Editorial: New directions in the assessment of bilingual children

The UK is an increasingly diverse society. In 2001 the Census showed that almost one in eight school pupils came from a minority ethnic background. By 2010 this proportion is expected to be approximately one in Ž ve (DfES, 2003). This can partly be accounted for by the growing numbers of asylum seeker=refugee children, 70% of whom come from homes where little or no English is spoken (DfES, 2002). For the children and their families, English is usually an additional language (EAL) in an already rich linguistic repertoire. Because it is the language of the school and the clinic, as well as the wider environment, families must engage with the issue of their children learning English. For most families, this is a complex task as they negotiate the learning of the language of the dominant culture while trying not to lose touch with the family’s other language(s) in the process. Guidelines from the DfES clearly strive for  uency in English as a means of supporting achievement for pupils from minority ethnic groups. However, there is increasingly a recognition that for pupils to succeed, the home language should be acknowledged and built upon: