i need some information about bilingual education?

There’s also what’s called one-way and two-way bilingual education. One-way means that you have a group of children that all speak the same language that is not English, usually Spanish. They are taught in their home language for part of the day and in English for part of the day. Two-way means that you have some students that speak English and some that don’t (again, usually Spanish) and each is trying to learn the other language: English speakers learning Spanish, Spanish speakers learning English. How this is done varies, but it usually starts off with all the English-speaking students grouped together and all the other language speakers grouped together. They are taught in their home language for part of the day, then they swap teachers and are taught in the second language for part of the day.

Another thing, usually programs begin with kids getting 50/50 instruction, 50% of the day in home language and 50% of the day in second language. As kids progress through the program (which can run from pre-k to 5th grade), the percentage of the day that is in English increases – the goal, afterall, is to get the non-English speakers to be fluent in English. Sure, it is a goal to get the English-speakers to become fluent in the 2nd language. Typically doing a 70/30 ratio by later years.

Oh, here’s another thing I think is interesting. In a two-way program (and maybe even in a one-way, I’m not really sure) certain subjects are taught in only one language. For example, in younger grades, say 1st and 2nd, the kids will have reading/language arts in their home language, but all the kids will be taught math in English and science/social studies in the other language. Once they get to later grades, they receive reading/language arts in both languages, keep math in English, and keep science/social studies in second language. But what’s really cool is that you also provide what’s called 1st language vocabulary enrichment. For example, say a native-English speaker is in a program like the above, so is learning about science and social studies in Spanish. Well, they still need to know the science vocabulary in English. And vice versa, the native-Spanish speaker who is receiving math instuction in only English, still needs to know the terminology in Spanish. So the teachers set aside time after the lessons are taught to go over vocabulary in the 1st language to those respective students.

What do you want to know?

Bilingual ed, in the traditional sense, usually means the school day is 1/2 L1, 1/2 L2. Usually there’s a pretty even mix of which language is the first language for the students. But not always.

As a bilingual Kindergarten teacher I think very highly of it. Its the BEST way to educate students whose native language is not English.

For example, in Kindergarten, we need to teach kids how to go from being illiterate to literate. Since literacy is an extension of language, (go from oral mastery to reading mastery and writing mastery) the most logical, smooth, and easy way to teach a five year old to become literate is through their native language.

If they are still trying to comprehend a new language let alone pronouce the new sounds in the words of the new langauge, how can they possibly learn to read and write in that language at the same time??? They can’t so they fall behind and finish kindergarten still being just as illiterate as they were when they came in.

However since they spent all of kindergarten being immersed in English now they can understand English a bit. But it doesnt matter because now they’re in first grade learning how to read and write when that should have happened in Kinder!!! So they’re behind year after year.

Its not fair and not ethical ! I see it happen all the time and its so sad because kids whose native language is not English are just as smart as any other child but because they have not learned to express themselves in English correctly YET, they are looked down on.