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SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION IN THE U.S.

SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION IN THE U.S. Dr . Karla Anhalt. Why are these topics important for practitioners in the schools?. Language minority children are projected to be 40% of the school age population by the 2030s (Thomas & Collier, 2002)

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SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION IN THE U.S.

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  1. SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION IN THE U.S. Dr. Karla Anhalt

  2. Why are these topics important for practitioners in the schools? • Language minority children are projected to be 40% of the school age population by the 2030s (Thomas & Collier, 2002) • Most schools are currently under-educating this group (Thomas & Collier, 2002) • There are major implications for curriculum recommendations and assessment of this population

  3. TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY(Cummins, 1984) • Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS) • Language skills needed for everyday personal and social situations • Social language; “conversational” language • Children need 2-3 years to develop BICS • Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) • Language skills required for problem-solving, reasoning, and a variety of cognitive processes required for academic performance • Children need 4-7 years to develop CALP

  4. FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SECOND-LANGUAGE COMPETENCE(Cummins, 1984; Gopaul-McNicol & Thomas Presswood, 1998) • Relevance to CALP language proficiency • Language proficiency in the first language • Strong foundation in first language is essential to build skills in second language • Literacy level in the first language • Reading and writing in one’s first language improves one’s ability to learn a second language • Being literate and proficient in first language provides framework for understanding academic information in second language • Transfer of skills

  5. FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SECOND-LANGUAGE COMPETENCE CONTINUED(Cummins, 1984; Gopaul-McNicol & Thomas Presswood, 1998) • Motivation and attitude toward second language • Literacy in home environment • When reading and writing are encouraged at home and school, second language learners are at an advantage • Acculturation • Bilingual education instruction in school setting

  6. Types of Bilingual Education Instruction in U.S. School Settings • Dual Language • Late Exit • Early Exit • English as a Second Language

  7. Thomas & Collier (2002) • Study included quantitative and qualitative findings from five urban and rural research sites in the northeast, northwest, south-central, and southeast U.S. • Records of 210,054 students were evaluated for this study • Findings apply to students who entered U.S. schools with little or no proficiency in English in grades K-1 • Over 80 first/native languages were represented

  8. Thomas & Collier findings cont’d Data analyses in 3 of 5 research sites focused on Spanish speakers • 75% of U.S. language minority students are Spanish speakers • Student samples included new immigrants as well as French-speaking students in the northeast LONG-TERM ACHIEVEMENT ON STANDARDIZED TESTS WAS EVALUATED SPECIFICALLY LOOKED AT SUBTESTS MEASURING ACADEMIC PROBLEM-SOLVING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM: MATH, SCIENCE, SOCIAL STUDIES, LITERATURE

  9. Thomas & Collier findings cont’d • English language learners (ELL) immersed in English mainstream showed large decreases in reading and math achievement by Grade 5 when compared to students who received bilingual services • The largest number of dropouts came from this group and those remaining in school finished grade 11 at the 12th percentile on the standardized reading test

  10. Thomas & Collier continued • When ESL was provided for 2-3 years and followed by immersion in L2, students scored, on the average, at the 23rd percentile • Students provided with two-way bilingual education for 3-4 years, followed by immersion, reached the 45th percentile on achievement tests by grade 11 • Late exit (90% in L1 gradually increasing L2…by grade 5, all instruction is in L2) • These students reached the 32nd percentile by the end of 5th grade

  11. Thomas & Collier Conclusions & Recommendations • Late exit and dual language programs were the only ones found to help students reach the 50th percentile in all subjects. The fewest dropouts came from these programs. • Parents who refuse bilingual/ESL services should be informed that their children’s long-term academic achievement will probably be much lower as a result • Students with no proficiency in English must not be placed in immersion or early exit programs • The strongest predictor of L2 student achievement is the amount of formal L1 schooling

  12. REFERENCES • Cummins, J. (1984). Bilingualism and special education: Issues in assessment and pedagogy. San Diego: College Hill Press. • Gopaul-McNicol, S., & Thomas-Presswood, T. (1998). Working with linguistically and culturally different children: Innovative clinical and educational approaches. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. • Thomas, W. P., & Collier, V. P. (2002). A national study of school effectiveness for language minority students’ long-term educational achievement. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Research on Education, Diversity, & Excellence.

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