Bilingual education in context

Bilingual education in context

1. Linguistics

   • Context
     • If we are taking about language. Students are aware that they are learning two languages at the time.
       • English and Spanish.
     • Even though their native language is Spanish, they are still learning about it.
   • Analysis
     • We can assure that bilingualism is being carried during their educational process.
     • If a kid doesn’t have good L1 (Spanish) bases then their L2 (English). If they performed low in their native language L1 they will struggle with their L2 language acquisition.
   • Authors
     • Taking into account Pearl & and Lambert’s (1962) theory about balanced and dominant bilinguals. It will mean that students from the school at the end of their education will be potentially balanced bilinguals.
     • But, if we are talking about second graders, they are dominant bilingual, being L1 the one that they use the most.

2. Educational

   • Context
     • Currently the school doesn’t have a clear curriculum.
     • The school is part of the ACCAS Tri association
     • STEM education is mostly what defines our path.
     • Our policies are divided between international policies and Colombian policies.
   • Analysis
     • Not having a clear curriculum makes following a path difficult. It is impossible to be prepared to know what are we teaching when we don’t have a clear didactic sequel
     • STEM is an advantage and mixing that with PBL makes a strong team. Makes students go beyond and integrate everything that they learned uniquely.
     • In STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Currently Science and Math are the only two topics that are always present. The school hasn't focused much on Technology and Engineering.
   • Authors
     • According to Bybee (2010) Schools in the states will give more importance to the S and M in STEM education.
     • Most of the time schools don’t realize that Technology and Engineering are the ones that help to boost problem-solving and teamwork.
     • It’s important to highlight the fact that in my currently school is something that is happening, they are focusing more on S and M

3. Pedagogical

   • Context
     • Second graders learn through PBL (Project Based Learning), meaning kids are always engaged and hands-on depending on their project or topic.
   • Analysis
     • The PBL methodology is good. It helps the kid to reach their goals in their own way, they depend on their knowledge.
     • They explored their creativity by showing their knowledge in their final product, the most important thing, they can explain, because they created it.
   • Authors
     • Tan (2021) In his book Problem-based Learning Innovation: Using Problems to Power Learning in the 21st Century, talks about different aspects of PBL learning.
     • In one of his chapters, he interviewed several students about how they were feeling with the PBL methodology. In chapter 8 one student says “But for the PBL subject, I enjoy it because we read up and then share. We speak in our language.” (Tan, 2021, p.130)
     • Keeping that in mind, we can tell that PBL is a methodology that helps students develop their thinking and promotes bilingualism and translanguaging in a pedagogical context.

4. Cognitive

   • Context
     • Students are exposed to language at an early age. Most of them had lived abroad and studied at Bilingual schools. Some students even have bilingual parents.
   • Analysis
     • Through a PBL and STEM pedagogy studens are able to connect all of their knowledge at the end to show understanding in that case language is the vehicle that helps students to explain their understanding and their ideas.
     • Being exposed to an L2 as young learners boost students to be better in a bilingual environment.
     • If they start to have delayed in their L1 process, some of they can get behind in their L2, in most cases that happened during their phonological awareness process.
     • to have delayed in their process, some of they can get behind. There are also external factors such as learning problems, neurological , diseases, etc...
     • After pandemic, they was a huge gap between their L1 and L2 knowledge. We were able to identify which kids got affected the most.
     • Students can be compund and coordinate bilinguals, because some of them can storage words separately and other in the same unit.
   • Authors
     • Taking into account learning theories, constructivism, will be the suitable way that kids carried their learning, that will be the expected taking into account the PBL methodology.
     • Constructivism talks about how learners are able to make their own knowledge according to their experiences, it is also something that can be related to the aproximated zone.
     • According to Woutersen 1994. Depending on biligual processes they can be classified as Compound, Coordinate and Subordinate. But that would refer on how a bilingual person information in its mind.

5. References

   • - Barell, J. (2010). Problem-based learning: The foundation for 21st-century skills. 21st century skills: Rethinking how students learn, 175-199.
   • Bybee, R. W. (2010). What is STEM education?. Science, 329(5995), 996-996.
   • Tan, O. S. (2021). Problem-based learning innovation: Using problems to power learning in the 21st century. Gale Cengage Learning.
   • Teaching & Education. (2020, mayo 27). What is contructivism. Wester Gobernors University. https://www.wgu.edu/blog/what-constructivism2005.html
   • Gómez, Y. Understan Bilingualism: definitions and cognitive development. https://soda.ustadistancia.edu.co/enlinea/eduvirtual/maestrias/Bilig/tensions/2/story_html5.html