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The adult heritage language
speakers should be encouraged to both speak to and read to their children
extensively in the home language. The utilization of heritage language books
will allow the family to select materials that reinforce their cultural beliefs
and traditions. Often the reading of these books and stories maintains the
folklore of the families. Additionally the children may gain insights into the
lifestyles of their older family members in addition to learning about the
geography and history of their heritage county. There is ample evidence to prove
that the use of the primary language in the home is not a handicap to a child's
acquisition of a second language. Rather most modern research shows exactly the
opposite, the strong the student's foundation in the primary language the higher
the child's proficiencies will be in the second language. This is a result of
transfer of language skills from the primary language to the second given
sufficient exposure, direction, and a safe learning environment. B. School
system and individual teachers should be harnessing the power of the primary
language to building on the child's skill in the second language. The child's
primary language experiences should be used as bridges to enhancing the child's
vocabulary and skills in the second language.
Technology and Second Language
Learning Over the past decade there has been a dramatic increase in various
media and computer applications designed to specifically address the needs of
second language learners. University language departments are implementing new
technologies into the curriculum on a regular basis, as information technology
and the digital domain offer new possibilities for rich content, expanded
assessment capabilities and immediate feedback. Several school districts across
the nation are creating special magnet high schools where technology,
international studies, and second languages are emphasized. Technology is
becoming a bigger part of both in-class and home study as the traditional use of
audio and films is supplemented by computer-assisted instruction and interactive
media technologies. The use of information technology to further enhance the
environment for second language learners involves a technology plan that
addresses key issues. One of the first steps in technology-assisted instruction
is to decide which technological medium is the most appropriate one for the
language skill(s) to be developed during a particular period of time. Some
technologies lend themselves better to the acquisition of certain language
skills than others. a. Computers and computer networks Computer-assisted
instructional (CAI) programs are ideal for fostering reading and writing skills
in the target language. CAI can be used by groups or individual students within
a classroom or media center, or over local or long-distance computer networks.
Email provides a real form of communication between students. Whether the
message arrives from a classmate on campus, or originates on the other side of
the globe, the use of such a real form of communication motivates students to
read that message, and in turn, to respond in writing. With a basic word
processing program, students can write short articles and compile and edit a
newspaper based on their classroom exchanges. The use of such text-based
applications is just the one of the many possibilities for extending language
learners potential to explore different learning styles and multiple
intelligences. It is important to note that language learning (using deliberate
strategies to increase second language competency) involves steps taken by
language learners. This is distinct from “learning styles”, which refer more
broadly to a learner’s innate, habitual, and preferred way(s) of absorbing,
processing and retaining information or skills. b. Interactive audio With the
addition of audio capabilities to personal computers via audio boards (or
CD-ROM) with microphones for input and headphones for output, the audio-assisted
computer is a virtual mini-media unit. With the hookup of a special tape
recorder to the computer, interactive audio provides multiple possibilities to
teach and test active listening skills. In computer-assisted audio, the printed
screen comes alive with sound for the acquisition of listening and speaking
skills as well as reading and writing skills. c. Video In the case of video, the
visual component, which is especially useful for cultural and paralinguistic
information, is added to the oral/aural components of other technologies.
Regular linear video is most useful in developing listening skills and creating
cultural awareness. Video with target language subtitles can also serve in
developing reading skills. Video enables students to observe the dress, food,
climate, and gestures of the target culture. d. Interactive video When the power
of a computer is added to video that is pressed onto a disc for instant access
of sound, vision, and text, the resulting interactive videodisc system can
provide practice in all of the language skills. Students’ skills in listening
and reading as well as in writing and speaking can be greatly enhanced when
these latter options are available on an interactive compact disc (CD) program.
Given that language is an expression of culture, cultural aspects of the video
segments can be highlighted using the CD program to provide a better context for
communication. Types of Technology-Assisted Activities Once the specific
technology and skill(s) to be developed have been matched as outlined above, the
specific courseware and type of activity that are most appropriate must be
selected or prepared. Traditional exercises provide various activities for the
development of these skills, but technology-assisted activities can also be
introduced into standard teaching techniques to enhance language learning. These
activities would be made more readily available through the use of information
technologies which increase productivity with respect to exposing the student to
the following second language formation activities: a. Speaking Dialogues can be
effectively used in developing speaking skills.
Use of an interactive audio
program allows students to create dialogues and to practice them with other
students. Other task-based speaking activities can also be used effectively with
interactive audio programs. b. Listening Videotapes or interactive Compact Disks
(CDs) can provide excellent listening comprehension activities, given a good
listening guide prepared for the students. Depending on the language level,
students listen for just the main idea or gist of a segment, or they listen for
specific facts in the video program. c. Reading Reading skills can be
substantially developed using computer-assisted instructional programs.
Word-level reading skills (word recognition) are enhanced by activities such as
cloze activities (every nth word of a text deleted), anagrams, jumbled words,
and so on, which are found in many CAI software programs. To practice reading at
the sentence level, computer programs provide practice in ordering words within
a sentence, text reconstruction, or ordering sentences within a paragraph. Other
CAI programs provide extensive (article or story length) reading comprehension
passages with accompanying word helps and comprehension questions at the end of
the selection. d. Writing Technology-assisted activities such as fill-in-the
blank, multiple-choice, and true/false questions help students to write at the
word level. Other types of software, such as databases and spreadsheets, provide
students with practice in retrieving information and problem-solving skills.
Word processors (in the target language) are ideal for compositions or free
writing practice at the discourse level.
Some word processors are bilingual and
provide on-line assistance with dictionaries, spell checkers, and grammar helps.
When technology is used interactively among students, cooperative writing
activities are strong motivators to help students develop writing skills. e.
Culture Because of the visual component (with non-verbal behavior), video-based
activities are well suited for observing cultural differences and similarities
in a live context. Both video tape, including satellite broadcasts, and
interactive videodisc programs provide ways of developing cultural sensitivity.
f. Testing Computer-assisted testing now provides a more comprehensive, fast,
and accurate way of testing student language skills (other than speaking
skills). Students can also self-test using CAI programs. Teachers can use
testing in an instructional way given the right kinds of activities and
programs. With technology-assisted instruction, there are changes in both
educator and student roles.
Students are given more responsibility for their own
learning, while the educator serves as a guide and resource expert who
circulates among students, working individually or in small groups with a
technology-assisted lesson. Educators observe more of the learning process in
action and serve as a guide in that process. The new technologies offer many
possibilities to the second language learner. The effectiveness of these
technologies depends on appropriate use by informed educators. Neither textbooks
nor technology can replace the live, unprogrammed feedback and interaction of
the language teacher. Internet Resources for Second Language Learners The number
of sites that provide information to support second language learning and to
emphasize the importance of a second language are growing as fast as the
internet itself. There is no need to comprehensively list such websites.
However, one of these destinations will be cited as a good example of an
effective means to link and filter the growing amounts information in this
field. Dave’s ESL Cafe is one of the most popular ESL sites (possibly the most
popular ESL site) on the World Wide Web. Its creator, Dave Sperling, is an
outstanding example of an ESL professional who is using the Web in imaginative
ways to enhance English language instruction for teachers and students. The
on-line learning/teaching section includes the Help Center, where students can
consult an international teamof ESL/EFL teachers; the Quiz Center, offering many
on-line quizzes that are immediately checked; the Quote Page, whichcontains
quotations, proverbs, and humor; and the Idiom Page, the Phrasal Verb Page, and
the Slang Page, which offerdefinitions and sample sentences for idioms, phrasal
verbs, and slang expressions, respectively.
The global communication section
includes the E-Mail Connection Pages, where students and teachers can meet; the
Message Exchange, for both students and teachers; the Discussion Center, which
contains a series of forums on such topics as current events, food, and movies;
the ESL Address Book, which includes the addresses of students, teachers,
schools, and publishers; and Chat Central, where students and teachers can
engage in Alive,@ Web-based chats. The resources and information section
consists of the Idea Page, the Search Page, where one can search the Café and
use most major search engines; and the Job Center, which includes the Job Links
Page, the Job Discussion Forum, the Job Wanted Forum, the Job Offered Forum, and
ESL Job Chat. You can go to all of the pages from the Cyber Café’s main page.
Another site worth mention is the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)
project site. One of the more enduring misconceptions is that raising children
bilingually confuses them and inhibits their cognitive development. This
misconception, bolstered by several generations of flawed research, continues to
underlie much of the opposition to bilingual education and has resulted in
generations of language minority parents being admonished not to speak to
children in their native language at home, even when parents have little
facility in English.
It is also often argued that the best way to promote
literacy is to push people into English-only immersion programs. However, again,
neither the historical record nor the research supports this view. The most
extreme attempt to implement an English-only education program began after the
Civil War when the U.S. government pursued an aggressive Indian deculturation
program. Deculturation involved replacing the use of native languages with
English, destroying Indian customs, and teaching allegiance to the U.S.
government. Among the strategies used in the boarding schools where the children
were sent was an absolute prohibition on Native American children speaking their
own languages, and those that did were humiliated, beaten, and had their mouths
washed with lye soap. In spite of these practices, Indian children were
notoriously slow learners of the English language and lessons of deculturation
were learned more readily than those related to instruction in reading. Current
research on bilingual education for children and for adults indicates that the
bilingual education approach is generally more effective than the English-only
approach if learners are put into comparable programs with comparable resources.
Further, children taught in their native language develop higher levels of
proficiency in that language than those who are directly immersed in English,
and bilingualism and biliteracy are positive outcome[s] of any educational
program State- and federally-funded bilingual education programs, however, reach
only a fraction of eligible students. Three quarters of limited English
proficient students receive ESL instruction, while only one-third to one-half of
these students receive any instruction in their native language (National Center
for Education Statistics, 1997, p. 13). The persistence of the myth of English
monolingualism in this country reflects the belief that English is the only
language that counts and the mentality that language diversity is a problem
rather than a resource. Most national literacy estimates in the United States
are based solely on English abilities, and this tends to inflate the perception
that there is a literacy crisis.
In order to promote English literacy and
biliteracy, the extent and implications of language diversity in the United
States need to be understood, and literacy in any language needs to be viewed as
a resource, rather than as a liability. Current research on bilingual education
for children (see, for example, Baker, 1996; Goldenberg, 1996; Merino & Lyons,
1990) and for adults (see Melendez, 1990) indicates that the bilingual education
approach is generally more effective than the English-only approach if learners
are put into comparable programs with comparable resources. Further, children
taught in their native language develop higher levels of proficiency in that
language than those who are directly immersed in English, and bilingualism and
biliteracy are positive outcome[s] of any educational program (Goldenberg, 1996,
p. 10). Even critics of bilingual education such as Rossell and Baker (1996)
suggest that language minority children should be seen as an opportunity to
develop bilingual adults (p. 35). State- and federally-funded bilingual
education programs, however, reach only a fraction of eligible students. Three
quarters of limited English proficient students receive ESL instruction, while
only one-third to one-half of these students receive any instruction in their
native language (National Center for Education Statistics, 1997, p. 13). . In
1996, more than one-third of teachers in bilingual classrooms were not fully
credentialed, and while little is actually known about these teachers, the
likelihood is that many were relying heavily on one of the 29,000 bilingual
paraprofessionals employed in California’s schools. Seventy percent (70%) of LEP
students are educated in English-only classrooms without academic instruction in
the primary language. Of these, about 20% may receive some informal help in
their primary language principally from an instructional aide to help decipher a
lesson that is taught in English. Among the above 70% of LEP students, more than
a third receive SDAIE (Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English),
which was initially designed to be a transitional pedagogy for students from a
bilingual setting who were being mainstreamed into English-only classes. 2
However, in actual practice this instructional methodology is commonly used for
any student who does not receive primary language instruction. Because SDAIE
methods were developed for students at the threshold of English fluency, it may
be inappropriate to use these same methods with students who have little or no
understanding of English 3 .
Moreover, Aida Walqui, instructor in the Teacher
Education program at Stanford University, and an acknowledged expert in SDAIE
instruction, notes that “what teachers actually do varies from classroom to
classroom and we have no evidence to indicate that what they are doing is
actually SDAIE. Furthermore, there are no evaluation studies of SDAIE programs
in actual practice.” 4 Between 20 and 25 percent of LEP students 5 receive no
services at all to support their language and academic needs. These students are
mainstreamed into the regular English-only classrooms in a “sink or swim”
approach. The evidence suggests that many of these students sink. 6 In sum, only
a minority of LEP students in California is currently enrolled in a bilingual
program; 70% of California’s LEP students receive some other kind of
instructional program, or no services at all. Moreover, because LEP students
tend to be more mobile than other California students, they are likely to
experience several different kinds of programs over the span of their K-12
education. 7 The consequences of such a hodgepodge approach to educating English
language learners can be severe. A recent study by the Council of Chief State
School Officers noted that many LEP students in California, and elsewhere, do
not receive the services they need and as a result these students are more
likely to be held back, tracked in low academic groupings, or even placed in
special education classes, and their dropout rates are alarmingly high. 8 What
is clear from the foregoing discussion is that neither the successes nor the
failures of Limited English Proficient students can be attributed to their
participation in bilingual education classrooms. Since so few of these students
have ever received this mode of instruction and even fewer have been in such
academic subjects and English language development --or what most people would
refer to as bilingual classrooms. Even within these classrooms, however,
instruction may vary greatly from one school to another, and from one community
to another. Moreover, all bilingual classrooms are not headed by credentialed
bilingual teachers. In 1996, more than one-third of teachers in bilingual
classrooms were not fully credentialed, and while little is actually known about
these teachers, the likelihood is that many were relying heavily on one of the
29,000 bilingual paraprofessionals employed in California’s schools. Seventy
percent (70%) of LEP students are educated in English-only classrooms without
academic instruction in the primary language. Of these, about 20% may receive
some informal help in their primary language principally from an instructional
aide to help decipher a lesson that is taught in English. Among the above 70% of
LEP students, more than a third receive SDAIE (Specially Designed Academic
Instruction in English), which was initially designed to be a transitional
pedagogy for students from a bilingual setting who were being mainstreamed into
English-only classes. 2 However, in actual practice this instructional
methodology is commonly used for any student who does not receive primary
language instruction. Because SDAIE methods were developed for students at the
threshold of English fluency, it may be inappropriate to use these same methods
with students who have little or no understanding of English 3 . Moreover, Aida
Walqui, instructor in the Teacher Education program at Stanford University, and
an acknowledged expert in SDAIE instruction, notes that “what teachers actually
do varies from classroom to classroom and we have no evidence to indicate that
what they are doing is actually SDAIE.
Furthermore, there are no evaluation
studies of SDAIE programs in actual practice.” 4 Between 20 and 25 percent of
LEP students 5 receive no services at all to support their language and academic
needs. These students are mainstreamed into the regular English-only classrooms
in a “sink or swim” approach. The evidence suggests that many of these students
sink. 6 In sum, only a minority of LEP students in California are currently
enrolled in a bilingual program; 70% of California’s LEP students receive some
other kind of instructional program, or no services at all. Moreover, because
LEP students tend to be more mobile than other California students, they are
likely to experience several different kinds of programs over the span of their
K-12 education. 7 The consequences of such a hodgepodge approach to educating
English language learners can be severe. A recent study by the Council of Chief
State School Officers noted that many LEP students in California, and elsewhere,
do not receive the services they need and as a result these students are more
likely to be held back, tracked in low academic groupings, or even placed in
special education classes, and their dropout rates are alarmingly high.
CONCLUSION The persistence of the myth of English monolingualism in this country
reflects the belief that English is the only language that counts and the
mentality that language diversity is a problem rather than a resource. Most
national literacy estimates in the United States are based solely on English
abilities, and this tends to inflate the perception that there is a literacy
crisis. In order to promote English literacy and biliteracy, the extent and
implications of language diversity in the United States need to be understood,
and literacy in any language needs to be viewed as a resource, rather than as a
liability. REFERENCES Baker, C. (1996). Foundations of bilingual education and
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