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Educating Administrators/ Teachers for Bilingual
Programs: LSP?
•Increased interest for foreign language ìn schools K-12 and at college level
•Increased number of dual-immersion programs in the U.S.
•Very specific needs: issues not faced by every language instructor
Increased Interest in Foreign Languages in the U.S.
• 31% of elementary & 86% of secondary schools currently offer foreign/second language instruction (ERIC)
• Substantial increase in enrollments at college level (MLA)
• Globalization: world is an increasingly smaller place
Dual-Immersion Programs
• Also known as “two-way immersion” (TWI)
• Programs that integrate native English speakers and language-minority students for academic instruction
• Goals: bilingual proficiency, high academic achievement, and cross-cultural awareness
TWI Programs in the U.S.
• 30 (1987) => 225 (1998) => 301 (2004)• Where: cities/states with sizeable immigrant
populations (CA, AZ. TX, ) or university cities• Most typical combination: English/Spanish (also
E/French, E/Chinese, E/Korean, /E/Navajo)• Mostly elementary school; middle/high school
programs on the rise• Models: minority language dominant /balanced/
mid and high
Some Advantages for
TWI Over Traditional BE • Minority population
» Also serves as model speakers» Is integrated with the dominant majority» Has its language validated
• Dominant majority» Alternates being “the expert” with minority» Learns a more “real” variety of L2, along with
“school” L2
Some Advantages for TWI Over Traditional Bilingual Education
(Cont.)
• Benefits both majority and minority involved
• Obtains more resources and investment
• It is “cohesive” rather than “divisive”
What Kind of Instructors Do TWI Programs Need?
• Credentialed elementary school teachers who can teach content matter in both languages
• Ideal sources: members of bilingual community with balanced bilingualism, Peace Corps alumni, graduates from education-abroad programs
• Middle/high school teachers of foreign languages whose competence is at Level 3 or beyond
Some Findings
• Most teachers have taught in TWI classes for less than 5 years, which is different from the general population (Henke, 1997)
• Most teachers belong to bilingual minorities
• Most teachers have advanced degrees and bilingual credentials
Some Answers from Administrators/Instructors in TWI Programs in California
N=25
Interviews by telephone
What Kind of Training Do Teachers of TWI Programs Need?
• Linguistic training to enable them to perform at advanced /superior levels
• Strong knowledge of inter and intra-cultural issues
• Strong classroom management techniques
• Abilities to create and design materials
Challenges (Teachers)
• Teaching content information in L2
• Making it easier for students from lower grades and parents to understand that acquiring a language takes time
• Facilitating use of L2 by all students
• Being responsible for creating most of the materials
Challenges (Administrators)
•Tensions between regular and TWI programs within the same school
•Opposition to program by members of faculty of the district
• Finding and training appropriate faculty
•Dealing with parents’ concerns, specially in the first grades
Some Advantages of Bilingualism
• “Mental plasticity” or agility: bilinguals know that there is more than one way to solve problems (Dartmouth study)
• Superior cognitive performance in several dimensions (Reynolds)
• “One can have more friends” (a first grader in a TWI program -- CLAS)
Some Advantages of Dual-Immersion Programs (Cont.)
• Students outperform monolingual children on standardized tests• Students in dual-language schools did better than those educated in traditional bilingual education programs•Students in dual-language schools did better than those educated only in English
(CAL-14-year study, George Mason University)
More information?
•Resource Guide Online: Two-Way (Dual) Immersion - Center for Applied Linguistics http://www.cal.org/resources/faqs/rgo
• ERIC’s search engine http://www.eric.ed.gov/searchdb