The document discusses bilingual education and the development of English language skills. It summarizes research by Stephen Krashen at USC finding that bilingual education helps students develop academic English because literacy and background knowledge transfers between the first and second languages. While bilingual education aids English acquisition, it can also lead to the loss of students' heritage language over time if they lack continued exposure to books and print materials in that language. The researcher concludes that providing children with a print-rich environment in both their heritage language and English can help them both retain their first language and fully embrace their second language.
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1. BILINGUAL EDUCATION, THE ACQUISTION
OF ENGLISH, AND THE RETENTION AND
LOSS OF SPANISH
Researcher: Stephen Krashen
Olga Velazquez
ED 593 Readings in Education
2. BILINGUAL & ENGLISH DEVELOPMENT:
RESEARCHER:
Stephen Krashen at the University of Southern
California
3. BILINGUAL & ENGLISH DEVELOPMENT:
INTRODUCTION
Primary language
Subjects
Knowledge
Literacy
4. BILINGUAL & ENGLISH DEVELOPMENT:
EVIDENCE
LA study
227 successful children
English immersion
SAT9 scores
5. BILINGUAL & ENGLISH DEVELOPMENT:
CONCLUSIONS
Argument: Absence of Books
Conclusions:
Free Voluntary reading
Access to books in any
language
Enriching print environment
6. BILINGUAL & ENGLISH DEVELOPMENT:
CONTRIBUTION
Building a print- rich
environment
Heritage language
Embracing their second
language
Academic language
7. BILINGUAL & ENGLISH DEVELOPMENT:
SUMMARY
Bilingual Education aids Academic English
Literacy in first language transfers to English
Background Knowledge builds English
Loss of Heritage Language
8. REFERENCES:
Krashen, Stephen. Bilingual Education, the
Acquisition of English, and the Retention
and loss of Spanish. A Roca (Ed.),
Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press, 2000.
http://www.languagepolicy.net/archives/Krashen 7.htm
Krashen, Stephen. 1993. The power of Reading.
Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Editor's Notes
Bilingual Education is a program set out to educate student in their first language and build their acquisition of another language. This can be built by core subjects being taught in their first language such as literacy which in the long run will build their background knowledge and make their second language comprehensible.
Their has been recent evidence against bilingual education. A LA study was done using 227 students in all- English immersion class. An article appearing in the Los Angeles Times on January 12, 1999 headline proclaimed: “LA students take to English immersion” and the first paragraph said, “ teachers are delivering promised reports that their children are learning English more quickly than anticipated.” The rest of the study demonstrates how only 13 interviews were collected within the Los Angeles Unified School District to present this evidence. This led them to believe that children were picking up “verbal English” but were still falling behind in their core studies.
The researcher states, “ The biggest problem in my view, is the absence of books, in both the first and second language, in the lives of students in these programs.” Those who report that they read more read better and write better (Krashen, 1993), and students who participate in free reading activities in school (e.g., sustained silent reading) show superior literacy development when compared to students who do not (Krashen, 1993: Elley, 1998). Free voluntary reading can help all components of bilingual education: It is a source of comprehensible input in English, and it develops knowledge in the child’s first language. Families that are economically and financially stable have more access to books. The average Hispanic family with limited English proficient children has about 26 books in their home (Ramirez, Yuen, Ramey, and Pasta, 1991). This is the total number of books in their home including cookbooks or dictionaries. Schools should provide more opportunities for enriching the print environment and bridging this great need to improve bilingual education.
I believe students need to have a print rich environment both in the classroom and in their homes. This will not only make them stronger readers but will help students not lose their heritage language. Instead, promote a strong basis for developing their second language. Conversational English can be learned everyday, but academic language needs to be learned at school.
A good bilingual education program develops the first language and aids the academic language that is taught in subject matters to increase English proficiency. By using their background knowledge students can transfer the information in their primary language and develop their second language. Students who are confident in their heritage language will see the benefits and not want to lose their first language. They won’t conform to their second language, instead will become more fluent in their L1 to improve their L2.