Ways to Encourage Students To Become More Balanced Bilinguals 3/22/2015

Ana Carolina Behel 1

Presenter: Ana Carolina Behel Florence City Schools

Ways to Encourage Students to Become More

Balanced Bilinguals

Essential Questions What does research say about bilingualism?

What challenges do emergent bilinguals face when living and attending school in a monolingual environment?

What can school stakeholders do to encourage ELL students to become more balanced bilinguals (and in turn, achieve higher levels of academic success)?

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• Cognitive • Health • Economic

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Research on the Bilingual Mind: Benefits

Cognitive and Health Benefits

1. enhanced cognitive performance (verbal and nonverbal!)

2. more executive control across the life span

3. improved metalinguistic awareness

4. better memory, visual-spatial skills, and even creativity.

5. delay in onset of dementia (Alzheimer’s)

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Economic Benefits

Balanced bilingual students earn significantly more as adults at the beginning of their career than those linguistic minorities who were dominantly proficient in English only.

Bilingual students are more likely to gain admission to prestigious universities, higher-status employment, access to certain government positions, and a wider variety of employment options (Abu-Rabia, 1999; Wee, 2003).

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Research on Bilingualism and Society: Benefits

• Cross-cultural communication • Academics • Social adaptation

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Benefits to Society

Bilingualism facilitates cross-cultural communication in a global society

Bilingual immigrant students are more academically successful and socially well-adapted in the long term (Mora, 16)

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Research on Academic Achievement of ELLs

• Effectiveness • Advantages

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Research on Academic Achievement for ELLs

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Bilingual education actually can provide advantages, such

as enhancing cognitive thinking skills

Bilingual education programs have been shown to be effective for ELL and

native English speakers (Center for Research on Education)

ELLs who attended English-only programs

showed large decreases in math and reading

achievement (Honigsfeld 80)

ELLs who attended English-only programs had the

largest number of dropouts (Honigsfeld 80)

Ways to Encourage Students To Become More Balanced Bilinguals 3/22/2015

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ELL Students in English-Only Settings: Challenges

• Political • Socioeconomic • Educational

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US Politics Surrounding Bilingualism

English-only movement

31 US States have Official English Laws

Harshest Immigration Law HB56 Passed in 2011 in Alabama Fails

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U.S. English. Official English. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.us-english.org/view/13

Coke Ad

School Factors

Impossible to offer bilingual education for all

Shortage of bilingual certified teachers

Lack of funding

Myths surrounding L2 acquisition

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Socioeconomic Factors

Poverty

Issues of Language Power

Parents with Low Literacy in L1

Lack of reading materials at the home in L1 and L2

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Westerlund, R. Language is Never Neutral [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/rawesterlund/language-is-never-neutral

Encouraging Students to Become

More Balanced Bilinguals

• School • Home • Community

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Focus on Schools: Fostering a School Culture Where Multiculturalism and Bilingualism Are Valued and Accepted

Bilingual Signs

Bilingual Communications (oral / written)

Special Events (Hispanic Heritage Month / Author Visit / Multicultural Events)

Read Across America Week (Bilingual Readers)

Bilingual books for the classroom and school library

Morning Forecast - Word of the Day

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Focus on the Home: Parents Actively Strengthen L1 at Home

Parents of young children get involved in the educational process

Parents read with their children every night in L1

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Focus on the Community: Community Stakeholders Strengthen L1 and L2

Church-sponsored L1 literacy programs

Literacy Programs at the Public Library

Multi-Cultural Events in the Community

Sports Youth Leagues

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Ways to Encourage Students To Become More Balanced Bilinguals 3/22/2015

Ana Carolina Behel 3

“Although structured English immersion

approaches can succeed, bilingual

programs offer a bonus : bilingual and biliterate

citizens.”

Timothy Boals, Director, WIDA

Learning English is Not Enough, 2013

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Sources:

Bialystok, Ellen (2011). Reshaping the mind: The benefits of bilingualism. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology , 65 (4), 229-235.

Lo Bianco, J., A. J. Liddicoat and C. Crozet. (eds) (1999). Striving for the third place: Intercultural competence through language education. Melbourne: Language Australia.

Marian, V., & Shook, A. (2012, September). The cognitive benefits of being bilingual. In Cerebrum: the Dana forum on brain science (Vol. 2012). Dana Foundation.

Mora, J. K. (2009). From the Ballot Box to the Classroom. Educational Leadership, 66(7), 14-19.

Parmon, P. (2011). Educating immigrant children: Bilingualism in America’s schools. Social Sciences Journal, 10(1), 14.

Serdyukov, P. (2010). Can Balanced Bilingualism Be Achieved in a Multicultural Society? Second and First Language Implications. Publication of National University, 125.

http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/news/coverStories/2013/learning_english_isnt_enough.php

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