Multilingual education in emergencies: Exploring the impact of bilingual classroom assistants for migrant children from Myanmar in Thai public schools

• In Event: Multilingual Education Across Global Contexts

Proposal

Background

Multilingual Education (MLE) in international education has grown in prominence and practice during recent decades, due in large part to increases in migration and displacement. Progress on MLE in emergency contexts remains a challenge, especially given the increasing number of forcibly displaced people each year due to crises like conflict and natural disasters (UNESCO, 2019). On the border of Myanmar and northern Thailand, MLE in Thai public schools has become commonplace due to both the diversity of languages spoken in northern Thailand and the recent forced migration of children from conflict and political emergency in Myanmar. The primary Language of Instruction (LoI) in Thai public school classrooms is almost always Thai. However, migrant students from Myanmar often speak Burmese and lack basic, if any, proficiency in Thai prior to enrolment in a Thai public school. Thai public school teachers often do not speak Burmese which results in language submersion and other adverse effects on student learning (Lowe, 2022). To address these challenges, bilingual Classroom Assistants (CA), with proficiency in both Thai and Burmese, have been employed to supplement classroom teaching and help non-Thai speaking students navigate classroom learning given CA effectiveness in similar contexts (Baker, 2014).

This formal paper presentation will report the findings of a research study that was undertaken to understand how bilingual CAs support MLE learning and instruction for migrant students from Myanmar in northern Thailand. The presentation will discuss challenges, opportunities, and the impact of CAs on migrant student MLE and Thai language learning specifically, their ability to navigate the Thai public school system, and implications for the field of MLE in emergencies more broadly.

Theory/Context

Affordances theory is employed as the guiding theoretical framework for this study. Minas (2020) argues that the affordances theory in second language learning “provides a lens that allows a single-minded focus on relevant issues in a complex and dynamic context.” (p.1). Accordingly, this lens was employed as a perspective through which to focus on the role of CA’s in particular along with MLE and Thai language teaching and learning.

Inquiry

The setting of this study was nine Thai public schools along the border of northern Thailand and Myanmar, all of which have high numbers of migrant students from Myanmar. Classes from seven schools with CAs were selected along with two schools that do not have CAs to serve as a control group. A mixed-methods approach was employed. Qualitative data collection included semi-structured interviews with CAs, teachers, and administrators working at schools. Classroom observations were also conducted of classes with and without CAs, along with focus groups with migrant students attending these schools. 23 interviews, four focus groups, and eleven classroom observations have already been conducted with the planned data collection to continue through November 2023. Quantitative data collection included a student Thai language proficiency test that was administered at the beginning of the Thai 2023-24 school year in June 2024, with another that will be administered at the end of the school year in January 2024. Statistical analysis will be used to compare results of Thai language learning in classrooms with and without CAs over the course of an academic year. Thematic analysis and coding will be conducted on qualitative interview, observation, and focus group data to better understand the impact of CAs on MLE learning specifically and migrant integration into Thai public schools more broadly.

Findings

Quantitative findings on the comparative effect of CAs on Thai language learning will be available in January 2024 and included in the presentation. In addition, a discussion of findings from the qualitative data will be used to explore the impact of CAs in more depth. Preliminary results of thematic analysis show that the CAs are perceived to have a positive impact on Thai language learning in the MLE environment, though challenges like a lack of human and financial resources at schools limit the full impact CAs might have. CAs are often left alone to teach classes, for example, or be split between multiple classrooms rather than being dedicated to one class of students. Furthermore, findings show that CAs have had an impact on migrant student integration to the Thai public school system and provide a crucial bridge between the Thai speaking teachers and school administrators with the migrant students and their families. Finally, the impact of increased Thai language learning that has been perceived by participants was discussed as helping migrant students and their families see an opportunity to be accepted into Thai culture and society. That is, MLE and language will be discussed in this presentation not only in regard to the classroom language learning outcomes, but the implications for migrant education in the context of emergency and displacement.


Contribution: Type A Scholarly Originality

There is a gap in the Comparative International Education (CIE) literature surrounding CA use for MLE in developing and low resource contexts, specifically for student bodies with migrant children in this region of Thailand. The findings of this study contribute to both MLE teaching and learning strategies regarding the use of CAs, and the larger literature on education in emergencies and migrant education. With forced displacement and migration rising globally, more and more education systems will need support and examples of how to include students from diverse linguist and cultural backgrounds.

References

Baker, F. S. (2014). The role of the bilingual teaching assistant: Alternative visions for bilingual support in the primary years. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 17(3), 255–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2012.748013

Lowe, T. (2022). A situational analysis of non-formal educational pathways for migrant children in Tak province, Thailand. Help Without Frontiers and TeacherFOCUS. https://www.inedfoundation.org/_files/ugd/ded038_8bcf3578906a466ab86cbd0e3a23979f.pdf

Minas, E. C. (2020). The affordances theory in teaching and learning African first additional languages: A case for task-based language teaching. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 38(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2019.1698303

UNESCO. (2019). Global education monitoring report 2019: Migration, displacement and education: Building bridges, not walls. UNESCO.

Authors

• Sunantha Inkhamchuea, Inclusive Education Foundation

• Andrew Swindell, Inclusive Education Foundation