Welcome to Mr Aslanov’s Lessons QUESTION-TYPE BASED TESTS FunEnglishwithme +99894 6333230
and distinguishing fact from opinion. Studies of secondary school pupils are providing interesting findings
in this area, and it would be worth extending this research.
Many people marvel at how quickly bilingual children seem to “pick up” conversational skills in the
majority language at school (although it takes much longer for them to catch up with native speakers in
academic language skills). However, educators are often much less aware of how quickly children can lose
their ability to use their mother tongue, even in the home context. The extent and rapidity of language loss
will vary according to the concentration of families from a particular linguistic group in the neighborhood.
Where the mother tongue is used extensively in the community, then language loss among young children
will be less. However, where language communities are not concentrated in particular neighborhoods,
children can lose their ability to communicate in their mother tongue within 2-3 years of starting school.
They may retain receptive skills in the language but they will use the majority language, in speaking with
their peers and siblings and in responding to their parents. By the time children become adolescents, the
linguistic division between parents and children has become an emotional chasm. Pupils frequently become
alienated from the cultures of both home and school with predictable results.
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D . Q1. What point did the writer make in the second paragraph? A. Some present studies on children’s mother tongues are misleading
B. A culturally rich education programme benefits some children more than others.
C. Bilingual children can make a valuable contribution to the wealth of a country.
