The main purpose of this article is to provide an overview of some of the programs that school districts are using to meet the needs of English language learners. To start, the article points out that federal law requires education programs to provide two main things for their English language learners: 1) Access to the core curriculum; and 2) opportunities for English language development. Besides federal law regulations, state law may also provide more specific requirements.
Programs for English language learners are divided into two main categories: bilingual education programs and English language instructional programs. The easiest way to distinguish between these two categories is by how many languages they use for instruction. Bilingual education uses two languages for instruction, whereas English language instructional programs only use one language –English.
Bilingual education programs are further subcategorized into: transitional bilingual education, maintenance bilingual education, immersion education, two-way immersion programs, and newcomer programs. Transitional bilingual education provides instruction in the learner’s first or native language (the article calls this the primary language) for one to three years in order to build a foundation in literacy and academic content before providing English instruction. The goal is to help the students become proficient in English as soon as possible. Maintenance bilingual education is similar to transitional bilingual education except that instruction in the primary language may be continued into middle school or high school and the goal is to maintain the student’s primary language as well as become proficient in English.
Immersion education and two-way immersion programs are in some ways similar to each other. Immersion education programs are designed to help the mainstream English speakers learn a minority language. An example includes the bilingual program in Canada where English-speakers also learn French as a second language. Two-way immersion programs are similar in that they also are designed so that English-speakers learn a second language; however the difference is that non-English speakers are learning English at the same time. In these programs, everyone in the class is learning a second language.
The last type of bilingual education program is the newcomer program. This program is designed to specifically support immigrant students. The purpose is to help them adjust to their new country and learn the language, culture, and how to manage in the schooling system.
English language instructional programs are programs where only English is used in instruction compared to using the learner’s native language in bilingual programs. The majority of the programs teach subject matter in English using a modified version to make it easier to understand. These programs include the following: Sheltered English or Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE), English Language Development (ELD), and Structured English immersion. ESL Pull-out is a little different in that the students are placed into regular classrooms and then pulled-out occasionally to receive further instruction in English.
In my opinion, the article gives a nice over-view of these different programs, however they are very brief and don't offer details as to the kind of instruction or examples of the kinds of activities in each type of program. The article also doesn't give advantages or disadvantages specific to certain programs.
Task 1: Pick out one of the programs mentioned in the article and provide a list of advantages and disadvantages for that program.
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Discussion question: What kind of activities or classroom set-up do you think would be appropriate for these programs?
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Amanda Prince
ReplyDeleteFor the task - Pick out one of the programs mentioned in the article and provide a list of advantages and disadvantages for that program.
I think the Transitional Bilingual Education program has many advantages and disadvantages. Some advantages are that because the student will only be receiving instruction in the primary language for one to three years and a lot of instruction in the target language, they will probably acquire the target language/majority language very quickly. This is also much better than receiving absolutely no instruction in their primary language and falling behind in school because they have to learn the majority language by being immersed without a transition.
A major disadvantage to this type of education is that there is a good chance the student may lose a lot of their ability to communicate/read/write in their primary language once their instruction in the primary language ends. Also, I think that one to three years of transition may not be enough time for many students to acquire the target language and be at the same academic level as their classmates who are native speakers of the language.
After reading the brief descriptions of the different programs, the ESL pullout program intrigued me most. It is an English Language Instructional Program rather than a Bilingual education program, which can cause both advantages and disadvantages from the start.
ReplyDeleteA general advantage to this specific program as well as the other language instructional programs is that it caters to all sorts of second language learners. If there are more than one language being used among the students, then bilingual education programs would be more difficult to set up. Another advantage is that it includes more personal one-on-one help with an instructor or teacher. This allows for a more comfortable setting and possibly allows the student to ask more questions than they would in a large classroom with native english speakers. It is also advantageous because the help they receive is meant to develop their English language skills as well as help them with their content based information.
One disadvantage of this program is that the core of their education is in English, and if they struggle to understand with the language, then their learning is inhibited. They are not at the same advantage as the native English speakers. Another disadvantage would be the actually pulling out of the student; they could miss important information while they are out of the classroom. This could also single them out and possibly embarass them. Attention would be called on them everytime they are asked to leave the room to get extra help that no one else is receiving.
Overall, I see this as a beneficial program for secondary level students, especially in schools where there are students from several language groups.
While reading this article one of the things that I kept thinking about was the age groups that would be best for each of these kinds of programs. The one style of teaching that stuck with me though was Maintenance Bilingual Education.
ReplyDeleteSome of the advantages that I saw in this program were that the student is fully taught in their own language, often for years going from elementary school on up through high school. Given the interconnectedness of the world today knowing two languages fluently would be nothing but useful practically and even just for fun. It also seems that it would be good to be taught two languages at the same time because at such a young age you are at your peak ability to learn a language- this means a student would probably pick up on both easily, and instruction in both could greatly help a student’s cognitive abilities. This style of program also seems advantageous because putting students into their own bilingual classroom would allow them to meet other people like them and might help them to make friends more easily.
This style of program had some very good points to it, but there were also some disadvantages that I saw. One of the first is in counterpoint to the last advantage I wrote about- making friends. Though it could be a very good thing to put similar kids together allowing for easier friendships, it could also be a very bad thing. I know from my own personal experience that our school separated the non English speaking kids from the rest of the student body into their own classroom and no one knew who they were and not many non foreign people were friends with them. This could be a disadvantage in school as well as in real life. Another disadvantage that I saw with this would be a financial one- though it’s ideal that these students have an opportunity to master two languages at once, it seems extremely expensive to fund a program like that, and given the state of the current economy it doesn’t seem realistic that funds would be available for this.
In my opinion, the Maintenance Bilingual Education Program has many advantages for second language learners. This type of program allows for a longer (and smoother) transition to the English language. While the ultimate goal is for students to become proficient in English, this program makes it possible for students to “maintain” their first language while learning English. I can imagine that this has tremendous benefits for the students both in and out of school. It is likely that many students continue speak their first language at home. Maintaining a first language may allow students to retain strong familial relationships and cultural identities. By providing some instruction in the students’ first language, the school is also encouraging and showing acceptance of diversity in their study body.
ReplyDeleteThe major disadvantage of this type of program is its difficult implementation. The maintenance program requires significantly more physical resources than other programs, including bilingual instructors and textbooks and other school materials in multiple languages. These necessary resources alone make the maintenance program an inconvenience to schools. Another disadvantage is that (I assume) bilingual students would have to be separated from their English-speaking peers for instruction in their first language. While some separation is necessary for most programs, students in a maintenance program would receive at least half of their instruction in their first language, requiring a lot of time spent away from their English-speaking peers.
It is really hard to decide what environment is best for an entire school district or school. As you have all pointed out there are advantages and disadvantages to all of them. I think that a two-way immersion program is very effective, but you really only help two populations with that, those that speak language X and those that speak language y. If my family speaks language Z, this is very challenging. You also always have to consider the political climate surrounding your school which may force you in one direction or the other.
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