Schools should follow additive bilingualism because it:
2024
Schools should follow additive bilingualism because it:
- A.
values the culture and language of the child
- B.
gives importance to teaching English as a second language
- C.
promotes the child’s language but not the culture
- D.
hinders the development of the first language
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Additive bilingualism (a term from Wallace Lambert) describes a language-learning approach in which a second language is added on top of a child's first language, with the first language and its associated culture continuing to be used, valued, and developed — the opposite is subtractive bilingualism, where a dominant second language gradually displaces and weakens the first language and the culture tied to it.
Applying this to the item: the question asks why schools should adopt the additive approach, so the correct rationale must affirm that the child's original language AND culture continue to be valued as the child gains an additional language — that is exactly what the keyed option states.
Checking the other options against the same concept:
Emphasising English instruction speaks only to which language is taught, and says nothing about whether the first language and culture are preserved.
Supporting language while leaving out culture treats the two as separable, which is not how additive bilingualism defines the child's identity.
First-language decline is precisely the outcome subtractive bilingualism produces — the reverse of what schools following an additive approach are trying to achieve.