Abstract

Complementary schools are community-run language schools operating on weekends and weekdays after school with the aim of developing the heritage language and cultural understanding of students. They have been operating since the 1800s in the UK, North America and Australia and predate national education. They represent a key language education sector worldwide with over two million students and operate in most countries with migration and minority languages. Despite groundbreaking studies 50 years ago in the US (Joshua Fishman) and UK (Linguistic Minorities Project) this sector has been largely ignored by researchers. In this workshop/lecture, I will outline what we know about community languages schools (key findings and research themes) drawing on a review of some 350 studies, articles and reports (2001 – 2022). I will also discuss what we do not know and what research opportunities exist in this field.

Ken Cruickshank is Professor of Education and EAL at the University of Sydney. He has taught EAL and Languages at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Community Languages Schools have been his research focus for the past few years. He is founding director of Sydney Institute for Community Languages Education https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/our-research/centres-institutes-and-groups/sydney-institute-community-languages-education.html