Abstract

While a substantial body of research exists on First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA), research on the language acquisition process that a language minority student goes through when they are acquiring a second language in an environment where both the host language and the language of instruction is the second language has been largely unexplored. Pedagogical practices that espouse language learning theories facilitate both the language development and integration of the language minority child into the classroom. This paper will look at various linguistic variables within the field of SLA which are of particular relevance to the language acquisition process of such students. By embedding these linguistic factors into pedagogical practices, educators can engage with a transformative framework which will not only aid their linguistic and cognitive development, but will also empower the students by developing their critical language skills and facilitate their ability to access the mainstream curriculum.