Abstract
As the percentage of English Language Learners in schools across the United States began to exceed 10 percent (roughly 4.7 million students) in 2010-11, schools have begun looking for ways to meet the needs of a growing population of emerging bilingual students (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). Current estimates suggest that about 1 in 10 of every student in a U.S. school is an emergent bilingual--a term that is beginning to replace “English Language Learner” (ELL) as a more positive synonym in the field of bilingual education (Beeman, 2012; Escamilla et. al., 2014; García, 2009). Increasingly, schools across the country are looking to two-way immersion or dual language programs to achieve bilingualism, academic excellence and cross cultural appreciation with a focus on interdependence between curriculum, language and culture (Howard et. al., 2003).
With this in mind, the compelling question guiding my graduate studies in the NLGL program has been “How can educators use a biliteracy program to help close the achievement gap for English Language Learners?” Educators use biliteracy -- to read and communicate in two languages -- as a method of closing the achievement gap between English Language Learners and native English speakers by offering a new access point in reading instruction. As an educator in a Dual Language program, my students learn to read and write in English and in Spanish. The concept of biliteracy is invaluable to their literacy growth. The program exists primarily to attempt to close the achievement gap between ELLs and native English speakers by equally dividing the language of instruction. Each classroom is comprised of fifty percent native English speakers and 50 percent native Spanish speakers. The cultural diversity encourages students to communicate in the target language and become not only bilingual, but also bicultural as they experience a diverse group of classmates. In many ways the program is successful, though not always in the ways we might hope. Native English speakers who desire bilingualism tend to achieve success, while many of their Spanish-speaking counterparts do not read proficiently in their own language. The driving question for my graduate studies therefore has been to determine how to leverage reading instruction in such a way that promotes proficiency in both languages for ELLs. My classroom currently operates under the premise that teaching native Spanish speakers how to read in Spanish first will later produce more successful English readers, thus ameliorating the achievement gap that currently exists between ELLs and native English speakers. I desire to find the connection between the language of literacy instruction, a student’s native language, and that student’s academic success.
With this in mind, the compelling question guiding my graduate studies in the NLGL program has been “How can educators use a biliteracy program to help close the achievement gap for English Language Learners?” Educators use biliteracy -- to read and communicate in two languages -- as a method of closing the achievement gap between English Language Learners and native English speakers by offering a new access point in reading instruction. As an educator in a Dual Language program, my students learn to read and write in English and in Spanish. The concept of biliteracy is invaluable to their literacy growth. The program exists primarily to attempt to close the achievement gap between ELLs and native English speakers by equally dividing the language of instruction. Each classroom is comprised of fifty percent native English speakers and 50 percent native Spanish speakers. The cultural diversity encourages students to communicate in the target language and become not only bilingual, but also bicultural as they experience a diverse group of classmates. In many ways the program is successful, though not always in the ways we might hope. Native English speakers who desire bilingualism tend to achieve success, while many of their Spanish-speaking counterparts do not read proficiently in their own language. The driving question for my graduate studies therefore has been to determine how to leverage reading instruction in such a way that promotes proficiency in both languages for ELLs. My classroom currently operates under the premise that teaching native Spanish speakers how to read in Spanish first will later produce more successful English readers, thus ameliorating the achievement gap that currently exists between ELLs and native English speakers. I desire to find the connection between the language of literacy instruction, a student’s native language, and that student’s academic success.
As I continue to research and experiment with this question, four overarching themes have emerged that will drive my instruction in the future.
As I look to exit my time in graduate school, I look forward to implementing these as a classroom teacher or literacy specialist when working with students of many backgrounds and cultures.
Beeman, K. & Urow, C. (2012). Teaching for Biliteracy: Strengthening Bridges between Languages. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.
Escamilla, K., Hopewell, S., Butvilofsky, S., Sparrow, W., Soltero-González, L., Ruiz-Figueroa, O., Escamilla, M. (2014). Biliteracy from the Start: Literacy Squared in Action. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.
García, O. (2009). Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Howard, E. R., Sugarmen, J. & Christian, D. (2003). Trends in Two-Way Immersion Education: A Review of the Research, Report 63 (R117-D40005). CRESPAR/Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore, MD.
United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2013). The Condition of Education 2013 (NCES 2013-037). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013037_sup.pdf.
Escamilla, K., Hopewell, S., Butvilofsky, S., Sparrow, W., Soltero-González, L., Ruiz-Figueroa, O., Escamilla, M. (2014). Biliteracy from the Start: Literacy Squared in Action. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.
García, O. (2009). Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Howard, E. R., Sugarmen, J. & Christian, D. (2003). Trends in Two-Way Immersion Education: A Review of the Research, Report 63 (R117-D40005). CRESPAR/Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore, MD.
United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2013). The Condition of Education 2013 (NCES 2013-037). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013037_sup.pdf.