Developing English language support for immigrant students in Irish post-primary schools : a corpus linguistics approach

Abstract

The present research was conducted as part of the English Language Support Programme (ELSP) of the Trinity immigration Initiative (2007-2010), Trinity College Dublin (TCD). The aim of the ELSP was to investigate and enhance the provision of English language support for immigrant students in Irish post-primary schools. In line with the scope of the ELSP, the present research has two aims. First, it sets out to analyse the language of post-primary subject textbooks and examination papers in order to understand the demands that curriculum language makes of immigrant students. Secondly, it explores the pedagogical implications of the findings of this linguistic analysis and their application in post-primary English language support.