Policy and Practice in Language Support for Newly Arrived Migrant Children in Ireland and Spain

Abstract

Over the last decades migration across Europe has continued to increase. Consequently, the issue of offering appropriate educational support for migrant students has been extensively debated across Europe and further afield, especially in countries with a history of immigration. However, less is known about how education systems in the ¿new¿ immigration countries have responded to the needs of newly arrived migrants (NAMs). While various research and policy documents have highlighted the importance of proficiency in the language of instruction for social and academic outcomes of migrant children and youth: how language support is provided varies significantly from one jurisdiction to another. This article focuses on language support measures set up for migrant students in statefunded schools in the Republic of Ireland and Spain ¿ both multilingual countries with more than one official language and with heterogeneous migrant population. In both countries, there is also a mismatch between an increasingly diverse student cohort and a homogenous teacher population.. Reviewing educational policy and practice in these jurisdictions in the areas of language support for migrants and how diversity is addressed in initial teacher education, the paper seeks to contribute to the debate on how to address the needs of migrant students in multi-lingual settings.