I was asked to research on countries' bilingual education system.The article that I found helped me realize the importance of bilingual education for the United States
and other countries. Today a person who is fluent in two or more languages is
able to communicate internationally with others. Therefore, many countries
focus on bilingual education in order to compete on the international level.
In Spain, if a
teacher conducts a bilingual curriculum then the entire lesson must be
partially in English; the lesson is in either Spanish or English. Bilingual education is a new development in
Spain but especially in Ronda. In Spain, these programs run for a very short
time; one year form primary school and three years for high school. There is
also a shortage of qualified bilingual educators in Spain. The bilingual education
programs in Spain have a different intention than those in the Unites States
because their focus is to allow Spanish students to learn English at an
enhanced level throughout their school years. The program’s main goal is to
produce a generation of Spaniards able to compete in the international stage
where English is acknowledged as the lingua franca (languages used as common or
commercial tongues among peoples of diverse speech).
Spain
welcomes English speaking children but with a different purpose. If the schools
have more English speaking children, then the non-English speaking children
will be able to retain and learn their second language more effectively. As
stated in the article, “If they had their way they would increase the number of
foreign students to give Spanish students exposure to the English language in
the playground as well as the classroom.” Even though there is an increase of
English speakers, bilingual schools are not able to offer 50/50 education. Some
classes are lucky if they even achieve much more than minimal English
instruction. Their goal for 2010/2011 was to increase this numbers from 25% to
30% of all education in English. In order to accomplish their goal, several
teachers helped coordinate the curriculum mainly by those that knew the English
meanwhile, the other teachers undertook English night courses at the
Escuela Oficial de Idiomas.
Ronda
is glad to offer a bilingual education curriculum and teachers are very
delighted to teach it. Most promising, the students are responding positively
to classes taught only in English. There seems to be a brighter future for the
students in Ronda because bilingual education is supported by the mainstream.
As stated in our textbooks, students succeed better in learning a second language
if their efforts are seen positively.
Sources: http://www.rondatoday.com/1213/bilingual-education-in-ronda
I found this post very interesting. I do not know that much about Spain, let alone its education system. Reading this opened my eyes to the fact that many countries around the world want their students to learn more than one language. I think the United States should follow suit and do the same. Great post!
ReplyDelete-Abbie
I enjoyed reading your post. I found it interesting, especially what you mentioned about if the schools have more English speaking children, then the non-English speaking children will be able to retain and learn their second language more effectively. This semester I was able to observe a kindergarten dual language class and I think it is similar to the system you mentioned they use in Spain. Most of the students in my mentor teacher's class are Hispanic and the whole curriculum is in Spanish but she also has some English speaking students. However, she is not allowed to speak to them in English, the purpose is for them to learn Spanish without using translation. I noticed that if the English speaking students did not understand what their teacher was telling them they would turn to their peers for support.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great article and felt like I could relate to it. I studied abroad in Madrid, Spain for a semester in 2007 and took bilingual business classes. Half of the students in my classes were from Spain and the other half were from all over the world, Spanish was their second or third language. I found that we all learned from each other, but not only how to speak better Spanish or English, but about each other's culture. We would talk in class, work on group projects, and hangout on weekends. The Spanish natives were especially eager to learn English since that is the common language in all of Europe and they knew how important it was in order to get a good job. It was so amazing how by the end of the semester we could all write and speak better Spanish or English.
ReplyDelete-Crystal
I think it is so interesting that America is so behind in actually understanding just how important learning a second language is. I feel like in the US it is so uncommon for anyone to be bilingual, and when you meet someone who is, it is shocking. I think it is so important for everyone to learn a second language. Being able to speak two languages has helped me throughout my life in so many aspects. For example, it helped me get into college, helped me decide what I want to do with my life, and has shaped who I am. I love the fact that I can communicate in a different language. The US needs to implement more language systems in the school system. Students need to start being exposed to these languages at an earlier age, and not starting in high school.
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