scholarly journals Racist and Raciolinguistic Teacher Ideologies: When Bilingual Education is “Inherently Culturally Relevant” for Latinxs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura C. Chávez-Moreno
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Bilingual Education ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Racial Consciousness ◽  
Dual Language Program ◽  
Teacher Ideology

AbstractMany schools attempt to address the needs of “English-language learners,” who usually are Spanish-dominant Latinxs, by offering dual-language (DL) bilingual education. While undertaking a larger ethnographic study of one such secondary-level dual-language program, I examined how dual-language teachers understood the program as equitable for Latinxs. I found that teachers believed DL met Latinxs’ needs by providing Spanish-language/biliteracy schooling, which deemphasized the need for explicitly enhancing youths’ critical consciousness. This teacher ideology of assuming DL is “inherently culturally relevant” led to significant issues. For example, teachers believed DL would improve Latinxs’ academic achievement, but when teachers perceived Latinx achievement was not on par with White dual-language students’ outcomes, teachers made sense of Latinxs’ underperformance in DL through racist explanations and did not interrogate the program’s cultural relevance. Specifically, teachers pointed to the program not providing Latinxs the needed Spanish input even though the Latinx students self-identified as bilingual and were the “Spanish-dominant” students, and teachers pointed to Latinxs’ cultural and familial deficits. I argue teachers overlooked critical-racial consciousness as an important component of an equitable education. Implications include for teachers to cultivate their critical-racial consciousness, interrogate raciolinguistic ideologies, and define an equitable DL as centering critical-racial consciousness.

scholarly journals Dual Language Program Models and English Language Learners: An Analysis of the Literacy Results from a 50/50 and a 90/10 Model in Two California Schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Jatnna Acosta ◽  
John Williams III ◽  
Brittany Hunt
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Bilingual Education ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Program Model ◽  
Language Program ◽  
Language Programs ◽  
Dual Language Program ◽  
California Schools

This paper examines the literacy results of English language learners (ELLs) in two California schools following either the 50/50 or the 90/10 dual language (DL) program model. The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review of dual language programs with an analysis of two schools’ websites and literacy assessment data in order to determine the effectiveness of each program model in establishing strong foundational literacy skills and fostering the prolonged academic success of ELLs. California provides various options for the bilingual education of its increasing immigrant population. Under the umbrella of bilingual education, dual language programs aim to provide students with instruction in two languages which will allow them to become fully bilingual and develop biliteracy skills. The intended purpose of biliteracy is for students to demonstrate reading and writing proficiency in both instructional languages. Although California implements a variety of dual language program models, this paper provides an overview and comparison of the 50/50 and 90/10 models as they are implemented in two California schools with similar demographics. This paper provides an analysis of the English Language Arts/literacy results of ELLs under both program models as depicted on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress to determine which model is most effective in its literacy instruction of language minority students. The findings indicate that ELLs demonstrate higher levels of literacy proficiency under the 90/10 program model. These findings have implications for native language proficiency and the preservation of the mother tongue.

The Effects of Transitional Bilingual Education vs. Dual Language Immersion on English Language Learners' Reading Assessment Scores

2018 ◽  
pp. 132-145
Author(s):  
Vanessa Colón ◽  
Susan Szabo ◽  
Jacqueline Riley
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Bilingual Education ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Reading Assessment ◽  
Language Immersion ◽  
Transitional Bilingual ◽  
Dual Language Immersion ◽  
Transitional Bilingual Education

This action research study was completed in a North Texas school district where English language learners comprised 52% of the K-12 student population during the 2015-2016 academic school year. Data from a campus which used a two-way dual language immersion (DLI) program and another campus which used a transitional bilingual education (TBE) program were evaluated. The study analyzed the district's third to fifth grade reading assessment results of 128 students from the DLI campus and 223 from the TBE campus. Researchers compared the scores of students in each program to determine if one bilingual model produced higher scores than another. The results showed that there were greater gains for ELLs in the TBE program at all grade levels (third to fifth). Although the TBE program resulted in higher student scores, limitations make it unclear to what degree the program impacted students' achievement.

The Effects of Transitional Bilingual Education vs. Dual Language Immersion on English Language Learners' Reading Assessment Scores

2022 ◽  
pp. 1396-1410
Author(s):  
Vanessa Colón ◽  
Susan Szabo ◽  
Jacqueline Riley
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Bilingual Education ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Reading Assessment ◽  
Language Immersion ◽  
Transitional Bilingual ◽  
Dual Language Immersion ◽  
Transitional Bilingual Education

This action research study was completed in a North Texas school district where English language learners comprised 52% of the K-12 student population during the 2015-2016 academic school year. Data from a campus which used a two-way dual language immersion (DLI) program and another campus which used a transitional bilingual education (TBE) program were evaluated. The study analyzed the district's third to fifth grade reading assessment results of 128 students from the DLI campus and 223 from the TBE campus. Researchers compared the scores of students in each program to determine if one bilingual model produced higher scores than another. The results showed that there were greater gains for ELLs in the TBE program at all grade levels (third to fifth). Although the TBE program resulted in higher student scores, limitations make it unclear to what degree the program impacted students' achievement.

Bilingual Education

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luz Y. Herrera ◽  
Carla España ◽  
Ofelia García
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Bilingual Education ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Transitional Bilingual ◽  
Transitional Bilingual Education ◽  
Education Act

“Bilingual education” refers to the use of two languages in education for different purposes. In the United States, bilingual education has been used to educate Latinxs throughout history, especially after the passage of the Bilingual Education Act (1968) and the judicial decision of Lau v. Nichols 1974 that followed on the civil rights era. Sometimes bilingual education aims to develop both the English and the Spanish of Latinxs, but often its sole aim is to ensure that Latinxs who are new to English understand the subject matter and learn English well. Bilingual education programs for Latinxs are usually classified in three types. (1) Developmental maintenance bilingual education aims to make Latinx students bilingual and biliterate and is available regardless of language proficiency. (2) Transitional bilingual education is available only to those who are considered “English-language learners” (here referred to as “emergent bilinguals”) until they can show proficiency in English. (3) Two-way bilingual education programs (often called “dual language”) are available to a balanced number of Latinxs who are developing English and students who are English speakers, and also aim to make students bilingual and biliterate in each other’s language, under a policy of strictly separating the two languages. Developmental maintenance bilingual education programs fell into disfavor in the 1970s because of fears of Latinx linguistic and cultural autonomy. Even transitional bilingual education programs, supported by the Bilingual Education Act since 1974, were under attack. However, two-way bilingual education programs are growing slowly. While Arizona’s ban on bilingual education still stands today, both California and Massachusetts have overturned their bilingual education ban after legislative moves that reversed Proposition 227 in 2016 and Question 2 in 2017, respectively. The greater support for two-way bilingual programs has to do with the inclusion of language-majority children. For Latinx children, these programs are often the only way to develop their biliteracy, and many so-called dual language programs are really “one-way” programs, constituted solely of Latinx students at different points on the bilingual continuum. Despite their promises, dual-language bilingual education programs have a policy of separating the two languages strictly, and often they do not leverage the bilingual language practices of bilingual communities—what some call “translanguaging.” Latinxs were the focus of the bilingual education literature in the United States throughout the second half of the 20th century, and bilingual education was understood as an instrument for their educational equity. But with the emphasis on English-language acquisition under No Child Left Behind, and an increasing number of immigrants from different language groups, the focus of the bilingual education literature has changed from Latinxs to the more general focus on English-language learners. In this article, “Latinx” is used as a more inclusive, gender-neutral term to address people of Latin American and Caribbean descent.

scholarly journals A Study of Language Anxiety among English Language Learners in Saudi Arabia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Badia Muntazer Hakim
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Self Awareness

Classroom anxiety is a recurrent phenomenon for language learners. There are various factors that cause language anxiety, the most common of which include learners’ excessive self-consciousness and self-awareness concerning their oral reproduction and performance and their peculiar, and quite often misplaced and mistaken, views and beliefs regarding different approaches. Other potential reasons for this problem could include the fear, and the consequent deterrence occasioned thereof, of encountering difficulties in language learning, specifically learners’ individual problems regarding the culture of the target language and the varying social statuses of speakers. The most important fear is, perhaps, the deterrent fear of causing damage to one’s self-identity. Therefore, while needing to paying special attention to language learners’ anxiety reactions, language teachers have a crucial role in helping their students achieve the expected performance goals in the target language. Another factor that could potentially lead to language anxiety is simply the poor command of the target language. This problem could be attributed to linguistic barriers and obstacles language learners encounter in learning and using the target language. In the current study, using a qualitative, semi-structured interview and the focus-group discussion technique, the researcher aims to investigate the factors that contribute to language anxiety among Arab language learners. It focuses on learners both within the classroom setting and without, i.e. in the social context, and recommends a number of approaches to manage and overcome this problem.

scholarly journals FROM INLAND TO OUTLAND: EXPERIENCES OF NON-NATIVE EXPATRIATE TEACHERS TEACHING IN A FOREIGN CONTEXT

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-37
Author(s):  
Remart Padua Dumlao ◽  
Trixia Mengorio
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
English Language ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking

The numbers of English language learners and limited domestic English language teachers have grown exponentially in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as to the ASEAN region over the past decades due to the demand of globalization. Given the huge cultural and linguistic diversity among learners, educating these populations of English language learners can be a challenging but also beneficial for foreign language teachers. This study aimed to analyse the experiences of fifteen Non-native English Speaking Foreign Teachers (NNESFT) teaching in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The results of this study suggested that although teachers’ reasons in teaching English language in a foreign classroom were more extrinsic reasons rather that intrinsic and altruistic. NNESFT recognized benefits of teaching in foreign classroom, namely, financial aspects, personal development, and building cultural awareness. Meanwhile, challenges were reported include as a non-native English speaking teachers in a foreign classroom, on the part of textbooks and curriculum, and cultural differences in the classroom. Implications were discussed in light of the findings and recommendations formulated for future research directions.

scholarly journals Teaching and Learning Vocabulary: What English Language Learners Perceive to Be Effective and Ineffective Strategies

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Seyyed Hatam Tamimi Sa’d ◽  
Fereshte Rajabi
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Strategy Training ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English Language Teachers

Vocabulary constitutes an essential part of every language-learning endeavour and deserves scholarly attention. The objective of the present study was three-fold: 1) exploring Iranian English language learners’Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLSs), 2) examining language learners’ perceptions of vocabulary learning, and 3) exploring Iranian English language teachers’ Vocabulary Teaching Strategies (VTSs). In total, 145  intermediate learners of English as a foreign language, consisting of 114 males and 31 females aged 15 to 27, participated in the study. The triangulated data were collected using three tools: questionnaires, interviews, and class observations. Sixty-seven learners (31 females and 36 males) filled out a 56-statement questionnaire, adopted and adapted from Takač (2008) and translated into Persian. The questionnaire comprised two parts, enquiring as to the learners’ VLSs and the teachers’ VTSs. The findings indicated that females and males differed significantly in their reported VLSs and their teachers’ use of various VTSs. Additionally, 78 learners were interviewed as to their perceptions of effective and ineffective VLSs as well as VTSs. The findings revealed that the most effective VLSs were reported to be: a) reciting, repeating and listening to words, b) using words, and c) memorising words while the most effective VTSs revolved around: a) explanation, b) repetition, and c) dictation. The observations also confirmed the findings obtained via the questionnaire and interviews. In general, the findings are indicative of the limited repertoire of vocabulary acquisition techniques employed by Iranian EFL learners, hence the need for strategy training in how to acquire vocabulary. 

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