BILINGUAL EDUCATION MODELS

M1622- Bilingual Programmes, Policy and Practice – Prof. Isadora Norman

POSSIBLE SCENARIOS FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION

Monolingual dominant society with small linguistic minority groups (immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers)

Monolingual dominant society with minority language communities (indigenous peoples, traditional regional languages)

Bilingual/Plurilingual society with dual language education needs

Majority Language Enrichment

POSSIBLE SCENARIOS FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION

Plurilingual Settings

Maintenance of Heritage Languages

Integration of immigrant minority

groups

Majority Language Enrichment

Monolingual SettingsIntegration of

immigrant minority groups

Majority Language Enrichment

EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE SCENARIOS FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION

School in small town in Galicia:• Mother-tongue Galician teachers• Less than 50% of students use

Galician at home

Rural School in Cantabria• Few, well integrated

immigrants• High interest in English

(parents and teachers)

Primary school in Alaska:• Most students from

local indigenous group

Primary school in Southern California:• Over 50% Spanish mother

tongue• Located in Spanish majority

neighbourhood• Some interest in Spanish

amongst English monolinguals

Primary school in Sydney, Austalia:• Large,

diverse immigrant population

• No indigenous students

• Low interest in FL learning

SUBMERSION,MAINSTREAMING AND TRANSITIONAL BILINGUAL EDUCATION

Submersion: immersion of minority language students with little or no L2 learning support

Mainstreaming: immersion of minority language students with some L2 learning support, normally through pull-out classes or after school classes.

Aims: Rapid assimilation of students into dominant society Mother-tongue education family concern

***Mainstream FL education

Primary school in Sydney, Austalia:• Large,

diverse immigrant population

• No indigenous students

• Low interest in FL learning***

TRANSITIONAL BILINGUAL EDUCATION

OPTION 1: Mother-tongue instruction for all or part of primary and/or pre-primary

Native speakers from the language group hired as teachers

Bilingual teachers promote assimilation into the majority culture.

L1 (majority language) often implicitly or explicity higher status

Primary school in Southern California:• Over 50% Spanish mother

tongue• Located in Spanish majority

neighbourhood• Some interest in Spanish

amongst English monolinguals

• Early-exit: Rapid assimilation in early primary

• Late-exit: Mother-tongue instruction through year 6 of primary

DUAL LANGUAGE BILINGUAL EDUCATION

OPTION 2:

Balanced instruction in L1 (majority language) and L2 (minority language)

Linguistic instruction in both languages

Languages are given equal status

Programme length key – the longer the better

Staff bilingual

Minority language parents may assist in L2 medium clases

Difficulties: Recruiting majority language monolinguals

Primary school in Southern California:• Over 50% Spanish mother

tongue• Located in Spanish majority

neighbourhood• Some interest in Spanish

amongst English monolinguals

Aims: Promote bilingual, biliterate and multicultural education

HERITAGE LANGUAGE BILINGUAL EDUCATION

Term used to describe language maintenance programmes designed to help keep alive heritage languages of indigenous peoples

Can also be applied to immigrant diaspora groups

Mainly found in the USA, Canada and Australia

Stark contrast to language erradication attempts made in the past

Primary school in Alaska:• Most students from

local indigenous group

IMMERSION BILINGUAL EDUCATION

Based on language education policy in French Canada

Aims to promote full bilingualism in plurilingual settings

Partial immersion: 50% of curriculum taught through minority language (L2)

Total immersion: 100% L2 in early stages, transitioning to partial immersion in later stages

Age often a factor: early, delayed or late immersion programmes exist

School in small town in Galicia:• Mother-tongue Galician teachers• Less than 50% of students use

Galician at home

Galicia: Partial immersion model

BILINGUAL EDUCATION IN MAJORITY LANGUAGES

Aims: Achieve functional bilingualism in a second (or third) majority language

Models: International Schools: Elite

institutions designed to promote high level multi-lingual curriculum

European Schools: Designed to promote European identity through integrated trilingual programmes

CLIL bilingual Programmes: Use of FL as a vehicular or working language to teach content subjects.

Rural School in Cantabria• Few, well integrated

immigrants• High interest in English

(parents and teachers)

BILINGUAL EDUCATION IN MAJORITY LANGUAGES

Soft CLIL

Hard CLIL

Type of CLIL

Time Context

Language-led

45 minutes once a week

Some curricular topics are taught during a language course

Subject-led (modular)

15 hours during one term

Schools or teachers choose parts of the subject syllabus which they teach in the target language

Subject-led (partial immersion)

about 50% of the curriculum

About half of the curriculum is taught in the target language. The content can reflect what is taught in the L1 curriculum or can be new content.

LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE POLICY

M1622- Bilingual Programmes, Policy and Practice – Prof. Isadora Norman