Essay on Bilingual Education: Proposing a Model for NYC Week

Introduction

It is apparent that the number of immigrants within most of the places in the United States has increased lately. In particular, about 30% of the people in many of the states in the United States are not native speakers. This means that a large number of them who are from Mexico speak Spanish in their homes. As a result, since this is not the mode of communication in the schools, they are also forced to learn English and speak to other people in the neighborhoods or the other students and teachers in their schools. Thus, this aspect can also be clearly seen in the school and classroom areas in relation to the ability to understand most of the concepts that are largely taught using the English language. It becomes important to find a mode of communication that is suitable for the overall learning and understanding of these students. Moreover, it is also important to put into consideration aspects that include not only the ability by these children of immigrants to communicate with their parents and grandparents but also to be culturally diverse in a manner that it is still possible for them to learn and take part in other activities back in their home countries as stated by Potowski (2015) It is for this reason that it becomes a challenge to performing the teaching activities using the English language as a result of the difficulty that most of the students face in trying to grasp most of the concepts in a language that is not well versed to them especially in their home environments. For this reason, it enhances the necessity for creativity and innovativeness in the sense that the needs of all the students are met.

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In this case, it is possible to break the statistics down within the classroom and school environments. Many of the students are from the Hispanic background. The white students only come second after this group of individuals. For this reason it becomes necessary to adopt a proper and appropriate model and program that will ensure the smooth engagement in bilingual education. As indicated by Sanchez, Garcia, and Solorza (2018), Educators are only expected to provide instructions using the English language based on the policy that no single child should be left behind (Potowski, 2013). Therefore, with this information, it becomes possible to create a model for the NYC week. This is mainly because the majority of the students are taken into consideration and given the important lessons within an education that enhances the creation of value through the devaluation of culture.

The main goal therefore for the immersion of the students in the dual bilingual program is to ensure that it helps not only the students who possess a firm grasp of the English and the Spanish languages but also makes sure that there is the creation of lifestyle that is bicultural (Maire, 2016). This means that it takes into consideration both those who speak the Spanish language and the English language. In this sense, the goal that is emphasized upon by this system involves the ability to create a system that ensures that the students are not only able to learn but are also involved and immersed into cultures that are rich in both aspects. This means that it provides them with the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills through the both cultures that they belong to. In essence, it is a continuation class that will be made available to all the students. As such, it will not be considered as a transition program. Thus, all of the students from the minority and the majority groups will be in a position to take part in a lot of practice activities that will enable them to gain the required amount of knowledge in order to become knowledgeable and become part of the fluent speakers within the larger community (Hatheway, Shea, & Winslow, 2015).

In this case, in order to attain the goals and achieve the desired results from the bilingual education program, some of the foundation elements that will be followed in this program include the development of a broad knowledge base in relation to the both cultures that will enable the ability to understand and handle the children in the appropriate manner that will enhance the teaching and the learning experiences.

The other important aspect would be to ensure that the program is designed in a manner with which it still remains culturally relevant to the curriculum. This is in relation to the idea that the concepts and ideas that are used in the development of the bilingual dual education program are relevant to the English and Spanish speakers. In particular, the content to be made in such a way that it is possible to teach in the Spanish language, which makes it easier to convert into English and thus learn properly through both languages.

Moreover, besides the efforts that are directed towards learning, this program should ensure that it is able to demonstrate the elements of care in the culture and to build a learning community. This means that it should not only be linked to the mastery of the languages but also some of the vital aspects that can be found in those cultures. As such, the children of the immigrants will also be able to adapt to the learning environment in their home countries when they have to return. They will additionally be conversant with the respective cultures and thus not be considered outsiders (Potowski, 2013).

The other important elements of the model will ensure that it is able to provide a channel for proper and effective communications across the cultures. This will mainly be because it will enhance the chances to eliminate the chances of having individuals who are monolingual. Most of them will be bilingual and thus able to communicate with other people effectively regardless of the environment in which they are located (Hatheway, Shea, & Winslow, 2015).

In addition, this program will be designed in a manner that it delivers instructions that are responsive to the respective cultures. In particular, it will be developed in such a way that they instructions are offered using both languages to enable both the teaching and understanding of the components and elements that are involved in both.

References

Hatheway, B., Shea, D., & Winslow, M. (2015). Dual Language Program Meets IntegratedCollaborative Teaching. Journal of Multilingual Education Research, 6(1), 8.

Maire, B. (2016). How can literacy instruction be adapted to improve the reading level of thirdgrade English language learners? (Doctoral dissertation, State University of New YorkEmpire State College).

Potowski, K. (2013). No child left monolingual. Tedx Talk. Retrieved 13th June 2018 fromhttps://mail.google.com/mail/u/2/#inbox/163ffb73bdc39e50?projector=1

Sanchez, M. T., Garcia, O., & Solorza, C. (2018). Reframing language allocation policy in duallanguage bilingual education. Bilingual Research Journal, 41(1), 37-51.