Bilingual Education: Effective Programming for Language-Minority Students

by Lynn Malarz

 

Why Should I Be Concerned About the Language-Minority Population at My School?

American schools are changing; schools are much more diverse than they were twenty-five years ago. Educators can no longer expect the majority of their students to be predominately English speaking. The numbers of black, brown, and Asian citizens are dramatically increasing, with Hispanics representing the fastest growing population in this country (Austin American Statesman 1986). The Census Bureau reported that as of March, 1985, the Hispanic population in the United States had increased some 16 percent in a little over five years, compared to the national population increase of 3.3 percent. In the 1980s, the population of Hispanics grew by approximately 2.3 million. In 1986, Hispanics represented 7 percent of the population. Projections were made at that time (Reich 1986), that by the year 2080 the Hispanic population in the United States will increase to 19 percent. The influence of minorities is undeniable in a nation which, by the year 2000, will have approximately 260 million people, one of every three of whom will be either black, Hispanic, or Asian-American.

Language Minorities

With our changing society has come a clearly defined increase in the number of language minorities (Omark and Erickson 1983). In 1980, there were fourteen or fifteen major language groups with almost 2,400,000 students between the ages of five and fourteen. This number of language minority students has been projected to increase by approximately one-third by the year 2000. By far, the largest language minority population being represented is Spanish-speaking, with more than two-thirds of the entire language minority population being represented by Spanish speakers. In 1985, it was projected that the number of Spanish speakers in this country would increase some 48 percent by the year 2000, numbering more than 22 million persons by the year 2000 (Macias 1985).

Because of this tremendous increase in the numbers of Asian, Hispanic, and other linguistically and culturally different individuals, school districts can no longer ignore the need for adjusting instructional programs to better serve these groups. One result has been a great expansion of bilingual education to provide for the educational needs of students with limited proficiency in English. To better understand programming needs, some clarification of terms is necessary—clarification that can lead to far more effective instructional methods.

 

What Are the Underlying Principles of Second-Language Acquisition?

Second-language acquisition (L2) is developmental, continuous, interactive with cognition, and rule-governed. It is acquired by the student through interaction with the environment. The affective variables include motivation, environment, attitude, and socioeconomic status. It would seem to parallel primary language (L1) acquisition with one major exception: the child is not usually a participant of the L2 target language group and as such is at a distinct disadvantage. The L2's ability and inclination to interact with the L2 group is vital for learning the language.

 

Principles

·         The student is an active party in acquiring language.

·         Languages are acquired, not taught; there is little adult “teaching” in learning a language. No matter what we do it is the learner who determines whether or not the language is gained.

·         Students construct their own rules in language acquisition.

·         Language proceeds from the general to the specific.

·         There is individual variability: The process of language acquisition is similar for all individuals; however, the rate varies.

·         Language is best learned in a non-anxious environment.

·         A student has intuitive knowledge of language. Ability to use language often occurs before being able to verbalize it.

·         There should be no attempt to sequence language learning. The student abstracts rules from data around him.

·         The rooting of language is in the student's cognitive growth.

·         Language occurs when the environment is responsive to the student.

·         Environment should focus on meaning rather than on form.

·         Language occurs when there is both linguistic and non-linguistic diversity.

·         Language learning occurs when there is interaction with the environment.

·         Language development is continuous.

·         The environment should be compatible with the student's own way of learning.

·         Language is language, not a collection of skills that can be separated and taught individually. It is acquired through active, meaning-oriented use.

 

 

 

What Part Does Motivation Play in Second-Language Acquisition?

Motivation is a powerful force in second-language learning. Motivation governs a need to communicate, to make friends, to identify with a social group, to become part of a community and to begin to plan one's future. Motivation becomes a positive. Anxiety becomes an inhibitor. Self-confidence is very much related to second-language learning as is a low anxiety level and a tendency to be risk-takers and guessers.

As the child becomes more secure in the second language, it is entirely likely that the native language recedes, to some extent. As vocabulary in the second language increases, words in L1 may well be forgotten. During the second-language learning process, a learner may insert words from each language in the same sentence. Again, this tendency demonstrates a motivation to speak the second language and is a way of permitting precise expressions which carry cultural content and can be stated in a given language.