A NEW nationwide study has been launched by academics to look into how multilingual children fit into society.

Gujarati-speaking children of Indian descent are to be involved in the London branch of the project which will be carried out by the University of East London's (UEL) school of education.

The scheme is funded by the economic and social research council and will also focus upon children from the Bangladeshi, Chinese and Turkish communities who attend complementary schools.

Researchers hope to find out whether multilingualism is seen as a good or bad thing.

The University of Birmingham is running the study and Manchester and Newcastle universities are also involved.

Professor Peter Martin of the UEL said that complementary schools, run by volunteers outside normal school hours, were a boon to youngsters' development.

He told the Guardian: "They give rich linguistic and cultural education to young people and we aim to explore the very real contribution these schools give students and their communities.

"This is the first sociological investigation of its type."