As you may know, the
focus of my doctoral research is on finding and implementing effective
educational practices for the Hispanic student population in order to alleviate
the tremendous educational gap that exist in this student population.
I am a strong
advocate for Bilingual education. I currently hold a Master’s Degree and a
National Board Certification in Early Childhood and Bilingual education. Enormous
amount of research attest for the benefits of Bilingual education, Bilingualism
and Multilingualism in cognitive development for all the students. There are plenty
of Meta studies and literature reviews that point to the effectiveness of this
approach in educating these students. For further research, please refer to the
References section at the end of this post.
Nevertheless, regardless
of the massive research many districts are dismantling their Bilingual
education programs to implement immersion programs. I taught Bilingual
Education for 15 years and I can corroborate the benefits of this approach in
educating my students. Unfortunately, last year the administration decided to
close the Bilingual classrooms and implement English Immersion programs for all
students. It has been a difficult year for a large number of students. The detrimental
effects of using this approach can be measured using standard forms of assessment
for bilingual students. It is sad that the most affected children were those
children in most need.
I just had a
conversation about the subject and the differences on both approaches with the
Principal of one of the schools that changed their approach. She understands
the benefits of bilingualism, she is bilingual herself and was hired to the
position because she was bilingual, but she sustains that this is a trend
implemented by the administration and there is not much she can do. She
sustains that this is a national trend and will be difficult to change.
“ ProEnglish is the nation's
leading advocate of official English. We work through the courts and in the
court of public opinion to defend English's historic role as America's common,
unifying language, and to persuade lawmakers to adopt English as the official
language at all levels of government.”
AGENDA FOR ACTION
Adopting laws or constitutional
amendments declaring English the official language of the United States, and of
individual states.
Defending the right of individual
states to make English the official language of government operations.
Ending bilingual education, in favor of English language immersion
programs in public
schools.
schools.
Repealing federal mandates for the
translation of government documents and voting ballots into languages other
than English.
Opposing the admission of territories
as states unless they have adopted English as their official language.
In my opinion,
it seems to be a politically oriented website and Blog. The resources provided
by their website on the subject are very limited in number and scope. I am planning
to continue with this literature research but:
I was wondering if you have any suggestions
about scholar research-based resources that can help me to understand the academic
benefits of using the English Immersion educational Approach with the Hispanic
student population?
Your input
will be greatly appreciate it! Thanks!
PS. If you
are interested in exploring their website and/or Blog you can find them in the
links below.
Resources
Ball, J. (2010). Enhancing learning of children from
diverse language backgrounds: Mother
tongue-based
bilingual or multilingual education in early childhood and early primary
school years. Early Childhood Development Intercultural Partnerships, University of Victoria.
school years. Early Childhood Development Intercultural Partnerships, University of Victoria.
On
behave of the UNESCO’s department of education Jessica Ball conducted this
literature review on international research papers that discuss effective practices
on bilingual or multilingual education for children starting in early
childhood. The purpose of this Meta study was to develop clear guidelines and
principles for language policy in early education.
Chambers, B., Cheung, A., Slavin, R. E., Smith,
D., & Laurenzano, M. (2010).Effective early
childhood education programs: A systematic
review. Best Evidence Encyclopedia.
The
present report reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of various
preschool/nursery programs for young children who are at risk of school failure
due to poverty. It reviews the research
on the outcomes of early childhood programs provided in a group setting for all
children, applying consistent methodological standards to the research.
Garcia, E., & Jensen, B. (2007). Language
development and early education of young Hispanic
children in the United States. Tempe, AZ:
National Task Force on Early Childhood
Education for Hispanics
This paper provides a synthesis of empirical
work that spans several decades and conceptual frameworks associated with the
linguistic development and the early education of young Hispanic children in
the United States. Emphasis is placed on theoretical and empirical work
associated with educational concerns—including teacher competencies,
instructional strategies, curricular content, programs, and related policy.
Kagan, S. L. (2009). American early childhood
education: Preventing or perpetuating inequity? Retrieved from http://www.equitycampaign.org/i/a/document/983.Kagan_Final.pdf
This
paper is an examination of multiple inequities and their effects on American
early childhood education. It suggests that inequity permeates early childhood
education, seriously restricting who has access to services, the quality and
competency of those who teach young children, and to the quality of the
services themselves.
Matthews, Hannah, & Ewen, D. (2010).Early
Education Programs and Children of Immigrants:
Learning
Each Other’s Language. Washington, DC:
The Urban Institute.
This paper
discusses state and local solutions to improving access for immigrant families.
It also includes specific strategies for collaborations among providers,
policymakers, and immigrant-serving organizations. It explains that many
immigrant families face numerous barriers to accessing high-quality and early
education opportunities which will be critical to these children's success in
school and in life. The authors sustain that these barriers are not
insurmountable and that it is possible to obtain successful results.
Programs for Linguistically and
Culturally Diverse Children and Families. Copyright ©
1998 by the National
Association for the Education of Young Children. Young Children
November 199,. pages 20–26. Can be viewed at NAEYC’s
Website: http://www.naeyc.org
Washington, DC: Disseminated by National Clearinghouse
for Bilingual Education, the
George Washington University, Center for the Study of
Language and Education.
This is a seminal macroscopic
research that investigated the effects of school district instructional
strategies on the long-term achievement of language-minority students in five
large school districts in geographically dispersed areas of the U.S. Only
instructional programs that were well-implemented were examined for their
long-term success on instructional effectiveness. It collected and analyzed
individual student-level data on student characteristics, the instructional
interventions they received, and the test results that they achieved years
after participating in programs for language-minority students. The researchers
collected and analyzed more than 700,000 student records from a variety of
offices and sources within each school district and linked these records
together at specified points in time (cross-sectional studies) and have
followed large groups of students across time (longitudinal studies).
Salvador,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your article and I can tell that you feel passionate about your work. As I discussed with you in an earlier assignment, I have spent my life in an small, rural town in Northwest Tennessee and we have a small percentage of Hispanic children in our schools. I have taught several children both in Pre-K and Kindergarten over the last 16 years that spoke very little English in August but before the end of the year they had made tremendous progress and were ready to go to Kindergarten as an English speaker. I encourage parents to continue to speak Spanish in the home so they will retain their native language. I have found this immersion works well for us and the children transition with few problems. I wish you luck in your project.
Kimberly,
DeleteThank you for you comments and feedback. I totally appreciate your input because it represents the perspective of thousands of educators, daycare centers and/or preschools which are serving small numbers of second language learners and in which the only option available is the English immersion program.
Rigorous and serious academic global research continues informing us that Bilingual Education is the most effective approach in educating second language learners because it allow us to tap into the vast amount of linguistic experiences that children acquired since inception and that continue receiving at home. Nevertheless, I honestly believe that an effective program can provide an effective education and preparation and it can make wonders in the life and education of a child, especially if we start with these children at an early age. The earlier the better, and the more effective the merrier. There are many elements in an effective program but one of the most effective elements in serving children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds is RESPECT and appreciation. When educators demonstrate respect and appreciation for their students' (and families') differences they are empowering and validating the children's cultural foundations. It is obvious from your writings that through your teaching practice you use this simple but powerful strategy. Once more, thanks for your comments and feedback and thank you for helping these children to succeed in life.