"Instead of a set class time a few times a week, 14 native-English speakers and 14 native-Spanish speakers will begin kindergarten in the same class, and another 28 will start 1st grade. Part of the school day, they will use English, but most of the instruction will be delivered in Spanish. That same group will progress together grade by grade, learning subjects in both languages.The result, experts say, will be students who truly are bilingual."
Perhaps our community and schools have been so focused on teaching the Spanish-speaking kids English, we've neglected to see that it benefits them to keep their Spanish speaking skills and it benefits English-speaking students to learn Spanish. Please read the whole article, but here is the part that struck me as most relevant to Berwyn:
"With the federal No Child Left Behind Act's focus on reading and math,
administrators worry about taking attention from those core subjects to provide time for languages and the arts, he said. But vocal parents who want their students to be competitive in a changing world can change minds."It's a matter of demand," Ackley said. "Parents are saying that this is important."Carole Davis, a mother of three Beebe students, said she excitedly submitted her 6-year-old daughter's name for one of the 1st-grade slots. She wants Lauren to become truly bilingual, a skill she said would make her daughter competitive in the workplace as an adult. But she also appreciates the larger message it sends to her daughter -- that learning other languages and cultures is worthwhile and valuable."
3 comments:
Why is a dual Language a good fit for Berwyn? Well, as an immigrant my self, I do not believe it as a good fit. A good fit is to have everyone learn on how to speak the language of this great country that we live in.It will be a slap in the face of every person that came to this country many years ago, that had to learn the American language. I remember my father getting up at 4:30 in the morning to go to work and then come home eat real fast to go to the Library because that's where they held class to learn the language. He then come home around 10:00 PM, slept and then got up again at 4:30 to go to work,so tell me is that fair? Why did it not fit at that time
Everyone in a dual language class does learn English. The difference is they learn another language also. I think it is a good fit for Berwyn because all of the research tells me that my children will benefit greatly from learning a foreign language at a young age in a natural setting. That is what I want for my kids. The dual language class would be voluntary for families who choose it.
Great idea. I'm sure English-speaking parents could be persuaded to take part, given that there are now scientific studies attesting to the cognitive benefits of bilingualism, especially early bilingualism. And there is also research to show that dual-language programs enhance academic outcomes for non-native speakers. I did a quick Web search and found a profile of one of the most prominent ELL researchers, Virginia Collier:
http://www.coursecrafters.com/ELL-Outlook/2004/mar_apr/ELLOutlookITIArticle2.htm
Here's one germane quote from the profile:
"If [bilingual education] is done for all students, it's called two-way," says Collier. "Two-way schools are consistently the highest achieving schools in any district. That model has been spreading like wildfire."
Post a Comment