User:Rmeaso/Bilingual education

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**I am also considering adding a simple infographic/flow chart to show different types of programs - let me know if you think that would be helpful**


In a bilingual education approach, students are taught in two (or more) languages.[1] It is distinct from learning a second language as a subject because both languages are used for instruction in different content areas like math, science, and history. The time spent in each language depends on the model. For example, some models focus on providing education in both languages throughout a student's entire education while others gradually transition to education in only one language.[2] The ultimate goal of bilingual education is fluency and literacy in both languages.[3]

Bilingual education program models[edit]

There are several different ways to categorize bilingual education models, one of the most common approaches is to separate programs by their end goal. This is the approach used below, though it is not the only possible approach.[4] For a more comprehensive review of different approaches to bilingual education worldwide see bilingual education by country or region.

Maintenance bilingual education[edit]

In a maintenance bilingual education program, the goal is for students to continue to learn about and in both languages for the majority of their education.[5] Students in a maintenance bilingual education program should graduate being able to have a discussion about any content area in either language.[6] Two common forms of maintenance bilingual education are two-way/dual language immersion and developmental (late-exit) bilingual education. Both programs are considered language immersion programs.

In a dual language program, students are in mixed classrooms with a balance of native speakers for each language. . One common model for dual language programs is the 90/10 model. In this model, 90% of instruction in the early grades is in the student's home language and 10% is in their second language. This proportion changes as the student ages until there is an equal amount of time spent in each language. This can be contrasted with the 50/50 model which starts with an even (50/50) balance between languages from the very beginning of a student's education.[7]

In a late exit or developmental program, students all have the same native language. They tend to follow the 90/10 model described above and gradually transition from a majority of instruction in their home language to a more balanced split between languages as they progress through primary school.[8]

Transitional bilingual education[edit]

Main article: Transitional bilingual education

In transitional (early-exit) bilingual education programs, the goal is to provide education in a child's native language to ensure that students do not fall behind in content areas such as mathematics, science, and social studies while they are learning English.[8] Unlike in maintenance bilingual education programs, when the child's English proficiency is deemed satisfactory, they transition to an English-only environment.[9] This approach is based on the Common Underlying Proficiency model of bilingualism which posits that many of the skills learned in the native language can be transferred easily to the second language later.[10] While the linguistic goal of such programs is to help students transition to mainstream, English-only classrooms, the use of the student's primary language as a vehicle to develop literacy skills and acquire academic knowledge also prevents the degeneration of a child's native language.[11]

English as a second language[edit]

Main article: English as a second language

English as a second language (ESL) programs are not considered bilingual education programs because they do not aim to have students become bi-literate in two (or more) languages. The goal of ESL programs is for English-language learners learn English after having acquired one or more native languages. ESL is a supplementary, comprehensive English language learning program common in English-speaking countries and countries where English has an important role in communication as a result of colonialism or globalization.[12] One common approach in ESL programs is Sheltered English instruction (SEI).

Bilingual education strategies[edit]

There are many different strategies used in bilingual education, this section summarizes some of the most common.

Translanguaging[edit]

Translanguaging or language mixing is a strategy that emphasizes using all languages a student knows to support their learning. One example of this is allowing students to express themselves in either or both languages when discussing different academic content.[13] Practicing translanguaging can help students more easily switch between languages.[14]

Language separation[edit]

In a classroom, language separation involves designating one language to a specific time, content, or activity. The goal of language separation is to encourage students to focus on skills in a specific language. Many bilingual programs use a mix of translanguaging and language separation practices to support students in becoming bi-literate.[15]

Scaffolding[edit]

Instructional scaffolding can be used in all types of education, not only bilingual education. A teacher scaffolds instruction to provide the necessary support for students to learn the content. In a bilingual education classroom, this could look like pre-teaching content in the student's native language before teaching the same content in the second language.[16]

Recasting[edit]

When a teacher recasts something a student has said, they repeat what the student said but correct for any grammatical or pronunciation errors, similar to what a parent often does as their child acquires their first language. This can be contrasted with explicit correction in which a teacher explicitly tells a student about an error in their statement, which can also be used in bilingual education.[17]

Effects of bilingual education[edit]

Children's Bilingual Theater Dr Seuss Day
The bilingual French-speaking school Trung Vuong

This section focuses on the effects of bilingual education specifically, see Cognitive effects of bilingualism for information about the effects of bilingualism or multilingualism.

Benefits of bilingual education[edit]

The most obvious benefit of bilingual education is proficiency and literacy in two (or more languages).[18] Fluency in multiple languages can lead to increased employment options[19] as well as create more opportunities for intercultural communication.[20][21]

Bilingual education can also support minority language speakers by communicating the value of their home or heritage language, resulting in increased self-esteem.[22][23] Additionally, bilingual education models have been shown to improve student engagement and attendance as parent involvement in school activities.[24][25]

Bilingual education supports students in becoming literate in both languages, which has been shown to increase reading scores for students in both languages.[25][26] Researchers have proposed that this could be due to students in bilingual programs having an increased awareness of languages and their writing systems.[21]

While there has been significant research on the "bilingual brain," research specifically on how bilingual education impacts brain structure and activation is fairly limited. Though much of the research on bilinguals shows that the benefits of bilingualism are maximized when children are exposed to multiple languages at an early age[27], as they are in many bilingual education programs.[28] However, some initial research has shown preschool children in bilingual education programs have similar brain activation patterns in response to known and unknown languages as adults who have been learning a second language for several years.[29]

Bilingual education can support language revitalization efforts in countries with endangered languages.[30]

Disadvantages of bilingual education[edit]

In many English-speaking countries, standardized tests are in English, so there is a push to maximize the time spent learning English. Proponents of this framing advocate for Structured English Immersion in which students spend the majority of their day learning about English and in English with scaffolded supports based on their current English knowledge.[31]

Bilingual education requires teachers to be fluent and literate in both languages, as compared to English as a second language programs that only require teachers to have English fluency and literacy.[32][33]

  1. ^ Wright, Wayne E.; Boun, Sovicheth (9 April 2015). The handbook of bilingual and multilingual education. Wiley. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-119-00549-0. OCLC 1064689899.
  2. ^ "Bilingual Education". Renaissance. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  3. ^ "The Benefits of Bilingual Education | BVIS HCMC". www.nordangliaeducation.com. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  4. ^ Baker, Doris Luft; Basaraba, Deni Lee; Polanco, Paul (2016). "Connecting the Present to the Past: Furthering the Research on Bilingual Education and Bilingualism". Review of Research in Education. 40: 821–883. ISSN 0091-732X.
  5. ^ Kester, Ellen (2020-01-16). "Bilingual Education Models". Bilinguistics. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  6. ^ "Bilingual Education". Renaissance. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  7. ^ "The Rich Promise of Two-Way Immersion". Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 1 December 2004. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Program Models and Services" (PDF). Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. April 2015.
  9. ^ Baker, Doris Luft; Basaraba, Deni Lee; Polanco, Paul (2016). "Connecting the Present to the Past: Furthering the Research on Bilingual Education and Bilingualism". Review of Research in Education. 40: 821–883. ISSN 0091-732X.
  10. ^ Baker, Colin; Wright, Wayne E. (2017). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (6th ed.). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. p. 158. ISBN 9781783097203.
  11. ^ Durán, Lillian K.; Roseth, Cary J.; Hoffman, Patricia (2010-04-01). "An experimental study comparing English-only and Transitional Bilingual Education on Spanish-speaking preschoolers' early literacy development". Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 25 (2): 207–217. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.10.002. ISSN 0885-2006.
  12. ^ "Definition of English as a Second Language (ESL)". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  13. ^ "Five Fundamental Strategies for Bilingual Learners". HuffPost. 2015-12-23. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  14. ^ Shie, Amanda (2022-11-01). "Translanguaging Views and Practices of Indiana Dual-Language Bilingual Education Teachers". The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research. 12 (1). doi:10.7771/2158-4052.1568. ISSN 2158-4052.
  15. ^ Johnson, Susana Ibarra; García, Ofelia; Seltzer, Kate (2019), DeMatthews, David E.; Izquierdo, Elena (eds.), "Biliteracy and Translanguaging in Dual-Language Bilingual Education", Dual Language Education: Teaching and Leading in Two Languages, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 119–132, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-10831-1_8, ISBN 978-3-030-10831-1, retrieved 2022-11-28
  16. ^ Tian, Zhongfeng (24 February 2021). "Translanguaging design in a third grade Chinese Language Arts class" (PDF). Applied Linguistics Review – via Research Gate.
  17. ^ Fleta Guillén, M. Teresa (2018), Schwartz, Mila (ed.), "Scaffolding Discourse Skills in Pre-primary L2 Classrooms", Preschool Bilingual Education: Agency in Interactions Between Children, Teachers, and Parents, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 283–309, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-77228-8_10, ISBN 978-3-319-77228-8, retrieved 2022-11-28
  18. ^ "Bilingual Education". American Federation of Teachers. 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  19. ^ "Rethinking Bilingual Instruction". ASCD. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  20. ^ Baker, Colin; Wright, Wayne E. (2017). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (6th. ed.). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. p. 311.
  21. ^ a b "The Benefits of Bilingual Education | American University". soeonline.american.edu. 2020-05-19. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  22. ^ Kong, Peggy A.; Yu, Xiaoran (2019-07-03). "Bilingual education for a harmonious multiculturalism: the importance of policy discourse for students of ethnic minority groups in China". Multicultural Education Review. 11 (3): 190. doi:10.1080/2005615X.2019.1664017. ISSN 2005-615X. S2CID 204391713.
  23. ^ Cummins, Jim; Early, Margaret (2011). Identity texts: The collaborative creation of power in multilingual schools. Trentham Books. p. 38.
  24. ^ Collier, Virginia; Thomas, Wayne. "The Astounding Effectiveness of Dual Language Education for All" (PDF). NABE Journal of Research and Practice. 2.
  25. ^ a b Kamenetz, Anya (November 29, 2016). "6 Potential Brain Benefits Of Bilingual Education". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  26. ^ Burkhauser, Susan; Steele, Jennifer L.; Li, Jennifer; Slater, Robert O.; Bacon, Michael; Miller, Trey (September 2016). "Partner-Language Learning Trajectories in Dual-Language Immersion: Evidence From an Urban District". Foreign Language Annals. 49 (3): 415–433. doi:10.1111/flan.12218.
  27. ^ Mohr, Kathleen A. J.; Juth, Stephanie M.; Kohlmeier, Theresa L.; Schreiber, Kayleen E. (January 2018). "The Developing Bilingual Brain: What Parents and Teachers Should Know and Do". Early Childhood Education. 46 (1): 11–20. doi:10.1007/s10643-016-0833-7. ISSN 1082-3301.
  28. ^ Petitto, Laura-Ann (12 November 2009). "New Discoveries From the Bilingual Brain and Mind Across the Life Span: Implications for Education". Mind, Brain, and Education. 3 (4): 185–197. doi:10.1111/j.1751-228X.2009.01069.x. PMC 3338206. PMID 22545067.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link)
  29. ^ Hidaka, Souta; Shibata, Hiroshi; Kurihara, Michiyo; Tanaka, Akihiro; Konno, Akitsugu; Maruyama, Suguru; Gyoba, Jiro; Hagiwara, Hiroko; Koizumi, Masatoshi (2012-05-01). "Effect of second language exposure on brain activity for language processing among preschoolers". Neuroscience Research. 73 (1): 73–79. doi:10.1016/j.neures.2012.02.004. ISSN 0168-0102.
  30. ^ Malone, Dennis L. (2003-09-01). "Developing Curriculum Materials for Endangered Language Education: Lessons from the Field". International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 6 (5): 332–348. doi:10.1080/13670050308667790. ISSN 1367-0050.
  31. ^ "The Case for Structured English Immersion". ASCD. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  32. ^ "What Is the Difference Between ESL and Bilingual Education? | UT Permian Basin Online". online.utpb.edu. 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  33. ^ Bilingual education. Noel Merino. Farmington Hills, Mich. 2016. ISBN 978-0-7377-7624-9. OCLC 946078540.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Rmeaso/Bilingual_education&oldid=1124399486"