PDF available at http://escholarship.org/uc/item/48b1x975
Abstract:
The debate around bilingual education continues to spark controversy between its detractors and its supporters. The education of linguistic minority students in the United States is a complex issue, involving contrasting theories of education itself, the values of American society, and the extent to which cross-culturalism can be maintained effectively. Although proponents of bilingual education argue that it increases students' academic success, opponents argue that it leads to academic failure (see, for example, Crawford, 1989; Hakuta, 1986; Porter, 1990; Wong Fillmore, 1991).
Success or failure of bilingual
education cannot necessarily be addressed as a whole. Several
different kinds of bilingual programs are available to the
non-English-speaking student in the United States (see Note). These
programs differ in the degree to which they promote and/or use
English and the home language of the students in the classroom. Thus,
the value of bilingualism is seen differently in the different
programs. For example, transitional bilingual education is designed
so that use of the two languages in the classroom is a temporary
phase during transition to English mastery. In contrast, in two-way
bilingual programs, in which instruction is given in both languages
throughout the program, bilingualism is seen as the ultimate goal -
the mastery both of English and of the home language.
While these differences in programs may seem to be purely ideological, the psychological impact on the students is enormous. Lambert (1974) distinguished between "additive" and "subtractive" bilingualism. The additive case implies that an individual suffers no loss of the primary language and the associated culture, while the subtractive case implies that an individual undergoes a loss of primary language skills and general academic performance. Lambert also drew attention to the roles played by attitudes, aptitudes, and motivation in second language learning. He believes that the degree of language mastery influences an individual's self-concept and sense of attainment of proficiency.
There are few studies of students'
attitudes toward their own bilingualism, particularly in two-way
programs (Christian, Montone, Lindholm, & Carranza, 1997).
Griego-Jones (1994), in a small study of 10 Latino kindergarten
students in a two-way program, found that the students actually
preferred English over Spanish, because English was perceived to be
the language of high status and achievement. Looking at older (fourth
grade) students, Hayashi (1998) found that students in a two-way
bilingual program and in a transitional bilingual program were
equally enthusiastic about their bilingualism, as reported on
questionnaires. In individual interviews, however, the students in
the transitional program reported that they thought they did not need
instruction in Spanish, because they already spoke Spanish. In
contrast, the students in the two-way program all thought the time
spent in Spanish instruction was valuable and necessary to their
achievement in both languages.
Although neither of the studies
mentioned above examined data on achievement, research on the most
effective forms of bilingual education (usually in terms of English
achievement) suggests that two-way programs may be the best. Two-way
bilingual education has been described in a national study as "the
program with the highest long-term academic success" (Thomas &
Collier, 1997, p. 52). The students' success in these programs is
undoubtedly due to a number of factors. These include opportunities
for linguistic minority students to assume strong peer leadership
roles in the classroom, an emphasis on grade-level academic
instruction in both languages, sustained support for and use of
multicultural curricula, and opportunities for non-English-speaking
parents to form close partnerships with the school staff as well as
with other parents. The purpose of the present report is to examine
students' development in a two-way bilingual program by focusing on
both their attitudes toward becoming bilingual (and possibly
bicultural) and their school achievement in both languages. Although
we do not have data to examine causal links between attitudes and
achievement, we see this study as a first step toward showing the
relationship between the two.
Background:
Students in the Amigos program were categorized as either English-Amigos or Spanish-Amigos. The control groups were made up of English- or Spanish-speaking students as closely matched as possible in terms of socioeconomic status and nonverbal abstract reasoning. The latter was determined by Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices Test. Data was collected over a span of six school years and focused on 4th to 8th grade. Students in the control groups were enrolled in the programs within the district that the Amigos students would have attended if the two-way dual language program didn't exist. For the English-speaking students, this meant the all-English stream that was in the same school building. For the Spanish-speaking students, this meant the transitional bilingual stream offered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The researchers examined tests scores on the CAT (California Achievement Test) and the SABE (Spanish Achievement in Bilingual Education). They compared both English-Amigos and Spanish-Amigos to the English-speaking control group on the CAT. On the SABE, they compared both English-Amigos and Spanish-Amigos to the Spanish-speaking control group.
The researchers note that, especially in the later grades, the students in the Spanish-speaking control group were probably only instructed in Spanish before coming to the United States. On page 9, they also note that "after fifth grade, 8.5% of the Amigos are invited to leave the Amigos program and join the gifted and talented program at a different school" and their top students are not in the program in grades 6, 7 and 8.
Key Quotes: (emphasis added)
"Each ethnolinguistic group has much to
gain from the bilingual/bicultural experiences afforded to all those
involved in this program. The English-speaking students are given the
basic building blocks needed to become proficient in Spanish and in
interpersonal relations with a major American ethnic group -
Hispanics. The Hispanic students develop skills in English through
instruction in English, and through personal contacts with
English-speaking youngsters." (p. 3)
 |
| (p. 13) |
"The data from these analyses of 8 years
of the Amigos program suggest that both the English-Amigos and
Spanish-Amigos are moving toward a balanced state of skill in reading
both English and Spanish and in using the two languages to solve math
problems. The Spanish-Amigos have achieved remarkable proficiency in
both English and Spanish. The English-Amigos have maintained high
proficiency in English, and although their Spanish achievement may
occasionally fall behind that of Spanish speakers, they are clearly
achieving a high degree of Spanish proficiency." (p. 15)
"Some answers to the hard questions
often put to researchers on bilingual development are suggested by
the results presented here. One answer may be that education in two
languages may be beneficial for all children. The English-Amigos are
not behind in English, even though they receive only 50% of their
instruction in English; their English seems to be as good as, or in
many instances better than, that of students who are in an
all-English program. They generally score higher in math than
students in an all-English program. Moreover, they seem to develop an
equally high academic performance level in Spanish. The same story
seems to hold true for the Spanish-speaking Amigos." (p. 16)
"In answer to those who are critical of
bilingual education, the suggestion in this research is that
immigrant students can better learn and master English if they are
simultaneously permitted to develop or maintain a high degree of
literacy in their native language." (p. 16)
