Native Language Classes Aim to Ease Transition to English

Sat Oct 30 17:16:31 UTC 2004

Hi Aurolyn,

>>From my perspective of working in the Americas, I'd have to agree with you. I think the number of monolinguals in the New World is increasing, as indigenous people and immigrants switch to Spanish, English, and Portuguese only.

I don't know that much about the rest of the world, but it seems to me that the language ecology in Africa and Asia is very different from the Americas. However, it seems to me that the number of monolinguals is decreasing there.

Speaking in very broad sweeps, I would venture to say that urbanization in the Americas results in people becoming monolingual in Spanish, English, or Portuguese in a relatively short time. However, urbanizaton in Africa and Asia seems to me to have the opposite effect. In Africa and Asia, urbanization seems to make people less monolingual.

If we look at numbers, the population of the Americas is smaller than that of Asia and Africa. So, from that perspective, I'd have to say that the number of monolinguals in the world is decreasing.

I don't know that it's a very helpful conclusion, but I find it interesting to think about.

Stan Anonby

On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 09:00:26 -0700 (PDT)
 Aurolyn Luykx <aurolynluykx at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi Stan,
> it's totally impossible to say, since there's no good
> data from further back than about 30 years ago, but my
> sense would be that the % is definitely increasing,
> largely as a result of the rapidly growing access of
> "the masses" to formal education (which is often
> conducted in a language other than the L1 of the
> students).
> Aurolyn
>
> --- Stan-Sandy Anonby <stan-sandy_anonby at sil.org>
> 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 are to
> > > keep these classes full," he said, adding that
> > many children have trouble
> > > getting out of the classes even when they don't
> > need the help. That leads to a
> > > perpetuation of the classes even when it's not in
> > the students' best
> > > interests -- for which Besharov faults many of the
> > people who run the
> > > programs.
> > >
> > > "I think the bilingual teachers have a vested
> > interest in kids staying in
> > > bilingual programs for the longest time possible,"
> > Besharov said. "I think it
> > > is such a conflict of interest for them."
> > >
> > > The underprivileged, who are among those who most
> > rely on public schools, also
> > > are among those who most need English-language
> > education, said Jim Boulet Jr.,
> > > executive director of the nonprofit group English
> > First. "They're counting on
> > > instruction on the basics; they're counting on
> > their children learning
> > > English."
> > >
> > > He scoffs at the idea that students whose classes
> > are in Spanish will still be
> > > immersed in English outside of school. "I never
> > thought the day would come
> > > that educators would argue that students would be
> > better off picking up
> > > English on the street corner, which is what that
> > argument says," Boulet said.
> > >
> > > But for Flor Vidal, a former teacher in Peru who
> > volunteers at Bridgeport
> > > Elementary, the benefits of the Spanish-language
> > classes are easy to see. When
> > > the children learn how to read in Spanish, they
> > get a better grounding in
> > > literacy and language, she said, and they
> > understand the basics before they
> > > transfer those skills to a new language. It's also
> > easier for them to
> > > translate into English when they know their first
> > language better, she said.
> > >
> > > Elsa Palza-Rink, a Bridgeport teacher, said the
> > classes also give students a
> > > chance to learn with others who face some of the
> > same
> === message truncated ===
>
>
>
> 		
> _______________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Express yourself with Y! Messenger! Free. Download now.
> http://messenger.yahoo.com
>