ABSTRACT
Helen Savva draws attention to the challenges which bilingual children face in primary schools. She argues that school practices can be harmed by lack of awareness and by teacher indifference but that much more positive and appreciative teaching is possible. Of particular concern is the way in which the national curriculum structures the teaching of English and Savva suggests that there can be no genuine equality of opportunity for bilingual pupils in schools unless the whole of their language competence is recognised and supported.
