' level of English fluency and academic achievement. Data on British elementary and secondary school students indicated that bilingual students who were not fluent in English tended to do less well in school, and bilingual students who were fully fluent in English generally outperformed their…

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) carried out an evaluation of a pilot/programme that was introduced in 2004 to help raise the achievement of bilingual learners in primary schools. Within participating authorities, pilot consultants were appointed and were managed by the Primary National Strategy managers and the Ethnic…