Bilingual Programs Research Articles

Development of Multimedia Bilingual Learning for Early Childhood Education

This study aims to describe bilingual learning in PAUD Group B in TK Perintis II Arang Limbung, Sungai Raya District. The method used in this study is the Research and Development (R&D) method with the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) development model. The subjects of this study were the Head of Pioneer II Kindergarten, class teachers, student behavior, and parents. Data collection techniques use interviews, observations, and documentation. Data analysis techniques through qualitative analysis. The results showed that every child can develop language naturally. However, language development is also influenced by parents, the environment, and the world of education, especially in bilingual learning, namely Indonesian and English. Students have been taught in two languages and delivered through singing, playing, and dancing. This attracts students to follow the lesson with a feeling of love and joy. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop English learning media so that children's cognitive abilities can be improved. The conclusions of this program study show that the bilingual program in ECCE provides positive results for children's language development.

Teacher Identity in CLIL: A Case Study of Two In-service Teachers

The provision of CLIL teachers in Spain has outpaced the growth of the so-called bilingual programs, as there are no specific training requirements for CLIL teachers who are either ­content or language specialists. So, CLIL teachers have a preexistent teacher identity that could influence their pedagogical choices. This study examines how teachers negotiate their existing ­teacher identities in a CLIL environment and how they exercise those identities in the classroom. The study adopts a qualitative case study methodology using interviews and questionnaires. Findings show that the way teachers negotiated their identities was affected by their former personal and professional experiences, their conceptualization of the imagined community, and their investment in that community. The findings have implications for creating in-service training programs that enhance teachers’ language awareness in CLIL and their association with the community.

Application of Human Capital Theory to Understand Funding Inequities in Dual Language Programs

Language is a form of human capital. Human capital refers to skills an individual needs to succeed within the labor market. Originating from The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 (Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1968), one of many purposes of dual language programs (DLPs) was to provide equal access to classroom opportunities for all students, regardless of their native language. The goal of bilingual programs is to promote the literacy of the English language and their home language. Two-way DLPs in schools were created to help strengthen the English literacy of non-native-English-speaking students, while simultaneously supporting their performance in school. English-speaking students are also within the classroom, while instruction is split between English and the home language of the non-native English speakers. Despite the original focus of equity in these programs, there seems to have been a growing interest in DLPs from native English speakers whose goals are most closely related to human capital and globalization views. In addition, disparities in funding highlight the lack of value placed on DLPs when it comes to equity for non-native English speakers, which are ultimately rooted in the history of oppressive bilingual education policies. The globalization view, coupled with funding inequities, could lead to resource hoarding among certain groups, ultimately negatively affecting English learners’ labor market outcomes later in life due to an inability to access DLPs and utilize the benefits that come from them.

Perspectives on the Effectiveness of Madrid’s Regional Bilingual Programme: Exploring the Correlation between English Proficiency Level and Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs

This study aims to examine the opinions of prospective pre-primary and primary teachers about Madrid’s regional Bilingual Programme in Spain, assessing the correlations between their self-perceived level of English and their positioning concerning the effectiveness of the regional programme. Although there is a growing body of research in the field of education on how CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) provisions impact in-service teachers’ attitudes concerning bilingual education, there is a dearth of literature on the way student teachers depict the teaching reality. Thus, this paper explores pre-service teachers’ beliefs towards the Bilingual Programme via an ad hoc questionnaire, administered to a non-probabilistic sample of 170 undergraduate students at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. The data collected were explored using Chi-square and Somers’ D tests. The results show that the self-perceived English level, greatly determined by prior bilingual schooling, has a strong influence on their perceptions about the Bilingual Programme. The findings also indicate that, although the learning experience at the pre-primary stage is valued positively by students, the acquisition of curricular contents in primary education is seen as negatively affected due to English medium instruction.

Teacher Identity (re)Construction in Collaborative Bilingual Education: The Emergence of Dyadic Identity

AbstractTeacher identity construction has long been investigated within the field of English language teaching. However, little is known about how particularities and demands of co‐teaching language and content in bilingual education (BE) settings may lead to teacher identity (re)construction, especially in preschool contexts. Therefore, we explored, through narrative inquiry, the identity (re)construction of one pair of English language and homeroom teachers in a preschool in Turkey. We gathered data through oral narratives, follow‐up written accounts, and an online pair interview, which collectively provided insights into their induction into BE, collaborative teaching practices, and interactions with contextual factors. Findings show that external support (e.g., training, and sustained feedback by the trainers) alongside teachers' own experiences and reflections regarding BE and changing beliefs about their prior practice were among the factors which led to their transition into the role of BE co‐teacher. Parallel to this transitioning process, a relationally mediated positional identity we label dyadic identity emerged between the teachers. We discuss the process of the teachers' transition to a BE co‐teacher role and the emergence of dyadic identity, elaborating on the factors that facilitated this development. Implications for teacher identity research as well as bilingual program development are discussed.

Practices of Submersion Education and Readiness of Teachers to Teach in a Culturally Diverse Classroom on the Case of Georgia

In this article will be introduced the teaching practice and challenges for one of the most popular education programs in Georgia, the Submersion Bilingual Program. The practice of submersion bilingual education includes the learning and teaching process of linguistic majority and minority students together, in the same classroom environment, with the same curriculum in the majority language. The existence of a submersion bilingual program in Georgia is conditioned by the ethnic and linguistic diversity of the country's population. The article is based on a qualitative research in which I studied the attitudes of teachers in submersion schools and their professional readiness to teach in a multilingual classroom. The research analyzes the difference between teachers' expectations towards minority and majority students and the impact of teachers' attitudes and preconceptions on the process of forming expectations towards ethnic students. The article below also highlights the challenges specific to submersion schools, the methodological knowledge and intercultural skills of teachers, and their practices for effective teaching in a different language environment. At the end of the article the author's conclusions and recommendations are provided which are based on the research findings in order to improve teaching practice

Chinese-English dual language bilingual education in the United States美国中英双语沉浸式教学

ABSTRACT This special issue examines dual-language bilingual education (DLBE) programmes in North America that provide emergent bilinguals with instruction in two-way and one-way bilingual programmes. We use the term Dual-Language Bilingual Education to emphasise the end-goal of bilingualism and reclaim the critical and social justice orientation of bilingual education. Currently, scholarship surrounding DLBE programmes in North America focus primarily on Spanish-English and French-English language combinations, and lack in Chinese-English DLBE programmes. Still, research in this language area is garnering more attention, yielding findings that are both unique to the Chinese partner language and generalisable to other la-nguage combinations. To frame this special issue, we provide a systematic review of Chinese-English DLBE research from peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2000 and 2021. Twenty-eight articles were analyzed for trends and themes. Together with the six studies in this special issue, these articles discuss various issues in Chinese-English DLBE research including (but not limited to) learning outcomes, stakeholder perspectives, language development, and pedagogical supports, while adopting different research designs. We envision this special issue will diversify the language area in current bilingual education research and critically engage with interdisciplinary research narratives to examine opportunities and challenges in Chinese-English DLBE research.

Teachers’ Perceived Impact of an Online Professional Development Course on Content and Language Integration and Pedagogical Translanguaging

Research has already shown that designing instruction that simultaneously develops students’ content and language competences is fundamental especially, but not only, when students are educated in a second, foreign or additional language. Unfortunately, content teachers working in different types of bilingual education programmes hold varying beliefs about the role of language for and in learning and often struggle to successfully integrate language and content objectives. This is particularly the case of content teachers working in the Italian network of educational institutions in the world who struggle to support students to learn content through Italian as the language of instruction, but also tend to fail to recognize the importance of validating their linguistic and cultural background. In this context, the dearth of training is accompanied by a dearth of research on the effects of professional development courses.This paper aims to fill this gap by reporting on the effectiveness of a short online teacher professional development (OTPD) course aimed at supporting both primary and secondary subject teachers working in Italian international schools abroad to integrate content and language learning from a plurilingual and pluricultural perspective. Specifically, it explores teachers’ perceptions in relation to the design and implementation features of the course and to its effects on their beliefs, teaching practice, and professional identity.

‘The economic world of choice’: mainstreaming discourses and Indigenous bilingual education in Australia 1998–99

ABSTRACT Indigenous language bilingual schooling, introduced in Australia's Northern Territory (NT) in 1973, was a reality for over twenty-five schools at the program's height. Today, the language-of-instruction in these same settings is English only, with only 7 state schools operating bilingual programs. Overt Government hostility began with an attempt to defund Indigenous bilingual education in 1998-99. This paper argues that the discursive techniques used to justify these cuts were crucial to developing key themes in ‘mainstreaming discourses’ in Indigenous politics, which has rehabilitated assimilationist thinking in a neoliberal context through the 2000s and since. Using a discourse-historical method, this paper elucidates how mainstreaming discourses were constructed against bilingual education in the 1998–99 debate, and how they emphasized English-only education geared towards neoliberal assimilation for remote Indigenous communities. Indigenous bilingual education was conceived as part of ‘failed’ self-determination in remote Australia. This paper enhances understanding of the patterns and themes of mainstreaming discourses by tracing their genealogical development in this debate.

Students’ Perceptions of the Use of English in Higher-Education Bilingual Programs

Students’ voices about the use of the English language in bilingual higher-education programs have received little attention, since most research has focused on lecturers’ attitudes, challenges, and needs. This exploratory study aims to gain insights into the perception of 310 students from a Spanish university context about the use of English in bilingual programs through questionnaires. Results show the students’ overall satisfaction in terms of lecturers English language proficiency and use of strategies to facilitate comprehension, as well as reluctance to be evaluated in that language, demand for further classroom interaction, and inclusion of language-related courses in bilingual-higher education curricula.

Anja Steinlen: English in Elementary Schools: Research and Implications on Minority and Majority Language Children’s Reading and Writing Skills in Regular and Bilingual Programs (Multilingualism and Language Teaching, 7). Tübingen: Narr, Francke, Attempto, 2021.

Anja Steinlen: English in Elementary Schools: Research and Implications on Minority and Majority Language Children’s Reading and Writing Skills in Regular and Bilingual Programs (Multilingualism and Language Teaching, 7). Tübingen: Narr, Francke, Attempto, 2021.

Finding Max’s wolves: Literacy socialization in the margins

For decades, language and literacy scholars working within a sociocultural framework have laboured to bring attention to the strengths of marginalized students in an effort to create more inclusive and equitable learning environments (e.g., Cummins, 2000 ; Dyson, 1997 ; González et al., 2005 ; Heath, 1983 ). While this work has moved the field forward in invaluable ways, it has not consistently engaged with processes of marginalization as a complex practice, which has produced gaps in our understanding of how we can best address it in research and practice to the benefit of all learners. Drawing on the notions of literacy socialization ( Sterponi, 2012 ) and syncretic literacy ( Duranti and Ochs, 1996 ; Gregory et al., 2013a ), in this paper I conduct a close examination of the in- and out-of-school literacy socialization practices of Max Calfu, a seven-year-old Chilean-Canadian boy, over the course of a year-long ethnography that I conducted with his family at their home, at his Spanish-English bilingual public school, and in transit between home and school in a large Western Canadian city. At school, Max’s Indigenous identity was regularly rendered invisible by the cultural capital his Chilean-national heritage held within the Spanish bilingual program ( Calderón and Urrieta, 2019 ). Using thematic analysis ( Saldaña, 2013 ), I demonstrate how Max incorporated the wolf figure into his literacy practices over the course of the research year, considering multiple scales of space and time, and in relation to key mediators. My analysis calls attention to the ways in which he drew on his syncretic literacy experiences to author his Indigenous identity in official and unofficial learning spaces. I conclude the paper by arguing that examining syncretism in children’s literacy practices can lay the foundation for a more ethically, emotionally, and culturally engaged language education.

CLIL and SIOP: an effective partnership?

ABSTRACT This case study examines the use of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP®) Model as a framework in the design of an in-service training to answer CLIL teachers’ methodological needs to integrate content and language. The study also analyzes teachers’ receptiveness of the use of SIOP in a CLIL bilingual program to facilitate the integration of content and language. It follows case study methodology and draws on thematic analysis to examine data collected from teacher interviews, questionnaires and observations of the training workshop. Findings showed that one of teachers’ main difficulties was their lack of academic language awareness, and it is concluded that extensive professional development training drawing on some of the principles behind SIOP could assist CLIL teachers to integrate language in content classes. Teachers’ receptiveness of using the SIOP concludes its suitability as a PD training to help non-language specialist teachers systematically plan for language in their content classes. However, adaptations of the Model are suggested to adjust to CLIL contexts and teachers’ needs.

‘I see you': Indigenous language study in a bilingual teacher education program

ABSTRACT Even though Indigenous Latino/a/x students sometimes have different experiences from other students in bilingual programs in the US, they are often homogenized into the overarching category of ‘Latino/a/o/x.’ Using narrative inquiry and the sub-genre of collective autoethnography, this paper tells the story of our experiences studying K’iche’ and Kaqchikel as part of a graduate course in a bilingual teacher education program. Drawing on Critical Latinx Indigeneities theory, we found that studying Indigenous languages as part of a bilingual teacher education course and critically reflecting on this together helped increase our multilingual awareness, know and connect to our students and community, and learn more about ourselves in the process.

An efficacy assessment of very young EFL learners in Hungary

This study presents an area that has to date been little researched: the efficacy of young learners’ language acquisition. In Hungary, foreign language training offered for pre- school children is mainly a private enterprise. According to Hungary’s National Core Curriculum, public education introduces a foreign language no sooner than the age of 9-10; some exceptions are schools with bilingual programmes. As revealed by their high demand, the extant pre-school language programmes are highly popular with parents. Yet in the absence of official control or supervision, the need to evaluate their effectiveness in the form of private research has arisen. This examination aims to fulfill this very goal.

Diagnostic accuracy of Spanish and English screeners with Spanish and English criterion measures for bilingual students in Grades 1 and 2

The purpose of this study was to examine the diagnostic accuracy of English and Spanish language screeners when predicting reading comprehension outcomes in both languages at the end of Grade 1 and Grade 2. Participants were 1221 Latino/a bilingual students in Grade 1 and 1004 in Grade 2 who were attending bilingual programs in the Pacific Northwest and in Texas. We used ROC curve analyses to calculate the area under the curve (AUC; A) for each measure. The decision thresholds we selected resulted in 71% of all comparisons having accuracy of at least 0.75. Letter naming, decoding, and oral reading fluency in Spanish were accurate in predicting reading risk on criterion measures in Spanish and in English in Grades 1 and 2 (A value of 0.75 or above). English screeners, however, only predicted reading risk on the English criterion measure, but not on the Spanish criterion measure, with a few exceptions. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Emergent Bilingual Middle Schoolers’ Syncretic Reasoning in Statistical Modeling

Background/Context: Bi/multilingual students’ STEM learning is better supported when educators leverage their language and cultural practices as resources, but STEM subject divisions have been historically constructed based on oppressive, dominant values and exclude the ways of knowing of nondominant groups. Truly promoting equity requires expanding and transforming STEM disciplines. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This article contributes to efforts to illuminate emergent bi/multilingual students’ ways of knowing, languaging, and doing in STEM. We follow the development of syncretic literacies in relation to translanguaging practices, asking, How do knowledges and practices from different communities get combined and reorganized by students and teachers in service of new modeling practices? Setting and Participants: We focus on a seventh-grade science classroom, deliberately designed to support syncretic literacies and translanguaging practices, where computer science concepts were infused into the curriculum through modeling activities. The majority of the students in the bilingual program had arrived in the United States at most three years before enrolling, from the Caribbean and Central and South America. Research Design: We analyze one lesson that was part of a larger research–practice partnership focused on teaching computer science through leveraging translanguaging practices and syncretic literacies. The lesson was a modeling and computing activity codesigned by the teacher and two researchers about post–Hurricane María outmigration from Puerto Rico. Analysis used microethnographic methods to trace how students assembled translanguaging, social, and schooled practices to make sense of and construct models. Findings/Results: Findings show how students assembled representational forms from a variety of practices as part of accomplishing and negotiating both designed and emergent goals. These included sensemaking, constructing, explaining, justifying, and interpreting both the physical and computational models of migration. Conclusions/Recommendations: Implications support the development of theory and pedagogy that intentionally make space for students to engage in meaning-making through translanguaging and syncretic practices in order to provide new possibilities for lifting up STEM learning that may include, but is not constrained by, disciplinary learning. Additional implications for teacher education and student assessment practices call for reconceptualizing schooling beyond day-to-day curriculum as part of making an ontological shift away from prioritizing math, science, and CS disciplinary and language objectives as defined by and for schooling, and toward celebrating, supporting, and centering students’ diverse, syncretic knowledges and knowledge use.

Personal Journey through Memory in Ukraine (Letter to the Editor)

The images of destruction in Ukrainian cities that we continue to see on television every day, and the dramatic reports done by journalists, reminded me of a visit I made to that tormented country more than 20 years ago that I want to share with this brief note. In particularly, I remember taking part in a series of meetings with Ukrainian colleagues in two cities, Lviv and Kiev as part of an initiative promoted by the Vicariate of Rome, in the person of His Excellency Monsignor Lorenzo Leuzzi which involved professors from the Catholic University such as myself, and from the University of Tor Vergata both from Roma, Italy. Obviously, colleagues from the University of Lviv participated, and Prof. Krcmery was also present representing at that time the University of Trnava, Slovakia. The title of the conference was 'Humanism in Medicine'. The meetings were held on the occasion of the apostolic visit of Pope St. John PauII which took place in June 2001. I still have vivid memories of that unforgettable trip and the meetings I had with Ukrainian colleagues. The topics either dealt with the ethical and scientific aspects of responsible childbirth, the use of stem cells in medicine and theology, the ethical aspects of human genetics and lastly, medical culture as an opportunity for teaching humanism. Indeed, I was a speaker in this last session (see photo). I also enclose both the bilingual program, in English and Ukrainian, with the complete list of speakers and the poster advertising the event. The opening prayer was given by His Eminence Cardinal Harchbishop Marian Yavorsky

The realization of bilingual education in Singapore (overview)

Today, when knowing languages are directly connected with economic situation, Singapore is a good example. According to the international tests results, Singapore has ranked first place. Consequently, in this article, we consider what types of bilingual education are used and how schools implement them in their education program. As a multinational country without one official language, Singapore made all the languages of main nations official and chose English as a common language which is compulsory to be known by all the population. So, schools used bilingual programs directed to make students be able to study in two languages, English and mother tongue. Not only schools develop bilingual programs but the government is also involved in realization of bilingual programs to educate children to know at least two languages at a high level. An effective realization of bilingual program made Singapore one of the best countries which have a good educational system.

“Using It to Our Advantage in a Way It Was Not Designed to Be”: Spanish Dual Language and School Choice in New York City

ABSTRACT Dual Language (DL), a bilingual program has expanded at a rapid rate in New York City. This qualitative study explores choice in three public schools (n = 42) with strand Spanish DL programs to determine the role it plays in middle- and higher-income families’ decision making. Factors such as location, pedagogical style, environment, and peer group were considered. DL was most often chosen as a default when families’ first choices were not successful. Thus, it has come to be seen as a more viable option for parents navigating the complex choice process in the district.