Children and Youth from Diverse Language Backgrounds: Terms and Concepts

1. Manuel Barrera, PhD Children and Youth from Diverse Language Backgrounds: Terms and Concepts Manuel Barrera, PhD Metropolitan State University

2. Terms People Models , Methodologies, & Concepts • ELL=English Language Learners • DLL=Dual Language Learners • African-Americans • American Indians • Asian/Pacific Islanders • Chicano(a)s/Latino(a)s • Students (or People) of Color • “Manuel”, “Rose”, “Harriette”, “Fatimah”, “Xeng” • Bilingual Education • Dual Language • Immersion • Maintenance • Transitional • Sink-or-Swim • ESL=English as Second Language • 1st (native) language instruction • L1, L2 • LEP= Limited English-Proficient (or Proficiency) • Culturally and linguistically diverse • Linguistically diverse Manuel Barrera, PhD

3. Mixing People with Concepts/Methodologies/Models • ESL => “ESL students” • ESL=ELLs • Students are “ESLs”, “ELLs”, “LEPs” • Students are “immigrants”, “African-American”, “Asian” , “American-Indian” These descriptions are a convenience of language not who individuals actually “are” Manuel Barrera, PhD

4. Duality in the Use of Terms When people are oppressed/disenfranchised, descriptive terms are useful in promoting unity. When people of privilege “describe” them (us), these terms become a way to obscure or treat every individual as if he/she were the same and to ignore the actual person “in front of you.” Manuel Barrera, PhD

5. How Non-English Speakers Learn English Replace L1 with English Become Bilingual • Methods • Transitional Bilingual • ESL only • “Sink or Swim” • A focus on “communicative competency” • Outcomes • Quick ascension to low levels of English competency • Achievement gaps • Low graduation rates • High dropout rates • Limited parent support for children (or youth) • Some students do fine, most do not • Methods • Dual language (Dual Immersion) • Maintenance Bilingual • 1st language instruction alongside ESL • A focus on bilingual competency by promoting academic competency in the process of English learning • Direct parental involvement • Outcomes • Gradual ascension to high levels of English and academic competency • Equal to superior academic achievement (by the end of school career) • Reductions in graduation rates • Less likely to dropout • More students do well Manuel Barrera, PhD

6. Considerations for Early Childhood Education • Young children are the most vulnerable regarding issues of bilingualism and ESL only; require real scrutiny of practices so that they are not academically, socially, or emotionally damaged because of the choices “we” make in educating them Manuel Barrera, PhD

7. Specific Issues for ECE and Urban Education • Head Start Program Performance Standards—What they say and do not say • Issues in the language of instruction • Providing resources vs. Providing leadership Manuel Barrera, PhD

8. Head Start Standards (45 CFR 1304.21) What the Standards Say What the Standards Do Not Say • Provide an environment of acceptance that supports and respects gender, culture, language, ethnicity and family composition • Parents must be invited to become integrally involved in program, curriculum, and approach to child development and education • Agencies must support student development by respecting the home language, culture, and family composition to support the child's health and well-being; • Programs must support each child’s “cognitive and language skills” through “Promoting interaction and language use among children and between children and adults “ and supporting “emerging literacy and numeracy development through materials and activities according to the developmental level of each child.” • The development of secure relationships in out-of-home care settings for infants and toddlers by having a limited number of consistent teachers over an extended period of time. Teachers must demonstrate an understanding of the child's family culture and, whenever possible, speak the child's language • The extent to which parents are “invited” to develop programs, curriculum, and developmental approaches • How the home language is to be “respected” • What language should be used “among children and between children and adults” • What language(s) to use in supporting “emerging literacy and numeracy development” • How to reconcile a “limited number of consistent teachers” with speaking the child’s language “whenever possible” Manuel Barrera, PhD

9. Issues in the Language of Instruction • Because academic competency and English acquisition are both desirable and the best evidence shows that bilingualism is a gradual process and superior to ESL only, how does one promote bilingualism in young children rather than “subtracting and replacing” one language with another? • What kind of language learning model would promote integral involvement or parents, respect for home culture and language, promotion of “interaction and language use” among children and adults”, and development of “secure relationships in out-of-home care settings?” Manuel Barrera, PhD

10. Resources, Leadership, or Both? • While it is important to provide resources, not all resources are useful at all times. • Without understanding the intent and trajectory of what those resources will convey to educators may result in unintended outcomes • In the context of growing numbers of young children with diverse home languages and primarily English-speaking caregivers, this issue and others require strategic thinking, strong theoretical grounding, and evidence-based perspectives—in short, leadership in addition to pedagogy Manuel Barrera, PhD

11. Questions Raised for Urban Educators • How and what should curriculum emphasize and how should it change given the complexity of the populations are being served? • Is strong instructional methodology sufficient in promoting desirable academic outcomes for urban learners? • The role of leadership development in the preparation of teacher candidates? Manuel Barrera, PhD