The amount of students who do not speak English are growing more and more every year. Schools are in demand for teachers who can teach bilingual students. Many teachers teaching in dual language programs are not qualified to do so. These teachers are having a hard time finding successful strategies to educate bilingual students and they have an even harder time sustaining the program once it finds success.
Their are many key concepts to successfully running a dual language program, but as I mentioned in
my previous blog post, Anne Raeff, of the
Times Magazine, bilingual education, total immersion, and integrating cultural awareness into dual language programs are critical to the student's success. The students need a proper balance of both languages to ease the transition from their new language to their target language and they must be exposed to the new language as frequently
blog post,
Rachel Hazelton, of The Atlantic sees an obvious relationship between the student's cultural background and their academic performance. If the student's interests and culture are incorporated into the classroom, then they are more likely to feel comfortable and apply themselves.
as possible. As I mentioned in my previous
Iliana
Alanis has written articles about successfully sustaining dual language programs, and in one study she examines an elementary school that has successfully run a dual language program for over ten years. Alines believes if you have a qualified bilingual teacher, active family involvement, time, and leadership, then the school's dual language program will have a higher chance of sustaining success. An active family involvement is one of the most important requirements required for student success. This elementary school encourages parent's involvement in and outside of the classroom, they allow the parents to play a role in lesson planning, and the offer parent classes for bilingual development. Young students are around their families more than anyone else, therefore if their parents are engaged and interested then they are more likely to be engaged and interested. Nobody knows their child better then a parent, so having them participate in lesson planning plays a major role because they can help incorporate strategies their child learns best from as well as incorporating their interest into the lesson. If the parent is taking parent classes, they will be able to understand what their child is going through, as well as teaching their child everything they learn. This way not only will the student be learning in school but they will also be learning more while they are at home too.
Amanda
Kibler has written articles that examine ways in which students learn about themselves and their new language by participating in dual language programs. The teacher should provide opportunities for the students to recognize their peer's linguistic identities, develop awareness for learning through the use of language, and to appreciate their own and their peer's linguistic resources. Students in the class will begin to develop confidence in their bilingual abilities from interacting with their peers and from participating in a healthy classroom environment. The more comfortable students are with their own abilities, the more confidence they will have and the more they will want to participate.
