Overcoming language barriers: lessons learnt from migrant children
Abstract
In this paper, we identify reasons for the high school achievement
of some migrant children, in spite of the language barriers faced
by themselves and their parents. We explore the literature to
determine the factors used to overcome such barriers, particularly
those beyond social economic status (SES) and other largely
inherited factors that remain a common focus of migration and
school effectiveness literature. We identify the need to pay
greater attention to non-conventional factors, such as aspirations,
expectations and creativities. We also examine school effectiveness
literature in South Africa, arguably a typical case of a developing
country, and note that much of the literature centres on analysis
and lamentation of physical and human resource constraints,
instead of experimenting on non-conventional factors.