1 / 18

Title of Presentation

W. Bilingual /Bilingual-with-Biliteracy instruction in the Northern Territory: what we know. Title of Presentation. Schools and Languages with history and/or currency of Bilingual/Bilingual-with-Biliteracy programs.

carsonb
Download Presentation

Title of Presentation

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. W Bilingual /Bilingual-with-Biliteracy instruction in the Northern Territory: what we know Title of Presentation

  2. Schools and Languages with history and/or currency of Bilingual/Bilingual-with-Biliteracy programs

  3. Bilingual /Bilingual-with-biliteracy instruction is a formal model of dual language use where students are taught in and through their home language for learning across the curriculum • Biliteracy programs are where students learn initial literacy through their home language and continue to use home language for literacy tasks across the curriculum. • At the same time students learn English and how to use English-as-an-additional language for learning across the curriculum. • In biliteracy programs, literacy skills learnt in home language are applied to English as students learn this additional language • The timing of application of literacy skills to English is determined by the model of bilingual/bilingual-with-biliteracy education.

  4. Aims of the NT Bilingual Education Program 1973 - 2008 • To develop a positive self concept in each student through systematic, planned use of home language as well as English as a medium of instruction, and the study of Indigenous knowledge. • To develop students' learning-how-to-learn skills in both languages and cultures in a school context.

  5. Aims of the NT Bilingual Education Program 1973 - 2008 • Aims 5-8: (For Whole School-Community Learning.) • To develop closer communication, involvement and mutual understanding between the school and the community it serves. • To facilitate in students and their parents, a positive attitude towards education and school attendance. • To promote the development of teaching skills, teaching responsibility and formal educational leadership in Indigenous staff. • To develop a better understanding, among staff and students, of both cultures - that of the Indigenous peoples themselves and of the non-Indigenous societies.

  6. Is Bilingual Education effective? Bilingual/multilingual education programs operate effectively throughout the world. Effective programs demonstrate • multi-lingual and across curriculum learning • cognitive benefits • social, cultural and economic advantages.

  7. Is Bilingual Education effective? • “In Finland, whose school students consistently outperform Australians in international comparative assessments across the curriculum, all children take 3 languages throughout schooling, 44% a 4th language & 33% a 5th. • In the Netherlands, 99% of Year 12 students are learning a 2nd language, 41% a 3rd & a 4th.” • (Professor M. Clyne, Melbourne University Magazine, April, 2007 pp16 – 17)

  8. International & NT EvidenceFrom Indigenous Languages & Culture in NT Schools Report 2001 – 2004NT DEET, pp34 -35 There have been a number of studies, both in the NT and internationally, that provide evidence for the premise that bilingual education programs achieve higher levels of outcomes, including literacy outcomes in the mainstream language, than non-bilingual programs in similar settings. The review is able to provide preliminary and provisional data to confirm that outcomes for students participating in bilingual education programs in the NT are marginally better than for students in ‘like’ non-bilingual schools. Finding # 4.5

  9. International & NT Evidence • The marginally better performance of Two Way Learning schools compared with ‘like’ schools replicates studies done internationally and in Australia. In particular Greene’s study stated: • … reviewed seventy-five studies of bilingual education, discarding all but eleven studies that included standardised test score results. His finding was that: “… children with limited English proficiency who are taught using at least some of their native language perform significantly better on standardised tests than similar children who are taught only in English. In other words… research suggests that bilingual education helps children who are learning English.” (Devlin, 2004)

  10. NT Evidence continued… In 2006 DECS commissioned an Evaluation of Literacy Approaches (ELA)for teaching EAL Indigenous learners in remote schools. The assessment instrument chosen was the Longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy Study administered by the Australian Council of Education Research (ACER) http://www.acer.edu.au/research/projects/longitudinal-literacy-and-numeracy-study-llans/ The data generated was disaggregated for Bilingual and non-Bilingual schools irrespective of the EAL literacy approach being used. All testing was done by external consultants and results assessed by ACER

  11. NT Evidence: ELA LLANS (ACER) data: Book 1 (orientation to print literacy) • Bilingual Schools: students in these schools had had no instruction of, in or through English literacy at the time of testing with Book 1 • Non – Bilingual Schools: students received instruction of, in and through English literacy. • Result: All students performed the same on pre-reading and orientation to reading tasks in English. This supports the research of Jim Cummins and his Common Underlying Proficiency model of bilingualism which claims that learning in home language is easily transferable to application in additional language.

  12. NT Evidence: ELA LLANS (ACER) data: Book 2 • Bilingual Schools: students in years 4 & 5 in these schools had achieved varying levels of competency in home language literacy and had just begun to add literacy in and through English at the time of testing with Book 2 • Non – Bilingual Schools: students had achieved varying levels of competency in English literacy through instruction of, in and through English. • Results on active reading skills in English: Bilingual schools below non-Bilingual schools. Note: Book 2 assessed reading skills (decoding, comprehension) in English compared with Book 1 which assessed orientation to literate behaviours.

  13. NT Evidence: ELA LLANS (ACER) data: Book 3 • Bilingual Schools: students in years 5 & 6 in these schools had achieved varying levels of competency in home language literacy and were consolidating literacy in and through English at the time of testing with Book 3 • Non – Bilingual Schools: students had achieved varying levels of competency in English literacy through instruction of, in and through English. • Result: on active reading skills in English, bilingual schools above non-bilingual schools. Given international research (see next slide) and data, this is result is expected to continue through Year 6 and beyond.

  14. What does the research say? “In our studies we have found that in U.S. schools where all instruction is given through the second language (English), non-native speakers of English with no schooling in their first language take 7-10 years or more to reach age and grade-level norms of their native English-speaking peers”. Cummins J. 1998 “Instruction through a minority language in a well implemented bilingual program entails no adverse effects on academic development” Cummins J 2001. Ramirez J.David: Bilingualism and Literacy: Problem or Opportunity? A synthesis of Reading on Bilingual Students 2000. Research on a series of studies find that the best entry into literacy is through the use of a child’s native language (Clay 1993; Snow, Burns and Griffin 1998). Literacy in a child’s home language provides, knowledge, concept and skill bases that transfer to reading in a second language (L2) (Collier and Thomas 1992; Cummins 1989; Escamilla 1987; Modiano 1968; rodriguez 1998; Carter and Chatfield 1986). This is supported by research showing that proficiency in L1 literacy skills is highly correlated with the development of literacy skills in L2 (Collier and Thomas 1995; Greene 1998; Krashen and Biber 1987; Leshere-Madrid and Garcia 1985; Ramirez, Yuen and Ramey 1991).

  15. What does the research say? • These graphs represent MAP and NAPLAN where…. • The testing done used the same items for all very remote schools irrespective of status as bilingual schools. • Year Levels tested at all schools were the same for the same assessment (test)

  16. Data derived from DET reports Years 2001 - 2007 • Data shows: • Slightly increased and ‘plateau-effect’ performance at Year 3 levels since 2001 • Decreasing performance in year 5 and 7 with Year 7 levels falling below previous Year 5 levels.

  17. What does our data tell us? • EAL/D Indigenous learners’ assessment profile presents as ‘typical’ of learners who are undergoing a language acquisition and learning process at the same time as they are expected to learn through the target language. • Cummins’ research identified the learning ‘plateau’ (Year 4 slump) experienced by most EAL learners and formalised the difference in language performance and language achievement…. • BICS • Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (2-3 Years to achieve) Cognitive CALP • Academic Language Proficiency (7-10 yrs to achieve)

  18. This data confirms the researched information that • well implemented Bilingual Programs do not result in the ‘Year Four Slump’ (Cummins) • students continue to develop academically and bilingually in Maintenance Bilingual Programs. • This evidence reveals better English outcomes for Bilingual Schools after 5-7 years of schooling than for “English-Only” schools in the same period of time. Data collated by F. Murray Consultant: English Language Approaches Research Project NT Dept of Education

More Related