A presentation by: Aidel Sarah Guttman

 “Bilingual education can be defined as an educational program that involves the use of two languages of instruction at some point in a students’ school career” (Nieto & Bode, p. 244).

 Transitional bilingual education – after three years students are mainstreamed into English only classes.  Developmental / maintenance bilingual education – The goal is for students to be biliterate (able to speak, listen, read, and write in two languages). Both languages are used in instruction.  Two way bilingual education The goal is also biliteracy – Students for whom English is a first language learn together with students for whom English is a second language. Peer tutoring is a common teaching strategy. All students learn the other language.  Another view - taken from: Bilingual%20Immersion%20full.pdf Bilingual%20Immersion%20full.pdf

Bilingual educationMonolingual education  Instruction is given in two languages.  Knowledge of each language enriches the other.  Students are able to hold onto their language and culture.  There are many positive academic ramifications for ESL and ELL students.  Students are expected to sit through English only classes  No confusion between two languages.  Students may feel that they need to give up their culture.  ELLs learn English before learning anything else.

 In 1974, bilingual schools became more widespread after the Supreme Court ruled in Lau vs. Nichols that 1,800 Chinese students in San Francisco Unified School district were not receiving their civil rights to learn in a language they understood.  In addition, the EEOA (the Equal opportunities Education Act) was passed that requires the schools to “take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by its students in its instructional programs”. This also resulted in the widespread growth and implementation of bilingual schools.  In 2002, the English Language Acquisition act was passed that gave the power to the states to create policy on bilingual education and how to teach English to ELLs.

 It allows ESL students and students of other cultures to learn in their own language and to maintain their culture.  Bilingualism and biliteracy is good for the brain and bilingual students perform well academically.  There is a growing number of ESL students in America – Bilingual programs can service them.  Many parents want their children to know other lanugages.

Figure 1. Grade 5 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills: English reading indicates a change in exam. LEP = limited English proficient. Figure 2. Grade 5 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills: English mathematics indicates a change in exam. LEP = limited English proficient.  Graphs taken from: &fulltext= &fulltext=

This shows the number of LEP students in Washington State over the years. This trend is seen throughout the US. Spanish is becoming more common as a first language in the US  Taken from ion_directors_handbook3.pdf ion_directors_handbook3.pdf

 Use a lot of visual demonstrations along with auditory demonstrations.  Prepare lessons that cater to different learning styles and different intelligences.  Use cooperative learning strategies  Encourage students to share their culture with the class.  Instruction should be centered around the core curriculum, but provide opportunities to improve upon language skills.  Have high expectations of the students.

 - This has a number of links to interesting websites and articles about bilingual education.  - This is the website of the National Association for Bilingual Education  f_bilingual_education - This is a website with a lot of interesting information about bilingual education. f_bilingual_education  Language-Learners/Bilingual-Education.html - this website has resources and advice for teachers of bilingual students. Language-Learners/Bilingual-Education.html  - This website can help parents who are looking to send their children to a bilingual school.  - Interesting experiments and statistics about various bilingual programs.

 w – This is a video of an immersion school. A parent discusses why she sends her children there. The children are immersed in a different culture, and they can take advantage of their childhood to learn a new language. w  Y&feature=related – Shows an immersion kindergarten, and discusses statistics that show the positive effects of bilingual education. It also discusses cognitive advantages. Y&feature=related  Q&feature=related – Bilingualism can be beneficial for adults in the long run. Q&feature=related

From Jim Cummins' Empowering Minority Students

In addition to sites mentioned elsewhere in this PowerPoint and in the accompanying position paper.  ngual%20Immersion%20full.pdf ngual%20Immersion%20full.pdf  on_directors_handbook3.pdf on_directors_handbook3.pdf  Nieto, S., & Bode, P. (2008). Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education. United States: Pearson.