PRACTICE

Samantha Paolucci, Erin Callahan, Christa Collarini

Theory: The Case Studies Project

Imagine trying to construct and impressive, majestic brick

cathedral without bricks or mortar, with inexperienced workers and very limited resources for training them Yet this is how bilingual education got off the ground.

Theory: The Case Studies Project

In 1980, California State Department of Education

developed a theoretically sound model for bilingual education and tested it on selected school districts.
The hopes of this project was to bridge the gap between

educational research and program practices. This did not happen over night; schools needed to be assessed, new curriculum had to be developed, teachers had to be trained on how to use this new approach

Theory: The Case Studies Project

After choosing the schools that correctly fit the tests

criteria, and 5 years later..

Median scores for the 3500 children in these schools were

well above district norms in English, Reading, writing and mathematics. News of this dramatic progress has prompted a number of other districts to adopt the Case Studies Model.
Yet, in 1986 the US Department of Education decided to

terminate the projects title VII grant, 2 years early.

Thinking in the first language

Intensive native language development

Other bilingual programs strive to primarily keep students from falling behind in content areas while they learn English

The Case Studies curriculum teaches LEP children to read in mother language, thinking skills in first language before entering mainstream classrooms
From K-4 children receive instruction in ESL, while other subjects taught in native language through sheltered language techniques

No hurry to complete transition .. Teachers are trained to resist societal pressures to do so

Based on theory that academic success demands higher level linguistic and cognitive skills that will transfer from native language to English

Takes longer Students are being shortchanged because they are lacking a solid base in their native language

Before, teachers were moving children across to mainstream earlier. This meant that there was a year to a year and a half deficiency that would increase as children progressed to older grades; being frustrated and probably failing.

Curriculum Design
Educational programs are like symphonies Without conductor

it can only produce noise, no matter how talented musicians are!

3 fundamental Points: 1. Intensive Staff development 2. Careful monitoring of classrooms 3. A long term outlook Coordination is vital Students take the SOLOM, a test of conversational English

Students are not grouped by grade, but by language proficiency in English and native language

Goals for Program

1. After 3 years, 100% of students would achieve basic oral

communicative in English, measured by SOLOM

2. *After 7 years 50% would score at or above national

norms on Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills ( reading, language arts and mathematics)
This was the only goal met, even though the program was

terminated after 3 years

Indian Bilingual Education Need for Specialized Instruction

There are at least 206 indigenous languages spoken in the

United States, more tan all the immigrant tongues combined in the United States
One of the reasons why the need for specialized bilingual

education among American Indians and Alaskan natives is that many of the population believe that all Indian languages are generic
The role that the language plays on a certain reservation in

crucial in designing Indian bilingual education programs

LEP Indian Children: A Special Case

A major cause of school failure among Indians and other

language minorities is the students lack of language foundation in both English or their native tongue
we see children floating between two nonstandard languages,

a population growing up without a linguistic home

Many Indian children lack a foundation in either language,

making it difficult for teachers to create a solid linguistic skills

Attempting to impose standard English through the correction

of errors and other remedial techniques can lead to serious negative consequences for these children

Advantages of Bilingual Education on Reservations

Offers a way out of this dilemma of children lacking

language skills
By studying their native language students can acquire

better control of the non English grammar they have internalized

Become conscious of structural differences between

standard English of academics and reservation life

Crowish
George Reed, a former Crow educator complains that

many of the youth on the reservation are growing up speaking Crowish- a blend of Indian language and English
He claims that native language instruction helps children

sort out of their identity

Results
Research evidence suggests that there are academic advantages for

children whose language is preserved and used at home Pryors bilingual program

This study was conducted by Steve Chesarek- current direction of Compared students in bilingual schools to non bilingual schools Found that by utilizing a childrens native language a rapid growth is

shown in many other areas

Kids who are fluent Crow speakers learn English very quickly and do

well in other academic areas- students who grow up in homes were broken English is spoken by Crow parents children are more likely to remain behind

Introducing Crow Literacy

K- 6 grade- 250 students come from homes were Crow is spoken but fluent in conversational English
99% were LEP Did not have academic language- can hear and follow directions but not able to produce Upon entering the program the students are taught oral concept in Crown and half their time is spent on reading-readiness and ESL instruction Basic reading skills taught in English More kids are reading near grade level Taught in English before Crow One students have learned the techniques in English and they get to 4th grade motivated to learn to read in their own language , learning to read in Crow comes easy and helps them build self esteem

The Need for Teachers

Low pay and geographical isolation makes it hard to find

well qualified teachers for Indian Children

Competition between reservations

Two Way Bilingualism Costs of Monolingualism

*1.9 billion people know English, 3/4 learn it as a second or foreign language*
2004, federal governments assistance to elementary and secondary foreign language

programs across the nation totaled $17 million, (31 cents per student K-12)
2 decades ago, a presidential commission warned that Americans gross inadequacy in

foreign-language skills is nothing short of scandalous, and is getting worse.

Americanizing = main problem

Impetus for Two-Way Programs

-1980s districts began experimenting with two-way approaches.

Los Angeles started.

-Richard Tucker, pioneer in Canadian immersion research, said

two-way bilingual education, (dual immersion, dual language, bilingual immersion, two-way immersion) could provide great results for all children. Offers numerous social, cognitive, and academic benefits. gave priority to language maintenance rather than transitional approaches. in the class for all students to develop fundamentally. (peer models)

-1994, reauthorization of the Bilingual Education Act- Title VII

-Better to have both English students and the minority language

Oyster Experiement

-Oyster school in Washington, D.C. 1971- started with a single bilingual class, and expanded to an entire school K-6.
-staff was trained for a year and was doubled because of 1 Spanish and 1 English speaking teacher in each class -both languages used in roughly equal portions, all subjects taught in both languages on differing days, periods, or semesters. -unusual feature: children are taught initial literacy in English and Spanish at the same time, by the middle of 1st grade, students can read in both languages. -Some do not agree with this, what are your thoughts? -Results- not changed, because students are doing well with it. 3rd grade- students are reading 2 years above national norms in English. 1987, ranked 90th percentile in language and 95th percentile in math on comprehensive test of basic skills. -Oldest Grads from Oyster, all had positive experiences in the classroom, many studied Spanish in higher education, involved in language teaching/social work/ other jobs to use Spanish with. Chose to live in Spanish communities or had native Spanish speaking friends.

90/10 Model
-developed by the San Diego public schools in mid 1970s, Total

Immersion for English speakers, who begin schooling in almost entirely Spanish. half English half Spanish 4-6th.

-20 min. of English in preschool, 30 min. in K-1st, 1 hour in 2-3rd, and

- Simultaneously serves Spanish-speaking children

-uses homogeneous grouping, to better serve the needs of each

language group, unlike Oyster who does not like to segregate students in any way. no research on which is better communicate, and assist each other in becoming bilingual. (peer tutoring)

-structured activities are done to encourage children to interact,

-outcome of this program = encouraging but came late in the program.

Two-way Fervor Spreads

-The Center for Language Education Research at the University of California, Los Angeles, played a role in spreading the word of two-way education. It published the first national directory two-way programs. -Reagan, 1st Bush Administration, and Clinton were all supportive of this. -2003- Center for Applied Linguistics identified 271 two-way bilingual immersion programs in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Spanish, French, Chinese, Korean, and Navajo were the main minority languages. CAL Identified this criterion: Integration, Instruction, and Population. Schools need to meet all 3 criteria.

50/50 Model
-also called two-way partial immersion. Introduced because

some parents did not like the fact that English was not fully enforced in the 90/10 programs in early years. Languages are equally balanced from the outset.

Research Questions

-it is not taken into account on achievement test scores the segregation of language backgrounds or initial level of English proficiency, or SES.
Ramirez study- LEP students are followed at the outset to examine their progress over several years. -Still not enough research to state with 100% confidence that two-way bilingual education is the best program for English learners.

Some Results

-Lindholm-Leary study. 16 two-way programs, divided equally between 90/10 and 50/50 models for Spanish/English background children. -Sites were grouped by SES level and ethnic concentration as well as by the two-way model -no random assignment, so not controlled scientific experiments, standardized test scores were compared against norms and state averages; cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted. -very positive attitudes toward the program, their teachers, their parents, and the classroom environment, as well as positive learning attitudes and behaviors.

Activity: Create Your Own Model

Create your own model/practice of a school/program for bilingual learners. Groups of 4 students.

Include: Minority language/English language immersion (when you would introduce the language/how many subjects taught in each language,which minority lanugage) Location Grade levels Number of teachers in a classroom How many minority language students VS English speaking students ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF! Explain your reasoning for your ideas! BE CREATIVE