p.s. Native Language Classes Aim to Ease Transition to English

[Aurolyn Luykx]

p.s.  to Joe L.B.

> I guess I think multilingualism is increasing, but
> in fewer languages, and more and more mono-linguals
> being English  speakers.  Joe

I'd agree with the first part of that statement (more
bilinguals in fewer languages), but not the second
part. It seems much more likely that a large
proportion of the new BILINGUALS are (L2) English
speakers. Not that many English speakers were
previously bilingual anyway, for them to  supposedly
be swelling the ranks of English monolinguals. I'm
almost certain that many more of the "new
monolinguals" are Spanish speakers than English
speakers, since Latin America had/has a lot more
minority language speakers to start with than the
English-speaking world does.
Of course, there's India, but despite the boom in
Indian English, I can't imagine there are too many
English-speaking monolinguals there. Someone correct
me if I'm wrong.
Aurolyn
>
>
> At 05:27 AM 28/10/2004, you wrote:
> >Might be non sequeteur again, but the article made
> me think of a question.
> >Do you think the percentage of monolinguals is
> increasing or decreasing in
> >the world?
> >
> >Stan Anonby
> >
> >On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 14:28:01 -0400 (EDT)
> >  "Harold F. Schiffman"
> <haroldfs at ccat.sas.upenn.edu> wrote:
> > >
> > > Native language classes aim to ease transition
> to English
> > > Studies differ on whether schoolchildren who are
> learning English should be
> > > taught in English
> > >
> > > Thursday, October 21, 2004
> > >
> > >
> >
>
http://www.oregonlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/metro_southwest_news/109818
> > > 7043136340.xml
> > >
> > > LUCIANA LOPEZ
> > >
> > > TUALATIN -- The background noise in the
> Bridgeport Elementary School
> > classroom
> > > rumbles continuously, with students in each of
> the room's four quarters
> > asking
> > > and answering questions and teachers calling for
> attention and quizzing
> > them.
> > >
> > > But this classroom noise is different from the
> chatter elsewhere in the
> > > school. In this room, the lessons are in
> Spanish, taught to students
> > who speak
> > > Spanish at home.
> > >
> > > The Tigard-Tualatin School District has had such
> native language
> > classes for
> > > kindergarten through third-graders for about
> four years. Spanish-speaking
> > > children with limited or no English are taught
> the basics of literacy
> > in their
> > > first language before the transition to English.
> > >
> > > The hope is that focusing on reading in a native
> language will give them a
> > > stronger base from which to make that
> transition. The district is
> > pushing to
> > > hire more bilingual teachers and is considering
> expanding such native
> > language
> > > classes to higher grades and classes, such as
> middle school or high school
> > > math or science.
> > >
> > > Critics say the lessons are largely a way for
> school districts to avoid
> > their
> > > responsibility to teach children English.
> > >
> > > The district's English-language learner
> population has risen about tenfold
> > > since 1992. From the 170 students in the 1992-93
> school year, an Oct. 6
> > tally
> > > shows 1,702 English-language-learner students
> districtwide this year,
> > > concentrated in the elementary schools.
> > >
> > > Stepping up the district's efforts to recruit
> bilingual teachers,
> > > administrators will travel to Southern
> California this spring searching for
> > > candidates at job fairs, said Randy Harvey,
> director of operations and
> > human
> > > resources. "We have students who come to us who
> speak little or no
> > English at
> > > all, so to help them get a start at all in
> education we have to be able to
> > > communicate with them."
> > >
> > > Teaching those students in their native language
> at least some of the time
> > > helps them learn content they otherwise would
> miss until they have a
> > command
> > > of English, he said. For these students, "If you
> just throw them into a
> > class,
> > > you penalize all of their subjects."
> > >
> > > Teaching the students native language literacy
> first more effectively eases
> > > them into reading in English, said Carol Kinch,
> the Tigard-Tualatin program
> > > coordinator for English-language learners. "If
> kids learn to read in their
> > > native language, they learn English faster," she
> said, likening the native
> > > language classes to "accelerated English class."
> > >
> > > Some research seems to back up that conclusion.
> A 2001 study of elementary
> > > school Spanish- and English-speaking children by
> researchers from the
> > Center
> > > for Applied Linguistics, Johns Hopkins and
> Harvard universities, found that
> > > teaching students how to read in Spanish helped
> them make the transition
> > > faster to reading in English.
> > >
> > > "In a nutshell, I know that we need to improve
> achievement of our ELL
> > kids at
> > > the middle and high schools," Kinch said. "The
> more native language
> > > instruction kids get, the more they achieve."
> > >
> > > For example, she said, a student trying to learn
> physics who also must
> > > struggle with the language could wind up pushing
> aside the subject matter.
> > > Native language instruction "enables kids to
> still do the content."
> > >
> > > The Spanish-language classes at Bridgeport are
> only part of the
> > students' day;
> > > the rest of the time, they return to their
> regular classes taught in
> > English.
> > >
> > > But opponents say the language of instruction
> ought to be English, and they
> > > point to other research.
> > >
> > > A 1986 study in The Journal of Law and
> Education, for instance, found that
> > > most "transitional bilingual education" programs
> were no different from or
> > > worse than techniques such as submersion, in
> which the learner is exposed
> > > mostly or entirely to the new language.
> > >
> > > And many native language programs fail to take
> advantage of the best
> > time for
> > > someone to learn a new language: when they're
> young, said Douglas
> > Besharov, a
> > > scholar with the American Enterprise Institute
> and a professor at the
> > > University of Maryland, College Park. "It is
> tons easier to learn a
> > language
> > > if you're learning it when you're young."
> > >
> > > Once a school has a bilingual class, however,
> "The institutional forces
>
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