Stanley A. Lucero

26963 Merril Avenue, Madera, CA93638

209-661-0510 (home) 209-661-8710 (fax)

(email) (webpage)

BASIC BILINGUAL EDUCATION CONCEPTS

Stanley A. Lucero

November 1997

Piaget: Developmental Stages of Language Development: Listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Cummins: Threshold Proficiency Level: Low levels of language proficiency in the first language have a negative effect on second language acquisition and conceptual development.

Hakuta: Native language proficiency as a strong indicator of second language development.

Collier & Thomas: It is important not to limit the academic development of LEP students while they are learning English.

Lev Vygotsky: If children are denied the opportunity to use their (native} language, they are denied the opportunity to develop their own cognition.

Lau vs. Nichols: Imposition of a requirement that, before a child can effectively participate in the educational program, he must have already acquired those basic {English} skills is to make a mockery of public education.

Cummins: The language needed for academic success is cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP).

Ramirez: Content area instruction is based on the notion of “comprehensible input,” in which the teacher uses only the vocabulary and structures that can be understood by students.

Cochran: Second language acquisition is similar to the process of young children becoming fluent in a first language.

Bartoff: Haitian Creole who were taught literacy skills first in the L1 acquired English language and literacy skills faster than those not receiving L1 literacy instruction.

Goodman & Goodman: Elementary grade Spanish, Arabic, Samoan and Navajo students learned to read English more easily if they were literate in their first language than if they were preliterate bilinguals.

Cummins: Common Underlying Proficiency Model – There is no need to relearn acquired knowledge; thus, time spent developing conceptual knowledge in the L1, including a multidimensional concept such as literacy is not wasted time.

SUGGESTIONS FOR CLASSROOM TEACHERS

Stanley A Lucero

May 1998

Find textbooks that have English and Spanish side by side.

Find literature books that have English and Spanish side by side.

Find literature books on the same theme in English and Spanish.

Purchase bilingual ditto-master stories.

Purchase bilingual software.

Purchase a bilingual reading software program.

Prepare homework assignments with English on side one and Spanish on side two. Give extra credit if both sides are completed.

Give all of your students the same (or very similar) assignments in English and Spanish to insure equal access to the core curriculum.

Alternate days for English and Spanish on routine activities such as calendar, weather, lunch count, attendance, flag salute, etc.

Alternate days for cultural activities such as songs, games, art projects, food demonstrations, sayings (dichos), etc.

If you have a fluent bilingual aide, ask your aide to assume the role of the Spanish Model while you assume the role of the English model.

If you and your aide are both bilingual, alternate weeks as English and Spanish models.

If your school has a bilingual teacher in the same grade as yours, team teach during the mornings. You provide English curriculum to English speakers and the bilingual teacher provides the Spanish curriculum to Spanish speakers. You provide ESL to the Spanish speakers and the bilingual teacher provides SSL to the English speakers.

If you are a bilingual teacher, adopt one of the bilingual teaching strategies for your classroom. Ideally, all of the bilingual teachers at your school would use the same strategy. Some samples are Dual Language Model, Eastman Project, Alternate Day and Team Teaching.

Schedule ESL and SSL during the same language arts time block of your day and then alternate English and Spanish days. Advanced ESL and Advanced SSL students will be focusing on reading and writing skills. Beginning ESL and Beginning SSL students will be focusing on understanding and speaking skills.

Team-teach ESL with other teachers to group students according to their English proficiency levels. Each teacher takes a group of students with similar English proficiency levels and provides instruction at that level.

Group all of your students by Math ability levels and then alternate days for English and Spanish lessons. (Use the same idea for other academic subjects.)

Teach students how to read what they can say (Language Experience Approach). Use the language of the students (English, Spanish, etc.).

Find out what languages the parents read and send home reading assignments in that language to encourage parent support at home.

Always send homework instructions in the language of the parents if you wish the parents to work with their children at home.

Send a letter home to all of the parents in your classroom explaining the benefits of learning a second language.

If you are a bilingual teacher, consider sending a “Request for a Bilingual Classroom” to get parent support for your classroom.

Display English and Spanish information on your bulletin boards.

Have your bulletin boards reflect the languages and cultures of your students.

Popular bulletin board idea – 50% in English and 50% in Spanish.

Expect all of your students to meet grade level expectations and standards in their first language.

Encourage all of your students to meet grade level expectations and standards in their second language.

Test all of your students in their first and second language to measure progress in both languages. If you only test in one language, you are only seeing half of the picture.

Request for a Bilingual Classroom

  • I want my children to learn to speak, read and write Spanish as well as English.
  • I want my children to advance academically in their studies.
  • I understand that my child will learn academics faster in the language he/she speaks.
  • I want my children to know and appreciate their own culture.
  • I want my children to understand and appreciate the cultures of others.
  • I want my children to receive instruction from a bilingual teacher with bilingual credentials.
  • I understand that a bilingual credential verifies that the teacher speaks, reads and writes two languages and knows how to teach students who are learning a second language.
  • I understand that parent involvement and support is crucial to the education of my children.

I want my children to be enrolled in a bilingual classroom with a bilingual teacher to receive these services.

Parent Signature

Date

Children