School Recognition of Multilingualism among Children of Immigrant Families : A Case Study
The issue of links between schools and families is addressed in an analysis of the ways schools account for languages learned at home. A language socialization perspective is adopted as a theoretical lens to examine ethnographic data documenting the experiences of two students from immigrant families who were observed over seven years and were enrolled in a French Immersion program in the Vancouver area. Data gathered at school and in the family setting are compared to illustrate how multilingual students’ language resources might be validated or not at all recognized by schools.