Multilingual Mexican-Origin Students' Perspectives on Their Indigenous Heritage Language

This article focuses on the reported experiences of three focal students who participated in a Spanish/English dual language program in their southern California school district throughout their elementary and middle school years. All three students identify as Mexican-origin and speak Spanish, English, and the Indigenous language of Zapoteco and have different relationships with their languages. The framework of Critical Latinx Indigeneities (Blackwell, Boj Lopez & Urrieta, 2017) is used to explore the practices engaged in by the students, including language use and transnationalism (Sánchez, 2007), as well as the investment to learn and use a language as part of their identity (Norton Peirce, 1995; Norton, 2000). Even though dual language programs provide much needed linguistic supports for language maintenance, perhaps more importantly, they provide support for ideological shifts towards language maintenance rather than transition to English-only instruction. However, the three students experienced a segmented and limited focus on Spanish language development in middle school compared to their elementary school experience. The authors discuss implications for outside school spaces that can support authentic language use, in addition to school-sanctioned language programs promoting multilingualism.

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Dual language programs: Questions of access in the state of Arizona

Education Policy Analysis Archives ◽

10.14507/epaa.28.4680 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 28 ◽

pp. 18

Author(s):

Laura M. Gomez ◽

Jesus Cisneros

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

Dual Language ◽

Language Program ◽

Case Study Methodology ◽

Language Programs ◽

Interest Convergence ◽

Dual Language Programs ◽

English Only ◽

Dual Language Program ◽

Stakeholder Perspectives

Public schools across the country are increasingly working with children who enter schools speaking a language other than English. Using a case study methodology, the authors examined Dual Language Program (DLP) implementation in Arizona, which by law supports English-only education. Several benefits (bilingualism, bi-literacy, biculturalism, globalization) and challenges (curriculum, teachers, state policy, funding, and lack of access to DLPs for minority language students) are highlighted from stakeholder perspectives. Participants in this study described the paradox of excluding ELLs from dual language programs as inefficient, unnecessary, and wrong. Taking Interest Convergence as a theoretical framework to understand the Arizona context regarding English-only education, this study raises implications for research and practice.

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Achieving academic control in two languages: Drawing on the psychology of language learning in considering the past, the present, and prospects for the future

Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching ◽

10.14746/ssllt.2015.5.2.7 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 327-345

Author(s):

Andrew D. Cohen

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Language Learners ◽

Dual Language ◽

First Language ◽

Language Program ◽

Language Programs ◽

The Past ◽

Dual Language Program ◽

Program Language ◽

Academic Control

This paper first considers what it means to become truly proficient in a language other than the native one. It then looks briefly at the evolution of dual language programs. Next, it focuses on the issue of whether the first language (L1) or the second language (L2) serves as the language of mediation. Other dual language program issues are then discussed, such as how proficient learners actually become in academic and social language in the L2, their proficiency in grammar and pronunciation, and possible administrative constraints in the design and execution of such programs. Finally, attention is given to a guidebook written directly for dual language learners and for their teachers in which learners are encouraged to take a proactive role to ensure that they make the most of their dual program language learning and use experiences.

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Linguistic Motherwork in the Zapotec Diaspora: Zapoteca Mothers’ Perspectives on Indigenous Language Maintenance

Association of Mexican American Educators Journal ◽

10.24974/amae.13.2.431 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 122 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ramón Antonio Martínez ◽

Melisa Mesinas

Keyword(s):

Los Angeles ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Dual Language ◽

Language Maintenance ◽

Interview Data ◽

Indigenous Language ◽

Language Program ◽

School Aged Children ◽

Dual Language Program ◽

Language And Ideology

This article explores Indigenous Mexican mothers’ perspectives on multilingualism and Indigenous language maintenance in their children’s lives. Drawing on interview data from a larger qualitative study of language and ideology among multilingual children in Los Angeles, California, the article examines the perspectives of four Zapotec mothers who have children in a local public school with a Spanish-English dual language program. The interview data highlight what these women think and do with respect to the maintenance of the Zapotec language in the lives of their school-aged children. Critical Latinx Indigeneities and the feminist notion of linguistic motherwork are used to highlight the intersectional nature of these women’s efforts to construct and sustain indigeneity in diaspora.

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Bilingualism for the Children: Implementing a Dual-Language Program in an English-Only State

Educational Policy ◽

10.1177/0895904805278063 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 19 (5) ◽

pp. 701-728 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Mary Carol Combs ◽

Carol Evans ◽

Todd Fletcher ◽

Elena Parra ◽

Alicia Jiménez

Keyword(s):

Dual Language ◽

Language Program ◽

English Only ◽

Dual Language Program

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Parental Perspectives on Dual Language Classrooms

Advances in Linguistics and Communication Studies - Handbook of Research on Cross-Cultural Approaches to Language and Literacy Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8668-7.ch006 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 139-157

Author(s):

Eurydice Bouchereau Bauer ◽

Dorian Harrison

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Dual Language ◽

African American Parents ◽

Language Program ◽

Language Programs ◽

Dual Language Programs ◽

Dual Language Program ◽

Parental Perspectives ◽

Language Classrooms ◽

School Learning

Although limited research studies exist on African-Americans in dual language programs in general, even less exist on African American parents' experiences within dual language programs. In this chapter, we present the voices of nine African-American parents. These voices serve as a lens to understand the ways in which the program impacted these parents' homes and the lives of their children. The data was gathered within the first two years of a dual language program. Each of the families was interviewed twice across two years. Three major findings emerged. First, the capital that students gained in school impacted the adults at home. Second, these new home interactions based on students' school learning influenced parents' and students' views of themselves and their community. Third, in the home and in the community, ambivalence was reflected regarding learning basic school concepts in a second language. This study captures the tug and pulls associated with families wanting to provide their children with the best opportunities within a racialized society.

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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

Journal of Educational Issues ◽

10.5296/jei.v5i2.14747 ◽

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.

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