Study Of Language Competence In Pupils In First Year Of School Attendance With Accent On Mother Tongue
Abstract
Communication is an inevitable element in social interaction between people. The developed mother tongue is an advantage of a child when starting school. The mother tongue is the language a child learns as the first one in the process of socialization (
Keywords: Mother tongue Language competence Socially disadvantaged environment Child with Romani mother tongue Child with Slovak mother tongue
Introduction
After birth, children grow up in a certain environment, in accordance with conditions in which
they develop. Children acquire not only basic hygiene habits, walking, language, but also thinking,
values, ideals, attitudes, habits, skills, and knowledge about nature and people in a society. During their
primary socialization, children acquire these values, attitudes, norms, and language through their parents,
siblings, relatives, and later through peers in their natural environment. The mother tongue is an
inevitable element in social interaction between people. The developed mother tongue is an advantage for
a child when starting school. The mother tongue is the language a child learns as the first one in the
process of socialization (Lemhöfer, Schriefer, & Hanique 2010), the language a child has learnt in his/her
life, and which influences a child’s future. Basil Bernstein (1971) considers a language the main means of
person’s socialization, and emphasizes a direct relationship between a social group and a language.
We agree with the statements by many authors such as Říčan (1991), Plaňava, (1994), Říčan, G.,
K. (2003), Walsh, F. (1982), and Prúcha, Mareš, Walterová (2003) who focused their studies on families
with children, and developed an essence of social status of the family in the society; the family has
several important functions – biological, economic, social, and psychological. In our society, the family is
considered a mediator of recognized values, the first control organ of meeting the norms, and a mediator
of the cultural archetype. It is also considered a basic social unit and is defined by the Act No 36/20015
Coll. on Family. A correctly set structure – system in the family is one of the most important determinants
of child’s personality development, in which they grow up, where they acquire role models of behaviour
and action, the first models of communication with others, and learn to act in accordance with the set
norms of the society and be responsible for their action. Children growing up in Roma families, as some
authors e.g. Légiose (1995), Horváthová (2002), and Portik (2003) state, have always been considered the
basis of a family, which they prove by their study findings that a biologically-reproductive function is
characteristic for Roma families. These findings are confirmed also by Šikrová (2004) who states that a
half of seven or eight millions of Roma are school-age children. According to Pape (2007), Roma
children are the objects of permanent attention in family environment; in the context of the family they
learn through observation and imitation, which means children learn social interaction, and learn to speak
the Romani mother tongue. The Romani language, as Cina, and Cinová (2010) state, is one of the basic
elements of the Roma ethnic group; Roma can use it for communication anywhere in the world, even
though they communicate in different dialects.
Our sample includes children from Roma families whose mother tongue is Romani in comparison
with the sample including children with the Slovak mother tongue.
We agree with the statement by Rosinský (2009) “…when starting school at the age of six years,
suddenly they are in an unknown, foreign, sometimes even unfriendly environment which they must face
on their own, without help of their parents who they depended on until then. At school, almost everything
is unknown for them – there are no Roma teachers (with exception of those schools where they gradually,
but so far in a small extent, started to use teacher’s assistants – Roma), aids and textbooks’ contents and
designs are adapted to understanding and style of Slovak children, etc. Traditional Roma family education
does not give children such a basis that teachers expect from an average pupil in the first year.”
In this context it is necessary to say that many sociologic authors state that school and education
system are supporters – if not directly tools of social inequalities. The most significant and world-
renowned are Basil Bernstein and Pierre Bourdieu.
Bernstein (1971) in his book “Class, Codes and Control” developed his theory about reproduction
of social inequalities through education system based on analysis of the relationship between a school
system and a way of communication in France. His theory is based on the existence of two types of
language codes (restricted and elaborated) that are obtained by an individual during socialization
particularly in a family, and which influence their abilities, behaviour and responses to education at
school. He sees the role of school in reproduction in the fact that school assumes an elaborated type of the
language code in all children and thus hinders access to education in children with the restricted language
code, which results in a cultural gap.
In the book “Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture”, Bourdieu (1990) introduces a new
term “habitus” that he describes as a set of person’s characteristics developed in the process of
socialisation. Children from socially more stimulating environment – higher classes gain better habitus
and cultural capital as they are more prepared for school, are more linguistically capable, and understand
the notions significantly better. School as an institution assumes the habitus of higher classes and a
greater cultural capital, and thus, children from such families are more successful in their studies and have
better results than children from lower social classes. They describe school as the one that does not
eliminate inequalities but the one that increases them.
As an example, we state the studies by Katrňák (2004), Veselý, Matejů (2010), and Straková et al.
(2006) in which the common denominator are inequalities, where children from different social classes
have different economic and cultural capital, which results in different attitudes to and opinions about
education.
Methods
For the needs of the study “Language Competence in Roma Pupils in First Year of School
Attendance”, we used several research methods and research tools. The research tools, their functionality
and appropriateness were verified in pre-research; then, we modified them for adaptability in the field.
Field research was conducted in two phases at the beginning of the school year and at the end of the
school year so that progress/regress was found. In the study, we used the test – H-S-E-T – Sentence
building (SB) in Slovak and Romani. Other research methods included: analysis, synthesis, comparison,
mathematical and statistical methods, and interpretation method.
Objective
The objective of the scientific project Language Competence in Roma Pupils in First Year of
School Attendance is to find out language maturity in pupils with the Romani mother tongue in
comparison with pupils with the Slovak mother tongue.
Our
the Romani mother tongue and children with the Slovak mother tongue.
Sample
The scientific study was conducted at primary schools in the Slovak Republic. The sample
included 69 pupils of the first year in the school year 2015/2016 with the Romani mother tongue – all
these children came from socially disadvantaged environment; and 76 pupils of the first year in the school
year 2015/2016 with the Slovak mother tongue.
Data collection
The first phase of field research, i.e. the first testing, was conducted at the beginning of the first
year of primary schools in September of the school year 2015/2016. Research was conducted at the
primary schools in the territory of the Slovak Republic.
The ethics of the scientific study was in accordance with the Act No 122/2013 Coll. on Protection
of Personal Data.
Results
Our objective was to find out the extent and level of active vocabulary in children with the Romani
mother tongue and in children with the Slovak mother tongue at the beginning of school attendance in the
first year of primary school in the school year 2015/2016 (the first testing). In our study, we used the
Heidelberg Speech Development Test H-S-E-T (SB) – the pupils made meaningful sentences based on
given two or three words.
The Table shows that children with the Romani mother tongue achieve a significantly lower score
than children with the Slovak mother tongue.
The results in the Table clearly show the fact that there are statistically very significant differences
between the results in the Test 2 with the instructions given in Slovak and in their mother tongue –
Romani.
In the Test 2, after using the instructions in Romani – their mother tongue, Roma pupils achieved
statistically very significant better score than after using the instructions in Slovak.
Discussion
Every human being is unique. A child who is born and grows up in socially disadvantaged
environment, this fact in a certain way influences her/his future. The developed mother tongue is an
advantage of a child when starting school along with children of the majority with the Slovak mother
tongue.
Our findings are based on the fact that children with the Romani mother tongue achieve a
significantly lower score than children with the Slovak mother tongue.
However, we must say that children with the Romani mother tongue came from socially
disadvantaged environment that is accompanied by poverty and social exclusion. The environment
children grow up in significantly influences their communication skills. To some extent, our findings
correspond with Bourdieu (1990) who, based on his theory, states that children from socially more
stimulating environment – families gain better linguistic capital, are more prepared for school, are more
linguistically capable, and understand the notions significantly better, and vice versa, which is stated also
by Vanková, (2006).
The Slovak legislation defines a pupil from socially disadvantaged environment, e.g. by the Act
No 245/2008 Coll. on Education: “a pupil living in an environment which, related to the social, family,
economic and cultural conditions, inadequately stimulates development of mental, volitional and
emotional characteristics of a child or a pupil, does not encourage his/her socialization, and does not
provide enough adequate stimuli for development of his/her personality”(translated by the authors).
An interesting finding are the results in the Table
there are statistically very significant differences between the results in the Test 2 with the instructions in
Slovak and in their mother tongue – Romani.
In the Test 2, after using the instructions in Romani – their mother tongue, Roma pupils achieved
statistically very significant better score than after using the instructions in Slovak.
Furthermore, we found out that if the children with the Romani mother tongue were instructed in
the Test 2 in their mother tongue, they understood the tasks. Our statement reads: If children with the
Romani mother tongue attended school with the Romani school language, they would not fail in the
educational process. Also Bernstein (1971) considers a language the main means of person’s
socialization, and emphasizes a direct relationship between a social group and a language.
However, we must say that all children with the Romani mother tongue attend primary schools
with the Slovak school language. Cina and Cinová (2010) say about the Romani language that “the
Romani language was, by the act on using the languages of national minorities that was adopted in the
National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1999, declared to be an official national language. Its position
was enhanced also by signing the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages which is the
most complex framework agreement regulating the issues of protection and use of the languages of
national minorities in education, jurisdiction, state and public administration, media, culture, economic
and social life, and cross-border cooperation, and was ratified by the Parliament of the Slovak Republic in
July 2001. According to these documents, Roma can exercise their right to educate their children in their
mother tongue, use Romani in official communication, or ask for bilingual signs in the municipalities
with more than 20% representation of this ethnic group (according to the last Census in 2001 there were
52 such municipalities in Slovakia). Roma themselves, however, do not require to exercise this act. The
cause can be their unawareness, as well as their fear to exercise their right and to get into conflicts with
the majority. The truth is that the representatives of the majority are not prepared for official
communication in Romani, and there are no textbooks and books in schools” (translated by the authors).
In the present, in Slovakia all children with the Romani mother tongue attend schools with the
Slovak, Hungarian, or Ruthenian school language. The truth is that children must learn to communicate in
the language of the school they attend. Children learn in a foreign language, which results in a slowdown
of language and mental development.
Based on the findings, we recommend the parents of children whose mother tongue is Romani to
enrol their children in kindergartens, preparatory years with the Slovak communication language, and try
to minimize communication in Romani at home settings.
Conclusion
The Slovak Republic is a multicultural state. Many national minorities such as the Hungarians,
Roma, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Czechs, Polish, Bulgarians, Russians, Croatians, Germans, Jews,
Moravians, Chinese, and Vietnamese live in our territory. There are the same rights and responsibilities
for all nations and nationalities. The Constitution of the Slovak Republic – the highest legal document
grants the right of each individual to free education at state primary schools. Primary school in
accordance with the principles and objectives of education promotes development of pupil’s personality
on the basis of the principles of humanism, equal treatment, tolerance, democracy and patriotism, given to
intellectual, moral, ethical, esthetical, occupational and physical aspects. It provides elementary
knowledge, skills and abilities in the language, natural science, social science, art, sport, health, and
traffic areas, and other knowledge and skills necessary for their orientation in life and society and their
further education with the aim to increase their real chance for better future.
By our article, we point out that our society must promote all activities leading to prevention of
failure in children with Romani mother tongue in school environment with the Slovak school language
which is perceived as a foreign language by children whose mother tongue is Romani.
Acknowledgments
The paper is part of the project VEGA “Language Competence in Roma Pupils in First Year of School Attendance”; project registration number: 1/0845/15.
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Cite this article as:
Vankova, K., Rosinsky, R., & Ceresnikova, M. (2017). Study Of Language Competence In Pupils In First Year Of School Attendance With Accent On Mother Tongue. In Z. Bekirogullari, M. Y. Minas, & R. X. Thambusamy (Eds.), Cognitive - Social, and Behavioural Sciences - icCSBs 2017, January, vol 20. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 268-275). Future Academy. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2017.01.02.28