Session 11: Bilingual and multicultural education
For this week's post I viewed some video of muticultural and bilingual schools and the students who are learning languages there. You can see from my post and from my responses that my understanding of bilingual education was not well-defined before I read the assigned text selections. The readings and videos provided me with a clearer idea of how long-term bilingual programs can give students an advantage in learning a second language. Some of the myths we read about bilingualism did not resonate with me, such as the idea that it is problematic to be multilingual. I found what Cummins (2005) had to say about this to be true, that the multiple languages can interact within the learner to make her more proficient in communications overall. I can also visualize the different types of instruction that could be used with learners at different age levels and developmental levels.
Amanda's reflection on April 6, 2014:
1. Portfolio Planning:
Format: (website) I am planning to do the website Electronic Portfolio like the example EPs from the slideshow.
Artifacts: I have developed some content for other classes that I wish to include in my website to present a more comprehensive look at my teaching philosophy and values. The topics I will include range from Differentiated Instruction to Curriculum Design to Technology.
Thoughts: I feel like electronic portfolio will be a good way to summarize my coursework and professional experiences into an organized portfolio. I planned on creating the Masters Project e-portfolio later this year and would like to use what I develop in this class as part of the final project.
Also just wanted to say the "Useful Resources" folder was very helpful! I had a lot of questions about what makes a good portfolio but I found some documents in this folder that should help with that. Also the rubric & example EPs clarified the requirements.
2. What are your thoughts on the myths about bilingualism on Slide #9 and on the handout? Do you agree or disagree? Explain why.
What I have learned from more study of Bilingual Education is that there are more than one types of Bilingual ed. Some are more successful than others and the most successful programs take a longitudinal approach, developing the students in both languages at the same time until they are extremely well-developed in two languages. I did not realize how long it takes students to develop language that they need to do rigorous course work, but I can see how valuable that training will be. I found the videos about the Bilingual schools dispelled many of the myths for me and showed me how complex but empowering Bilingual Ed can be. It inspired me and made me think of the benefit to society and cultures these programs can provide.
3. What did you learn about biliteracy from the readings and the resources on the slides?
I was surprised to learn that biliteracy is considered a problem to some people. There is so much potential for those who can communicate with more than one language. I think it is important to understand the interaction of the two languages in a person's cognitive & social functioning, and reflect this through teaching. For example the students who were shown to transfer knowledge of one writing system to another (Schwinge 2008, p. 61): These students have a "heigtened metalinguistic awareness."
As Cummins (2005) says "L1 and L2 academic skills are interdependent, i.e., manifestations of a common underlying proficiency" (p.82). When we are educating students (monolingual or multilingual) we are educating a whole person, who can be literate in many ways. Education must provide rich experiences that promote development of these skills as a means of promoting overall growth for the individual.
Students who can speak another language can have access to the culture behind the language if they have access to texts which transmit ideas. The students' families should also be used as they are a rich source of Funds of Knowledge (Schwinge 2008).
Kara's reflection:
• Myth: Learning two languages confuses children.- I have always believed this statement to be a myth, because if done correctly,this is actually not confusing for most children, especially for children who live in countries where a second language is taught from a very young age and it is just expected in society to learn and become proficient in a second language. Could learning two languages be CHALLENGING for children? Yes, but I don't think confusion is the right term.
• Myth: The more exposure one has to a language, the more quickly one will learn it.- I had a little bit of trouble with this one. I always did think that immersion helped people learn it more quickly. My friend, Molly, who graduated college with a minor in Spanish, said the fastest and best way she ever learned the language was when she did month-long mission trips in Costa Rica and was fully immersed in the culture and language.
• Myth: A lot of immigrant children have learning disabilities, not language problems. They speak English just fine but they are still failing academically.- The very beginning of this statement, above all else, is what makes it stand out as a myth to me. An insulting myth at that. To say "a lot of" rather than "some" is incorrect and wrong on multiple levels. Just as some children from all walks of life have learning disabilities, immigrant children do too, but no more than any other culture of children.
• Myth: The older a person is, the harder it is to acquire a second language. - I did struggle with this as well, as I have read in many articles that the younger a second language is taught, the "easier" it is to acquire. Also, based upon my interview project, both of my participants learned the English language quite easily from a young age, and their parents had a very difficult time learning it but were also fully immersed in the culture and language once they moved to America.
In the Schwinge (2008) article, I was glad that she mentioned the major difficulty of biliteracy in classrooms where teachers are not fully biliterate themselves in the languages of their students. This was the last article I read, and while I was reading the first two and the beginning of the last, I was wondering when someone was going to mention this huge difficulty. That being said, I'm also glad Schwinge mentioned that this doesn't cause an utmost road block, it just means that we need to do research on how teachers who are monolingual can promote biliteracy successfully.
In the Cummins article, I was glad to see that he promoting the proficiency of L1 in the strong development of L2. This was discussed in the very first or second week in class when we read an article about a woman who believes she was able to become so proficient in her L2 because of her high proficiency and passion for writing and journaling in her L1. Cummins article was refreshing in the fact that he stated that evidence shows that eliminated or reducing students' L1's in the classroom does help them to better learn L2 by spending more time on it. Incorporating L1 into L2 language learning is crucial.
My favorite article was Gorski's article which simply provided a list of GOOD and USEFUL multicultural websites that can be used for a single lesson, a curriculum, or as reform on a nation wide scale. I'm glad he took the time to sift through all the awful ones and find great ones so that we don't have to, haha:). I'm definitely bookmarking his list and saving it for later.
Amanda's response:
Hi Kara, thanks for sharing your comments on the Myths. I would like to add my thoughts as well.
• Myth: The more exposure one has to a language, the more quickly one will learn it.
I seems that immersion is useful to a certain extent to those who are at certain developmental stages in the target language. For example the Mandarin-English bilingual school in the Speaking In Tongues video shows students who are receiving all of their instruction in a foreign language for a long-term from a young age, for several years wherein they acquire the language themselves. I think the support of the school provides a structure for this immersive language instruction so that the extra exposure deepens their language abilities. Nothing happens quickly for them but the exposure in a school setting makes the language more accessible to the learners.
Also a language learner who has had some rigorous study in the target language is probably ready to acquire more natural conversational skills on a trip abroad. So yes, surrounding yourself with native speakers and getting to have conversations with those speakers is another kind of exposure that would be developmentally beneficial.
• Myth: A lot of immigrant children have learning disabilities, not language problems. They speak English just fine but they are still failing academically.
This concerns me a great deal when I witness its effects in public schools. We as educators are required by law to provide services designated for ESL or SPED students. When the student is identified as both a language learner and learning disability, they may be treated differently than their peers or have an increased risk of having their teachers hold lower expectations for them academically. Plus I agree with you that this is disguising some deeper issues we have with language learners struggling to keep pace with native English speaking peers. • Myth: The older a person is, the harder it is to acquire a second language.
When I read this I consider the different ways we teach children to begin speaking a language. Instruction for a toddler or adolescent would contain much different activities than adult language education. Many times the younger children may not realize they are learning both languages at the same time, whereas an older learner might come to use his L1 understanding of languages to build upon their L2 acquisition.
Thanks! Amanda