blog 24

Introduction:

There is a high increase in immigration for the past few years that has been ignored by educators.  Little is known about the situation of immigrant children and the struggles that teachers go through in the U.S trying to give them a better education. Latino children have different needs compared to the children that were born in the U.S.  Research shows that parental involvement increases students’ success. We want Latino parents to also be involved in their children’s education and need to be informed of what system the school is using to teach. The purpose of this research is to identify how Bilingual Education works and evaluate the importance for the Latino community to be informed on how much it impacts their children.

Research shows that parents are not aware that there are different approaches to teaching English language Learners, and which programs work better than others, there were many older approaches but one of the main ones was “sink or swim”. In this program, repetition and scaffolding are the primary teaching tools. In the approach my interviewee described teachers make checks on whether or not students understand, and take steps to ensure students have resources to move ahead on their own.

In this study, I interviewed a Bilingual teacher who was involved in developing new methods to teach K-3 English Language Learners. Also the study will address the different types of methods of teaching that are being used in classrooms and which one is more effective. We want to know if students are learning English effectively and know what the struggles in the classrooms and home are. The study will be narrowed; it will not generally pick what system works better to teach Bilingual Education because situations are different in all the schools. Also, the study will not evaluate teacher training because teachers across the U.S use different teaching methods and are taught different ways to teach. (This is a case study basically what the study is. It’ll raise question on the teaching methods and how to involved parents.)

****The English-only, "sink or swim" method was a cruel failure for generations of immigrant and Native American children, leading to low academic achievement and high dropout rates. That's why the Bilingual Education. *****

 Literature Review:

“Bilingual Education” by NABE also known as the National Association for Bilingual Education elaborates about Bilingual Education with three important questions. What is Bilingual Education? Why Bilingual Education? And is it effective? To start Bilingual Education has existed for years not exactly the way it is practiced now but it has been around. It is the use of any two languages used in schools but we’re mainly are going to be talking about English and Spanish. Bilingual Education has specific goals and that is teaching English and preserving a minority group’s linguistic and cultural heritage at the same time but it can vary because all schools work differently. It works in many different ways because different strategies are being used in schools and that is depending on the amount of ELL’s are in the schools or how the system works. Usually the transitions to all English mainstream is rapid one to three years or the gradual students it may take to five to six years but once again depending the method the classrooms use that also includes age groups. Age groups are important because if the students are in kindergarten trying to learn English it gets confusing because at home they are learning to speak Spanish and at school English. So if they are trying to learn Spanish the school should provide some type of help to learn their home language because once they are comfortable with one language the students are able to learn a second language which would be English. Bilingual Education still receives criticism it is not as effective because they are just focused in on the students in learning the English language rather than relating both languages. Hundreds of studies over the years have shown that when a well designed and implemented Bilingual Education is an effective approach for teaching second language learners.

Methodology

The type of research study that will be conducted for my research will just be one interview. The identified expert is a teacher from Charles J. Hudson #25. I recorded and transcribed the interview conversation.

Findings

Repetition and scaffolding is an importance in bilingual education. My interviewee talks about that in many different ways without actually pointing that out. Her methods or activities she uses like having the students get a book after they are done with breakfast to expose the kids to text and they can get use too the words.  By that she wants the students to get use to words and be able to read them without a problem because they repeat the same books every day.

B. Ok um how do you plan your daily teaching with them or is it like you plan it in one day or you having previous plans?

E. one person on the table come and get a basket and then they can read silently is a variety of genres and you know different kind of books levels so this is just to expose the kids to the text so they can get use to the word

B. So little by little you guys inject the English part?

E. it helps visually with the reading um then after that we unpack I check their homework they wrote the um homework  in the agenda I we take a book every night home so we switch books one table get one set of books they give it to the other one.

She always describes how she injects the English language to the students in their homework and in their reading. Not only does she give them homework in English but she does a sample with the students so they have an idea of how they can do it home. She starts the students off in a level where they are going to be able to learn simple words and a story where it has some type of rhyming. This is important information because she explains how the program works but also explains how repetition is a key for the students without actually pointing it out.

So little by little you guys inject the English part

6. It is easy homework that they can understand and usually I use the smart board and I say this is going to be your homework this is what you need to do (Repetition)

E. I teach with them reading at their level 1 like the cat has a bowl you know like repetition all this like the cat the cat all the pages have the cat so they are learning the other words so that’s how transfer starts. Second grade is the same thing the teacher starts with the group that is leaving here with the work she continues during centers doing with them English and the whole group Spanish and then in third we are thinking that they are ready exiting the program going into mainstream.

 She also talks about how she checks on their agenda the homework they wrote after they are done unpacking. I think that is a great method she wants to see what student was paying attention because they use their agendas every single day. Now for scaffolding she does a routine in language arts in the morning they review what they learned and remember from the previous day.

E. routine I do language art in the morning languages arts and then um we start reviewing what we learn what remember from the day before what are we studying all the “amazing “words all the concepts (4:20) if were talking about um sequence um how do you how do you relate this to the story about last week and things like that and then I introduce the new day the new day whatever is going to be on that day. (Scaffolding)

She gave an example of how she would ask them to relate a story from last week and then she would introduce the new material of the day. She makes sure the students are remembering and understand the assignment before they move on to something different. For centers to has three groups and she has a guided reading center which is done four days in a week which she sees, they are the lowest group and she never skips them.

Not only does she have repetition with the students but she also involves the parents in the repetition because the need to check their child’s agenda and sign it every night. I think that is a great method because it creates a type of communication with the parents and teachers and the parents are comfortable because they can write notes to her because the teacher knows Spanish. The students may have trouble doing homework at home and she knows that can be a possibility so she uses a smart board and explains to them what they need to do. She also again explains to me that she uses a projector which she didn’t have in the classroom and takes out a worksheet that they are using and explains to them what they need to do. That is also good repetition with the parents because they need to sign the agenda every day and make sure their kids did their homework, doesn’t matter whether or not if they did it incorrectly.

B. Um are you like very involved with the parents?

E. Yes I have good communication, we communicate through the (5:30) planner the kids have planners so anytime that they want to send me something since I check every morning for the planner the parents sign it. -They feel comfortable because I speak Spanish.

Limitations of the study

The limitations of the study include the fact that I was not able to interview more than one teacher. Also, I feel that along with the interview conducted, it would have been interesting to speak to the two different individuals to see how their opinions about the bilingual programs and compare to further evaluate their communication styles.

Conclusion

Bilingual education has been practiced in many forms, in many countries, for thousands of years. Bilingual education has come very far and it can still be improved. Immigrant children have different needs compared to the children born in the U.S because many of them need special classes to even learn the native language of the United States.

There is no exact solution to this problem should be by adding more Bilingual programs in education and more funds to support the programs for the students and also the teachers, the teachers need to be prepared to help the immigrant students. Also, there should be programs for parents so they can also understand and be more involved with their kids, which is very crucial for students. ESL has always been interlinked with immigration and nation-building, and awareness of these connections can help educators understand the importance of their work. United States of America should be able to provide every student with all their needs no matter what their circumstances are.

Blog 16

Bilingual Education has been around for many years and not only in the United States but in many countries also. Mainly in the United States we expect Bilingual Education to specific because of the demographic growth and that is not the case because there are different approaches in the classrooms.The purpose of my study is about how Bilingual Education works in different ways and it is important that the Latino community to be informed on how much it impacts their children depending the model that the school is using.

 I have a particular interest especially with how bilingual education works and their methods. I want to understand their struggle and their opinions about the schools and forms of teaching. Bilingual Education works in different ways, because numerous program models are used. Many don’t know where to start with a new language but with my interview I learned that repetition and scaffolding is a key to the students.
 I’m going to rely and a lot on NABE website and try to relate it with the interview. I already highlight the article know what I want to use. It also speaks about different methods and how does it work. http://www.nabe.org/BilingualEducation

Blog 17

I believe these quotes that I picked out of the interview would help me write my paper because she clearly points out the importance of bilingual education. Repetition and scaffolding. I also want to write about the behaviors of those who don't receive the same program.

1. one person on the table come and get a basket and then they can read silently is a variety of genres and you know different kind of books levels so this is just to expose the kids to the text so they can get use to the word

2. it helps visually with the reading um then after that we unpack I check their homework they wrote the um homework  in the agenda I we take a book every night home so we switch books one table get one set of books they give it to the other one

3. routine I do language art in the morning languages arts and then um we start reviewing what we learn what remember from the day before what are we studying all the “amazing “words all the concepts (4:20) if were talking about um sequence um how do you how do you relate this to the story about last week and things like that and then I introduce the new day the new day whatever is going to be on that day. (à Scaffolding  ß)

4. I see the lowest group every single day there is no way I skip them

5. Yes I have good communication, we communicate through the (5:30) planner the kids have planners so anytime that they want to send me something since I check every morning for the planner the parents sign it. -They feel comfortable because I speak Spanish. (Repetition with parents also because they need to sign the agenda everyday)

6. It is easy homework that they can understand and usually I use the smart board and I say this is going to be your homework this is what you need to do (Repetition)

7. I teach with them reading at their level 1 like the cat has a bowl you know like repetition all this like the cat the cat all the pages have the cat so they are learning the other words so that’s how transfer starts. Second grade is the same thing the teacher starts with the group that is leaving here with the work she continues during centers doing with them English and the whole group Spanish and then in third we are thinking that they are ready exiting the program going into mainstream. (Important information because she explains how the program works but also explains how repetition is a key for the students without actually pointing it out)

Behaviors

1. We can still see distance in the um middle in the um upper grades fourth, fifth, sixth because they don’t have self-contained bilinguals

2. They don’t have that they have the bilingual in class support (10:50) the teacher comes in the class and help them with but only with language arts and math but they are left out by themselves in science the child doesn’t speak much English so he’ll fell like don’t want to talk or always wants to complain then misbehave because they are bored they don’t know what is going on in the classroom

3. Teacher has to have a lot of complaints they don’t behave or they do whatever they want they keep talking because of course they don’t understand what the teacher is saying and they don’t have anyone that is helping them.

Blog 14

Repetition and scaffolding is an importance in bilingual education. My interviewee talks about that in many different ways without actually pointing that out. Her methods or activities she uses like having the students get a book after they are done with breakfast to expose the kids to text and they can get use too the words. By that she wants the students to get use to words and be able to read them without a problem because they repeat the same books every day. She also talks about how she checks on their agenda the homework they wrote after they are done unpacking. I think that is a great method she wants to see what student was paying attention because they use their agendas every single day. Now for scaffolding she does a routine in language arts in the morning they review what they learned and remember from the previous day. She gave an example of how she would ask them to relate a story from last week and then she would introduce the new material of the day. She makes sure the students are remembering and understand the assignment before they move on to something different. For centers to has three groups and she has a guided reading center which is done four days in a week which she sees, they are the lowest group and she never skips them. Not only does she have repetition with the students but she also involves the parents in the repetition because the need to check their child’s agenda and sign it every night. I think that is a great method because it creates a type of communication with the parents and teachers and the parents are comfortable because they can write notes to her because the teacher knows Spanish. The students may have trouble doing homework at home and she knows that can be a possibility so she uses a smart board and explains to them what they need to do. She also again explains to me that she uses a projector which she didn’t have in the classroom and takes out a worksheet that they are using and explains to them what they need to do. 

Blog 12

B. Ok so my name is Brenda Aparicio

E. And I’m E first grade bilingual teacher

B. First grade awesome. How many bilingual students do you usually have?

E. Usually is… the maximum that I have is 20 usually 16, 17 students 

B. Oh so it’s like...so mainly it’s like only Spanish students or…

E. The bilingual program in this district runs like we teach in Spanish

B. oh ok

E. It’s all Spanish for k and first

B. Oh ok

E. After they master the reading in Spanish then they start the transfer into the new the language.

B. oh ok umm. How do they interact in the classroom like with you mainly?

E. The kids?

B. Yeah. Do they get comfortable right away?

E. um the first mainly the first time that they see me they don’t want talk but I try to do like one of those activities to give them to use

B. To get use to you. Yeah cause I have a little cousin like um el solo habla espanol (he only speaks Spanish) so but he won’t speak to the teacher and it is his first year but like um the teacher doesn’t really try to interact with him

E. oh

B. So it is difficult for him so they are trying to put him in speech pathology wait no speech therapy something like that porque el no habla para nada ( because he doesn’t speak at all)

E. ohhhh

B. Yeah. Um do you receive like a teacher aid or help? With the students because you have more than 20

E. No. no not at all, we don’t have any assistance only for kindergarten.

B. Only for kindergarten?

E. Yes

B. oh ok but. (Paused 1:35)

B. ok um how do you plan your daily teaching with them or is it like you plan it in one day or you have previous plans

E. We made lesson plans for one week, for one week but it depends sometimes um there are situations that comes within that day and you have to like deviate it a little bit to… for any situation like maybe a child comes crying because um they are moving or something so I have to like a little my lesson and they get to them and then do like a mini lesson about going to another place that they are going to be fine and things like that but usually we plan ahead of time a week ahead (2:20) and we try to follow it because there is a pacing guide that we need to follow so everybody have to because the mobility here in Elizabeth people move constantly they want the kids if they move from this school to the other school we are almost in the same page so the child doesn’t get you know ?

B. OH. Yeah.

E. They don’t get any gaps in between

B. They get lost or anything

E. Right. Yes.

E. Ok um (2:50) in the morning I greet them, they eat breakfast in the classroom um during breakfast some of them eat breakfast and other one no we have um different um boxes with books so everyone one person on the table come and get a basket and then they can read silently is a variety of genres and you know different kind of books levels so this is just to expose the kids to the text so they can get use to the words and you know (3:20) it helps visually with the reading um then after that we unpack I check their homework they wrote the um homework  in the agenda I we take a book every night home so we switch books one table get one set of books they give it to the other one

B. Oh so they trade?

E. Yes they trade and then they complete a worksheet that comes with the book you know if we are talking about characters then is something about the character they need to write (3:50) and need to draw.

B. oh they also like draw a picture of what they…

E. It depends of what the paper says sometimes they have to color or sometimes they have to cut it and paste it in the order sequence um after that we go into the… routine I do language art in the morning languages arts and then um we start reviewing what we learn what remember from the day before what are we studying all the “amazing “words all the concepts(4:20) if were talking about um sequence um how do you how do you relate this to the story about last week and things like that and then I introduce the new day the new day whatever is going to be on that day.

B. So it’s like you recap and later you start off something new.

E. Right. Yes. Then we break into groups we break into centers so I go to the guided reading center which is done four days in a week so I see the kids (4:50) and I see the lowest group every single day there is no way I skip them um the one have different um different activities in their centers like a writing center, technology center, and um um it may be listening center or might be responding to whatever story they they listened to.

B. So it’s usually 4 centers?

E. 4 centers. There is 4 centers but in the rotation I listed 3 groups but there is 1 group I cannot see due to the

B. Yeah the timing. E. Time. B. Yeah I understand.

B. Um are you like very involved with the parents?

E. Yes I have good communication, we communicate through the (5:30) planner the kids have planners so anytime that they want to send me something since I check every morning for the planner the parents sign it at night so if they want to say I need a meeting with you or if I need to see them I say call me or your child is doing this I would like to…you know like if there is… they feel comfortable because I speak Spanish.

B. Oh no that is awesome

E. Yes that is a good that is important that I never have to struggle with parents because I can communicate with them in the same language

B. But you haven’t had any trouble with a parent like communication wise?

E. No not at all

B. Not at all ok um what do you think parents can do to like be more involved like with the child’s education besides just the agenda and

E. What did you say it again?

B. Like um how to (6:26 paused asked another question)

E. All their homework is in Spanish, math homework is Spanish, English um lectura(lecture) is in Spanish so they have no problem now I have a group that is transferring and are doing little things like we are introducing high frequency words in English and little sentences.

B. So little by little you guys inject the English part

E. Right yes. So I don’t have that much trouble because of the time we do (6:50) Spanish until we reach a point when they are transferring but it is easy homework that they can understand and usually I use the smart board and I say this is going to be your homework this is what you need to do

B. Oh you give them like an example

E. Right yes

B. ok you prepare them before they go home

E. Yes

B. oh ok that’s perfect

E. I use but I don’t have it right here like um a projector so I take the same worksheet that they are using I put it in there and I say ok here it says this. This is what I want you to do so I go (7:20)

B. Step by step

E. Step by step and I demonstrate how to do it and most of the time they got their homework right

B. Um the kindergarten doesn’t teach the first grade um k and first are still in Spanish when the child reaches a DRA level which is an assessment for reading fluency comprehension they have to be in the level 4 team or up they also have to take a dictation the dictation have to have a 95 percent accuracy which is only one mistake and then oral test oral proficiency test when the child meets those three points (8:01) then he can transfer he can start transferring to Spanish so the ESL teacher will with them phonics and I teach with them reading at their level 1 like the cat has a bowl you know like repetion all this like the cat the cat all the pages have the cat so they are learning the other words so that’s how transfer starts. Second grade is the same thing the teacher starts with the group that is leaving here with the work she continues during centers doing with them English and the whole group Spanish and then in third we are thinking that they are ready exiting the program going into mainstream.

B. And since when has this started because back then I don’t remember there wasn’t any of that (8:53)

E. No this is something new we have been doing this for 2 years already

B. For two years?

E. Yes this is going to be the third year

B. Oh this the third year?

E. This is going to be let me see k then second 2 years September is going to be the 3^rd year and that is what they are looking for that group that started with everything in Spanish moving so they are going to see if the kids ingrate they going to land in the mainstream

B. And in your opinion do you think this is better? (9:18)

E.  Yes is better yeah because before it was a half way Spanish and half way English they don’t master either or the other languages and listen here they can read you can see their writing the reading they are fluent in Spanish because that is the language that they speak at home they are stronger in this language

B. Yeah yeah um because of the language barrier sometimes does it affect the students behavior or no do like misbehave or do the isolate themselves? (9:50)

E. Since now we are teaching in Spanish we don’t see that before when we use to do like that like the beginning of the year Spanish and then we switched to English that is when we encountered kids that come from their country they don’t want to talk because they don’t feel secure they are like

B. Uncomfortable

E. Leftover or left out for a little while we have many, many problems before now we encounter that they almost none (10:20) because everyone is included everyone feels like they belong

B. Nobody feels isolated

E. Right

B. Yeah cause beak then like during our time like we would see like certain students they didn’t even want to talk or they would have their own group that the ESL students and later it would be just us

E. We can still see distance in the um middle in the um upper grades fourth, fifth, sixth because they don’t have self-contained bilinguals

B. Oh they don’t have that yet?

E. They don’t have that they have the bilingual in class support (10:50) the teacher comes in the class and help them with but only with language arts and math but they are left out by themselves in science the child doesn’t speak much English so he’ll fell like don’t want to talk or always wants to complain then misbehave because they are bored they don’t know what is going on in the classroom

B. but with this like somewhat with what’s going on here would they work with them do you think that they have to have a different program

E. They do support them but not in all contents like they don’t have the support in science so the science teacher has to have a lot of complaints they don’t behave or they do whatever they want they keep talking because of course they don’t understand what the teacher is saying and they don’t have anyone that is helping them

B. Because also science is like in demand no hay tanta gente que like va para (there’s not many people that go into) science so yeah I totally understand. Um have many years have you been teaching like with English language learners

E. eleven years

B. So you basically seen everything 

Blog 10

Growing up my first spoken language was Spanish and that’s all that was spoken in my house. In school my parents and I were determined for me to learn English but it was very difficult at the time because at home all that was spoken was Spanish so how was I going to learn English. The school did help me out a lot from 8-3pm but what about when I get home who did I have to depend on? My parents didn’t have much knowledge about the English language so I could not really depend on them with my homework or other assignments. I really depended on other people to get those things done but with my parents support and effort. Teachers or schools really don't realize that their work also goes beyond just within the classroom but also outside of it. I want to explore other alternatives for parents and as well as for students to see what can they do to receive more help at home.

Blog 9

1.       What can teachers do to help students learn?

2.       Do teachers get involved with parents also?

3.       Are homework’s given in both languages?

4.       Is the language barrier for the students affecting their behavior?

5.    Can the system in teaching bilingual students be improved?

6.    What can teachers do to help their students at home?

7.    How many years have been with English language learners?

8.    Do you feel experienced enough to teach or have ESL students in the classroom?

9.    Do you know a second language? And if you do what is it?

10.  Was your first language English?

11.  Is it difficult to communicate with parents?

            12.  How do you deal with the students homework’s or work? Do you translate it to their language? Or do let them try it to see how much they know?

            13.  What do you recommend to parents or students if they can’t complete an assignment at home due to the fact they don’t understand English or the assignment?