Questioning the Effectiveness and Quality of Billingual Education

Allen, Ms. Chursenoff and Ms. Diaz were able to overcome many of the previously mentioned challenges by desiring to understand their student's challenges and realizing the responsibility that they hold in their education. Ms. Chursenoff observed that it was important to "become familiar with a variety of cooperative learning strategies" (Ariza – Whelan, Eileen N., p. 4, 2010). She also realized the importance of always "implementing instructional strategies that are congruent with Hispanic cultural traits" (Ariza – Whelan, Eileen N., p. 5, 2010), in her situation, but those strategies can be utilized for all cultural traits, as well. Ms. Diaz "realized the only way she could help her students become successful in learning a second language was by learning what she did not know about their culture" (Ariza – Whelan, Eileen N., p. 7, 2010). That excites me! I would love to study and research other cultures. I strongly believe teachers do "have the clearest understanding of what needs to be done to successfully educate students in today's world" (Ariza – Whelan, Eileen N., p. 7, 2010), contrary to what the majority of people may surmise. I absolutely love how Ms. Allen advocates for her students. She stands firm against the ideas of policy makers to be the ones who make the laws for the children in her classroom. She shares the same beliefs and values that I have as a teacher. I truly admire

More young americans nowadays are being raised in homes speaking non-English, but these students are falling behind in schools where there is not a bilingual program available. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in schools without a bilingual education program, 71% of English speakers are at or above the basic requirements for fourth grade reading while merely 30% of non-English speakers reach this level. 35% of English and 8% of non-English speakers reach proficient reading levels while only 9% of English and 1% of non-English speakers perform at advanced levels. It’s evident that the availability of a bilingual program is crucial to the success of an individual who needs the resources that can be given to them through the use of bilingual education. The percentages of the non-English speaking students previously mentioned could undoubtedly be comparable to those percentages of the English speaking students if the education they were being provided with was cohesive to their comfortability, and the material being taught was in a language they could better understand.

Cultural Diversity has lead schools to promote dual language and bilingual programs for ELL students. However, raising bilingual children according to Marsha Rosenberg is not something that simply happens. Parents must carefully consider how they will raise their children in their new culture. Unfortunately, many parents often forget that neglecting their primary language in the process of raising their children will only hurt them in the long run. However, what they fail to understand is that our current society insists on developing diverse learners, who can speak two or more languages and are diverse (Gensee, n.d). Therefore, in order to raise bilingual students they parents must provide the children with rich experiences at home as well as in a variety of settings (Broekhuizen, n.d.). Furthermore, families need to maintain a close family unity and sense of belonging when dealing with the bilingual issue at home.

As an ELPT, I was well informed and trained in the laws, rules, and responsibilities with running English as a second language and Bilingual Programs. I screened students using the W-APT screener for proper placement of our EL students. I monitored the progress of transitional students and worked collaboratively with their teachers to offer interventions. I understood how to use ACCESS data to inform instruction and meet the linguistic needs of our EL population. With this knowledge, I was able to work collaboratively, coach, model, and facilitate the learning of adults on how to best use data to design and differentiate instruction for our students success.

According to the No Child Left Behind Act of (NCLB) of 2001, one of the Titles III’s purposes was “to develop high-quality language instruction education programs designed to assist states, district and schools in teaching limited English proficient children and serving immigrant children and youth” ( ESEA Section 3102 (3) as stated in Language Instruction Educational Programs ( LIEPs), 2012 p. viii). As such, Article 14-C of the Illinois School Code recognizes two models to serve ELL students: a transitional bilingual education (TBE) program or transitional program of instruction

“They are your kids, not mine!” The typical excuse content area teachers will say to the ESOL teachers when any issue arises regarding the education of the emerging bilingual students. The truth is that everyone in the school building, including content area teachers, office personnel, and administrators, should be involved in educating the emerging bilingual students, not only the ESOL teacher. Content area teachers need to be aware that if the students are not proficient in the new language, they will have challenges in all the content classes. Even in the Common Core Standards, the expectation is for teachers to develop not only their content area, but at the same time improve the academic language. One reason is that since the Common

It is no secret that the debate over what is the best course of action to educate our non-native English language students across the country is a highly charged topic that runs from the classroom to Capitol Hill. There have been many shifts in direction and focus of educational programs for English Language Learning (ELL) students during the past century in our nation's history. In 1968, with the passage of the Bilingual Education Act (Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) legislation was

This set the precedent of allowing increased funding as the Bilingual Education Act made additional English instruction mandatory. Programs such as ESL classes and sheltered immersion were created to help these students make connections between the content and the language that they are learning. ESL classes have specialists come to the classroom to help the student, while sheltered immersion classes have more specialized teachers that can help facilitate the connections between the students’ native language and English so that they are able to understand the importance of the content they are learning.

School board members across the country want to better serve the students who are English language learners. Because countless English language learner students spend part of their academic day in a regular classroom, the general education teachers need to be trained to understand instructional strategies and techniques to aid in advancing this population of students (Stover, 2015). Consequently, it would also be beneficial for school board members to support the bilingual and English Language Learner Specialist in training all teachers in the district on ways to better serve this population.

In this internship activity, I first researched Chapter 89 the Adaptations for Special Populations, Subchapter BB. I reviewed the policies as required in the Texas Education Code, Chapter 29, Subchapter B that ensures equal educational opportunities for every student in the state who has a home language other than English and who is identified as an English language learner. It is important to know the requirements and competencies for this program. I also became aware of the exceptions and waivers a district must submit a waiver for if it is unable to provide and bilingual education or English as a second language program. Once understanding the criteria and program design, I attended and observed an Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) meeting where each student’s level of proficiency as discussed and educational goals were put in place for each student to master English language skills across all content areas.

Based upon the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, all English Language Learners (ELLs) “shall be kept in an adequate program until they can read, write, and comprehend English well enough to participate meaningfully in all aspects of the school’s curriculum (Education Commission of the States (ECS) website, n.d., para. 4). While keeping these parameters in mind, I began taking a closer look at the support my school district has in place to aid in the education of ELLs (primarily Hispanic) and their families. Drawing upon my years spent at both the elementary and secondary levels in my district, I would conclude that there is not enough being done to ensure that our ELLs can meaningfully

As the number of English language learners (ELLs) in U.S. classrooms has grown, an analysis reveals many strengths and downfalls in regards to how assessment can best be used to support learning for this populations of students. This paper will take a brief look at current ELL policies, discuss No Child Left Behind (NCLB) assessment requirements for ELLs, provide information on assessment validity and value-added measures for ELL educators, and will address critical issues of how to properly assess and place ELLs. Just as with any other population or sub-group of students, ELLs have policies and procedures put into place to protect their rights to an education at both the

In this literature review I will be discussing studies that are in favor, not in favor, and neutral on bilingual education.

Currently I am teaching one of the district’s English as a Second Language (ESL) Summer Enrichment classes which lasts 12 days. The class is comprised of twenty-one intermediate students who have been in the country two years or less. The class schedule consists of four one and one-half hour sessions that focus on grammar, writing and reading where one component of the reading is taught using social studies content. According to Diaz-Rico and Weed (2010), the goal of sheltered instruction is to provide support for the language learner while they are in the learning grade-appropriate content rather than allowing them to struggle in mainstream classes. The Enrichment Program is designed as a scaffold that supports students by preparing them for the more in depth content that they will encounter in the upcoming school year. It utilizes modified grade-appropriate content along with language objectives that are designed to increase the students’ content schema in a comfortable learning environment.

As a culturally responsive teacher, one must “accept all students as they are” (Glickman et al., 2014, p. 374) and take the responsibility to help students learn. Howard recommends, as noted in Glickman et al., (2014) building relationships that convey genuine feelings for student’s success. A caring teacher accepts all students just as they are and, encourages them to learn and to be fruitful. A culturally sensitive teacher that incorporates all students’ backgrounds and linguistic diversity propagates a multicultural classroom (Glickman et al., 2014, p.374). In such a classroom, bilingual students feel included and perceive that the community will benefit from their input; therefore, they participate actively in daily activities.