TY - JOUR

T1 - Demystifying the English bias in science: exploring the factors influencing bilinguals' uptake of STEM subjects in minority language education

T2 - STEM-related study and minority language education

AU - Thomas, Enlli

AU - Parry, Nia

AU - Caulfield, Gareth

AU - Sion, Cadi

PY - 2024/11/19

Y1 - 2024/11/19

N2 - In minority language contexts, schools are constantly having to negotiate between thecompeting demands of minority language maintenance on the one hand, and the all-encompassing privilege of English in certain subject areas on the other. This dilemma isexacerbated in domains where English is seen to have a global tradition. Whilst theprevalence of English in STEM-related fields is well established, less is understood about theopportunities to study these subjects in languages other than English. Exploring the extentto which an English bias may influence pupils’ conscious choices around the study of STEM-related subjects can help inform school language policies and practices. Likewise,understanding how pupils negotiate the linguistic choice dilemma can help identify ways ofsupporting pupils’ engagement with these subjects and help address some of the limitationsof a monolingual teaching approach for bilingual pupils. This study examined pupils’likelihood of studying STEM-related subjects in Welsh-medium secondary schools in Wales,their linguistic choices around these subjects and their attitudes towards learning suchsubjects in English and/or in Welsh. The results revealed a general impression among pupilsof the importance of English for STEM, which, mediated by their own linguistic backgrounds,abilities and experiences, influence pupils’ linguistic choices and desires to various extents,particularly at the latter stages of education. Since the propensity towards monolingualengagement with these subjects – in Welsh or in English – may limit the scope forscaffolding their learning across languages and the benefits that incur, we proposealternative bilingual approaches to STEM-related subject teaching

AB - In minority language contexts, schools are constantly having to negotiate between thecompeting demands of minority language maintenance on the one hand, and the all-encompassing privilege of English in certain subject areas on the other. This dilemma isexacerbated in domains where English is seen to have a global tradition. Whilst theprevalence of English in STEM-related fields is well established, less is understood about theopportunities to study these subjects in languages other than English. Exploring the extentto which an English bias may influence pupils’ conscious choices around the study of STEM-related subjects can help inform school language policies and practices. Likewise,understanding how pupils negotiate the linguistic choice dilemma can help identify ways ofsupporting pupils’ engagement with these subjects and help address some of the limitationsof a monolingual teaching approach for bilingual pupils. This study examined pupils’likelihood of studying STEM-related subjects in Welsh-medium secondary schools in Wales,their linguistic choices around these subjects and their attitudes towards learning suchsubjects in English and/or in Welsh. The results revealed a general impression among pupilsof the importance of English for STEM, which, mediated by their own linguistic backgrounds,abilities and experiences, influence pupils’ linguistic choices and desires to various extents,particularly at the latter stages of education. Since the propensity towards monolingualengagement with these subjects – in Welsh or in English – may limit the scope forscaffolding their learning across languages and the benefits that incur, we proposealternative bilingual approaches to STEM-related subject teaching

KW - STEM

KW - minority language education

KW - bilingual education

KW - bilingualism

KW - Welsh

KW - minority language

KW - translanguaging

KW - English bias

U2 - 10.1075/jicb.22015.tho

DO - 10.1075/jicb.22015.tho

M3 - Article

JO - Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education

JF - Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education

SN - 2212-8433

ER -