“Bridging” in MLE: What does it mean? What is involved? Seminar on Multilingual Education Kabul, March 2010 Susan Malone, Ph.D

Purposes of a strong education program for minority language communities Learners will build a strong educational foundation in their first language (L1); They will learn one or more additional languages; and They will use both / all languages for life- long learning

Difference between learning in a language you already know and in a language that you do not know

Essential components of language education in any language

Listening Speaking Reading Writing Focus on accuracy, correctness Focus on meaning, communication Listen to understand, apply, analyze, critique, Speak with understanding, to communicate thoughts, ideas Read to understand, apply, and gain new knowledge Write creatively, to communicate thoughts and feelings Recognize and distinguish sounds, recognize parts of words; follow directions Use correct grammar and pronunciation Decode texts by recognizing parts Form letters properly and neatly; spell words correctly Good programs emphasize meaningful learning and on accuracy.

Everyday Language School language Understand and talk about everyday topics with family and friends Understand and talk about things we can see, hear, smell, taste and touch; our experiences Understand and talk about abstract concepts (ex: math, science) Analyze and evaluate new ideas and information, create new knowledge Good programs help children develop “everyday” language and “school” language

Good programs use both L1 and L2 to help students build higher level thinking skills Create Able to use what has been learned to create new ideas, new knowledge Evaluate Able to assess what was taught Analyze Able to see patterns, compare and contrast Apply Able to use what was taught Understand Able to explain what was taught Know Able to recall what was taught

Remember what we said earlier about learning languages?

1) It takes children about 12 years to gain the level of fluency in their L1 that they need to continue developing that language for the rest of their lives;

2)It takes them about 2 years to gain the level of fluency in the L2 that will enable them to use it for ‘everyday’ communication; and…

3) It takes them 5-7 years to develop the level of fluency in L2 that will enable them to use it to learn abstract concepts.

Build oral L1 Begin literacy in L1 Continue oral L1 Introduce L2 literacy Continue oral and written L1, oral L2 Continue oral and written L1 and L2, for daily communication and for learning academic content Phases of a strong MLE program: the “BRIDGE” Introduce Oral L2 Continue oral and written L1

Regarding building a strong foundation in the L1…

Teach the L1 as a subject through primary school Use the L1 as language of instruction in early grades and use it with the L2 in later grades Relate new learning to the knowledge and experience that students bring from their home communities;

Review of some things teachers can do to help children build a strong foundation in their L1

Teach traditional L1 songs, and then encourage children talk about the meaning of the songs Photo: Eunice Tan

Ask questions that encourage children to use L1 for a variety of purposes (describe, explain, analyze, create new stories) Photo: Heidi Cobbey

Read L1 stories together, model good reading Photo: Heidi Cobbey

Encourage creativity in art…

Encourage children to create their own their stories and praise them for their work. Photo: Heidi Cobbey

Celebrate children’s creative writing efforts by putting them on display. Photo: Dennis Malone

Provide opportunities for children to practice using the language correctly: spelling … Photo: Heidi Cobbey

…and handwriting Photo: Pamela MacKenzie

Encourage them to have fun experimenting with the L1 in word games Photo: Rebecca Wallin

Regarding the good bridge to the L2…

First the children listen to L2 directions and respond with actions The best language learning methods … do not force learners to speak in the L2 right away but allow them to speak when they are ready. These methods recognize that students will learn the L2 better when communication is meaningful, and not from forcing and correcting speech (adapted from Krashan, 2001).

Give directions in L2, children respond in action Photo: Heidi Cobbey

Give simple L2 commands; children listen and respond

Tell short L2 stories and have children act them out Photo: Dennis Malone

Then, when they are ready, they begin speaking in L2. Additional research finds that talking about meaningful topics, along with meaningful listening, helps students become aware of the structure of the language and helps them become more competent in its use (adapted from Cummins, 2001).

Use Big Pictures to generate talking in L2 (and in L1!) Photo: Mahidol University

Ask questions in L2, encourage children to respond in that language (translating as necessary) Photo: Heidi Cobbey

Then they use their knowledge of reading and writing in L1 and their knowledge of oral L2 to begin reading and writing L2 Children's knowledge and skills transfer across languages from the mother tongue…to the school language (Jim Cummins, 2000)

Provide time for them to read story books alone or with a partner Photo: Dennis Malone Photo: Susan Malone

Encourage them to write their own L2 stories Photo: Dennis Malone

Provide time for them to talk about what they have learned in small groups Photo: Susan Malone

As they gain fluency… encourage them to share their written texts with others Photo: Dennis Malone

Use L1 and L2 as languages of instruction through primary school to achieve success in all their subjects Photo: Dennis Malone

The result? Here is what a principal in China said about his students (8-year multilingual education program: Dong + Mandarin + English):

“Miaolan primary school has researched the children and parents involved in the [MLE] project. We have found that those children who first studied Dong and then studied Mandarin Chinese are superior in every respect to those who never studied Dong. Those who have studied Dong are more independent and have more initiative with respect to study and to life in general” (Principal of Miaolan Primary School, Miaolan, Rongjiang County, China, 20 March 2005, translated from Chinese by D. N. Geary. Personal communication.)

Questions for groups: How well do most ethnic minority children understand the school language when they begin their education What actions are needed so that Afghanistan’s non-dominant languages can be used in school? Who are the people / organizations that can take the necessary actions?