Language Acquisition & Language Development of Bilingual Learners

1. Language Acquisition & Language Development of Bilingual Learners Dr. Matthew E. Meyers 1

2. Understanding Language An effective teacher of English learners understands basic elements of language and language development… Importance: Observe aspects of language in students Give insight and help in guiding ELLs 2

3. What is Language? • … a universal phenomenon that is the foundation of our communication… • Systematic • Rule-governed • Influenced by culture • Influenced by social and economic class • Influenced by when, where and with whom it is used

4. Language… • …develops naturally • …develops in stages • …has structure • …is intertwined with culture • …is linked to cognition • …has varieties • …is learned in social contexts • …is influenced by purpose and context

5. Components of Language • Phonology – sound system of language • Morphology – structure system of words • Syntax– word order system of language • Semantics – meaning system of language • Pragmatics – role of context in interpretation • Discourse – ability of speakers to combine sounds into words, words into sentences and larger units in a cohesive manner to achieve oral or written communication…

6. History of Bilingual Educationin the United States • A little bit of history on bilingual education in the United States… • Bilingual education has been prevalent since before US was a country… • Enclaves were the way of the land… • Best practices – Kindergarten 6

7. ‘Americanization’ Factors1880-1920 • English was de facto language. • The ‘new immigrants’ in 1880s arrived. • Spanish-American War inspired nationalism. • The ‘common school’ era began. • The industrial revolution required English-speaking workers. • Loyalty to country was questioned.

8. Myth Regarding Bilingual Education • Bilingual education in the US began in the 1960s as a result of the Chicano movement…

9. Policies and Rulings • 1896 – “Plessy v. Ferguson” (‘separate but equal’) • 1923 – “Meyer v. Nebraska” (‘right to teach and instruct children’) • 1954 – “Brown v. Board of Education”(‘separate but equal’ no longer’)

10. Policies and Rulings • 1964 – Civil Rights Act: Title VII (‘prohibits discrimination on basis of…’) • 1965 (1968) – Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Act: Bilingual Education Act • 1974 – “Lau v. Nichols” (‘identical does not constitute equal’) – Lau Remedies

11. Policies and Rulings • 1974 – Equal Educational Opportunity Act (‘ensure LMS educational needs met’) • 1981 – Federal Legislation (specified ‘transitional nature’ of bilingual education’) • 1981 – Castañeda v. Pickard (‘theory, implementation, evaluation’)

12. Policies and Rulings 2001 – No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act (Bilingual Education Act renamed English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act [Title III]) (Require school districts to use 95 percent of funding for direct instruction for ELLs) (Mandatory testing in English for reading and language arts for ELLs who have attended schools in US three consecutive years)

13. Lau Remedies • The Lau Remedies resulted from the Supreme Court's decision in the Lau v. Nichols case. The Lau Remedies is now the Office for Civil Rights guidelines for assessing compliance with the legal principle of providing educational services to non-English speaking students by local school districts.

14. Lau Remedies • Identification of Students • Diagnostic/Prescriptive Approach • Educational Program Selection • Required and Elective Courses • Instructional Personnel Requirements • Racial/Ethnic Isolation • Notification/Authorization of Parents • Evaluation

15. Testing and Classification • Home Language Survey (HLS) • Oral Language Proficiency Testing (OLPT) [PK-1] and Norm-Reference Testing [2-12] • Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) • Exiting program • Monitoring student progress after exit

16. Theory • Some basic theories on language acquisition and bilingual education…

17. BICS & CALP

18. BICS Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills • Language needed to have everyday conversations • Contextual support for understanding • Generally takes about two years to develop 18

19. CALP • Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency • Language needed for academic success • Very few, or no, contextual clues for understanding • Generally takes five to seven years to achieve

21. context embedded target for teaching cognitively demanding Cummins’s Framework to Classify Language BICS CALP

22. Another View of BICS & CALP

23. SUP & CUP

24. SUP • Separate Underlying Proficiency • The brain has limited capacity to take in more than one language. • The ‘Balance Theory’ • Weighing scales • When one language increases, the other decreases

25. CUP • Common Underlying Proficiency • There is enough cerebral space for many languages. • The ‘Iceberg Analogy’ • Surface features of a language may be different; however, languages operate through the same processing system. • Concepts learned in one language do not need to be re-learned in another.

26. CUP Iceberg Analogy

27. Transference • Academic and linguistic skills in one language transfer relatively easily to another. • “You only learn to read once.”

28. How to achieve proficiency in English for language minority students… • The best predictor of achieving cognitive academic language proficiency in a second language is cognitive academic language proficiency in the first. “CALP in L1 is predictor for CALP in L2.” 28

29. Myth Regarding Bilingual Education • The best way to get non-English speaking children proficient in English is to immerse them in English…

30. The Threshold Hypothesis • Cummins argued that individuals must reach a certain level of proficiency, a threshold, in a language for knowledge and skills from that language to transfer to a second language.

31. Threshold Hypothesis • Cognitive Effects • Type of bilingualism Proficient bilingualism High levels in both languages Positive Partial bilingualism Native-like level in one of the languages Neither positive nor negative Limited bilingualism Low level in both languages Negative

32. Myth Regarding Bilingual Education • Research is inconclusive on the benefits of bilingual education…

33. Views of Languagefor Second Language Learners

34. Views of Languagefor Second Language Learners • Language as a Problem • Language as a Right • Language as a Resource

35. Transitional Bilingual Education

36. TBE • Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) programs allow students to use primary language until proficient in majority language. • TBE is most common type of bilingual program. • Remedial program many times – “watered down curriculum” • Subtractive Bilingual Education – Goal: monolingual proficiency

37. TBE • Early exit: Two years maximum help using mother tongue • Late exit: Allows 40% teaching in mother tongue until 6th grade

38. Dual Language Bilingual Education

39. Dual Language Bilingual Education • Dual language bilingual education programs contain a mixture of language-minority and language-majority students, and language is balanced 50%-50%. • Dual language is the most effective bilingual program. • Enrichment – native is asset that should be preserved • Additive Bilingual Education – Goal: Balanced bilingual and biliterate students.

40. The most effective bilingual education program… • 6. ESL Pullout • 5. ESL through academic content • 4. Early Exit TBE • 3. Late Exit TBE • 2. One-Way Dual Language • 1. Two-Way Dual Language

42. Myth Regarding Bilingual Education • Children learning English are retained too long in bilingual classrooms at the expense of English acquisition…

43. The Prism Model

44. Maintenance Programsv.Transitional Programs

45. Maintenance Programsv.Transitional Programs • Programs that develop the primary language and maintain that language for a longer period of time have been shown to be more effective than programs that try to transition students quickly into all-English schooling. 45

46. Stages of Second Language Development 46

47. Stages of Second Language Development • Preproduction or Silent Stage • Relies on nonverbal communication, might experience frustration and anxiety • Early Speech Production • Communicates with yes/no and one-word statements, expands receptive vocabulary, needs context • Speech Emergence • Understands more than able to communicate, communicates more effectively in contextualized situation • Intermediate Fluency • Simple sentences, overgeneralizations, more acculturated • Advanced Stage • Develops academic language and might be ready for mainstream

48. English as a Second Language • ESL is a system of instruction designed to teach language to children whose native language is other than English. It is a component of bilingual education programs.

49. Krashen’s Hypotheses • I. Learning v. Acquisition Hypothesis • We tend to acquire language more than we learn it. • II. Natural Order Hypothesis • We pick up language in a predictable order. • III. Monitor Hypothesis • We tend to correct our language as we become more proficient. • IV. Input Hypothesis • We acquire language when we receive comprehensible messages. • V. Affective Filter Hypothesis • Feelings and emotions play a role in our ability to learn language.

50. Krashen’s Theories Applied • Language should be presented in as natural a way as possible. 50