CLAD Ch. 6 – Theories and Methods of Bilingual Education

1. CLAD Ch. 6 – Theories and Methods of Bilingual Education Marla Yi Donoy Walters PPS 6010 March 3, 2011

2. History of Bilingual Education • Since colonial times, bilingual education has been alternately embraced and rejected in the United States. • In times when the economy was booming, immigrants were welcomed, and their languages were not forbidden • In times of recession, war, or national threat, immigrants, cultures, and languages were restricted or forbidden • In many parts of the world, people are not considered well-educated unless they are schooled in multiple languages.

3. Bilingual Education • Bilingual education helps students whose home language is not English to succeed in school • The challenge is to cherish and preserve the rich cultural and linguistic heritage of the students as they acquire English. • One means of preserving and supplementing the home languages of our nation’s children is through bilingual instruction

4. Bilingual Education • European immigrants felt strong pressure to assimilate, and bilingual instruction was virtually eradicated throughout the US. • In 1960s, bilingual education was reborn in Florida • Due to Cuban immigrants fleeing the 1959 revolution. • 1st program at Coral Way Elementary • Goal: Fluency and literacy in both English and Spanish

5. Bilingual Education Act of 1968 • The first federal law relating to bilingual education • Authorized $7.5 million to finance 76 projects serving 27,000 students • Purpose of funds were to support education programs, train teachers and aides, develop and disseminate instructional materials, and encourage parental involvement • Explicitly compensatory • Children who were unable to speak English were considered to be educationally disadvantaged • Bilingual education was to provide resources to compensate for the “handicap” of not speaking English • Federal aid to bilingual education was seen as a “remedial” program rather than an innovative approach to language instruction

6. Bilingual Education Act • Since the initial legislation in 1968, there have been six reauthorizations of the Bilingual Education Act (‘74, ’78, ’84, ’88, ’94, ’01) • 2001 reauthorization was contained within the No Child Left Behind Act

7. English-Only Movement • 1980s: a movement arose to seek the establishment of English as the official language of the United States. • Goals of English-only movement: • Adoption of a constitutional amendment to make English the official language. • Repeal laws mandating multi-lingual ballots and voting materials • Restriction on bilingual funding • Universal enforcement of the English language and civics requirement for naturalization

8. Federal Law and Judicial Decisions • Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964): set a minimum standard for the education of any student by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in the operation of a federally assisted program • Has been interpreted to prohibit the denial of equal access to education because of an English learner’s limited proficiency in English • Lau v. Nichols (1974) – made illegal those educational practices that excluded children from effective education on the basis of language • Title VII (Bilingual Education Act, 1974) – defined bilingual education as “instruction given in, and study of, English, and to the extent necessary to allow a child to progress effectively through the educational system, the native language.”

9. Federal Law and Judicial Decisions • Castaneda v. Pickard (1981) – outlined 3 criteria for EL programs • Based on sound educational theory, implemented effectively, evaluated as effective • Plyler v. Doe (1982) – cannot deny school enrollment to children of illegal immigrants • Title III of the most recent reauthorization of ESEA, the NCLB Act of 2001 • Heavily emphasizes English-language proficiency not only for students, but also for teachers, who must be certified in written and oral English • In 1998, California passed Prop 227 – a measure rejecting bilingual education

10. Educational Issues Involving Bilingual Education • Ethnic minorities score lower on achievement tests compared to Whites • On the verbal subtests, ethnic minorities score 48-97 points lower than Whites • Dropout rates are shockingly high. Only 52% of the students in America’s 50 largest cities complete HS with a diploma • 4 districts: Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, had less than 32% • Limited English proficient students drop out at a rate 5 times as high (51%) as their English-speaking peers • Primary Reason: lack of knowledge in the English language • Also: discrimination

11. Placements • Educators have responded to these educational issues by developing special programs and procedures and by placing students in special classes: • Special education referrals and placements – disproportionately high • Retention/Promotion policies – students fall behind almost immediately on entering school • Tracking – major contributor to continuing gaps in achievement • Segregation – steadily increasing; disastrous effects on minority students • Compensatory education – ELD; has been identified with remediation of linguistic deficiencies • Submersion in English – parents of these students have been less involved in helping with homework • Inclusion of EL students in mainstream classrooms – currently the trend

12. Bilingual Education Program Models • Submersion – no provisions are made for the language and academic needs of EL students • Denies students their rights under the law • Teaching of English Language Development (ELD) • Pull-out ELD – leave their classroom for instruction with ELD teacher • ELD class period – separate ELD class • Content Based ELD – separate ELD class, but content based on grade-level academic objectives • Sheltered Instruction (SDAIE) – lessons have content, language, and learning strategy objectives • Transitional or Early Exit Bilingual Education • Goal: to mainstream students into English-only classrooms • Maintenance or Developmental Bilingual Education – Students are encouraged to be proficient in English and their native language • Immersion Bilingual Education – provides academic and language instruction in 2 languages, ideally from K through 12. • Newcomer Centers – help students acquire enough Eng. to move into regular language support programs

13. Instructional Strategies for Bilingual Education • Language Management – can separate the 2 languages by time, personnel, subject, and manner of delivery • Primary-Language Use – the primary language is used as the language of instruction in teaching students academic material • Code Switching – students have the choice to use which language they’re most comfortable with • Classroom Organization – students are engaged in a nurturing environment that honors and respects their language and culture

14. How does this pertain to us as School Psychologists? • EL students have been disproportionately referred and placed in Special Education • Low level of acculturation, inadequate assessment, language problems, poor school progress, academic/cognitive difficulties, and special learning problems • It is our job to adequately assess the student to make sure the difficulties are do to an academic/cognitive issue and not just a language barrier • Unbiased assessments • Use assessments that require little knowledge of English language

15. Discussion • Do you agree that English should be the official language of the United States? • With so many languages in the US, do you think bilingual education is possible?