Presenter: Ana Carolina BehelFlorence City Schools

Ways to Encourage Students to Become More

Balanced Bilinguals

2

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)?

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

3

• Cognitive • Health • Economic

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

Research on the Bilingual Mind:

Benefits

4

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)

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

5

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).

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

6

Research on Bilingualism and Society:

Benefits • Cross-cultural communication• Academics• Social adaptation

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

7

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)

8

Research on Academic Achievement of ELLs• Effectiveness• Advantages

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

9

Research on Academic Achievement for ELLs

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

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)

10

ELL Students in English-Only Settings:

Challenges• Political• Socioeconomic• Educational

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

11

US Politics Surrounding Bilingualism

English-only movement

31 US States have Official English Laws

Harshest Immigration Law HB56 Passed in 2011 in Alabama Fails

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

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

Coke Ad

12

School Factors

Impossible to offer bilingual education for all

Shortage of bilingual certified teachers

Lack of funding

Myths surrounding L2 acquisition

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

13

Socioeconomic Factors

Poverty

Issues of Language Power

Parents with Low Literacy in L1

Lack of reading materials at the home in L1 and L2

142015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

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

15

Encouraging Students to Become

More Balanced Bilinguals

• School• Home• Community

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

16

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

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

17

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

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

18

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

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

19

“Although structured English immersion

approaches can succeed, bilingual programs offer a

bonus : bilingual and biliterate citizens.”

Timothy Boals, Director, WIDALearning English is Not Enough, 2013

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada

20

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

2015 TESOL Convention March 26, 2015 Toronto, ON, Canada