International Journal of Bilingual
Education and Bilingualism
Editor: Colin Baker, University of Wales, Bangor
Review Editor: Aneta Pavlenko, Temple University, Philadelpia
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Volume: 4 Number: 2 Page: 107–124
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Bombs or Bilingual Programmes?: Dual-language Immersion, Transformative Education and Community Building in Macedonia
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Dawn Tankersley
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This article documents a Macedonian/Albanian dual-language immersion programme in Macedonia and recommends how to structure bilingual programmes that build community between language groups where there
exists an unequal power structure between the two languages. These language groups have a long history of ethnic conflict in the Balkans which was the basis of the war in Kosovo in the spring of 1999. The
community building that occurred in the programme was documented through dialogues with the programme's teachers using a participatory research model. Community building was defined through determining
that the use of both languages in the classrooms increased in the participants' ability to develop cross-ethnic friendships, to develop understanding and respect for the two languages and cultures represented
in the programme and to resolve conflicts among themselves. Although the dialogues with the teachers affirmed that community building occurred, the use of the Macedonian and Albanian languages did not actually
equalise as Macedonian became the language most often used in the classrooms. This was due to the connection between language and power. This article proposes that more than good bilingual programmes are
needed to create actual equality among language groups. Bilingual classrooms have to be transformative classrooms.
© Multilingual Matters 2001
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