My student is definitely a simultaneous bilingual. She is oral language dominant in Spanish. She went to preschool at Head Start and has attended elementary school in the Dual Language Immersion program for kindergarten and first grade. I have noticed that she often assumes people can’t understand something in one language and she is quick to translate. It has been difficult to get her out of this habit this year because it really enables kids in the DLI program if she does that. Since her parents do not speak English, I think she is accustomed to quickly translating between people when she is out with her family.
When this student speaks, there is evidence of code-switching. The other day in math groups in Spanish, I gave them a story problem and she was talking about it in Spanish and then said “Oh my gosh, this is so hard” and then went back to speaking in Spanish. This is very typical for her, especially when she is in a group with or talking to friends who she knows speak English as their first language. She occasionally throws in words in English when she is speaking in Spanish such as “Rachael, tu backpack.” The only example of linguistic blending I have heard my student say is “púchale.” I believe that my student does not use more code-switching because it is not accepted in her home. I think that this strict isolation in her home has helped her develop the two languages more separately.
This student has positive attitudes about speaking in both languages. I believe she has a positive attitude about both languages because she is not shy to speak and loves to chat with friends in either language. My student easily changes from one language to another depending on who she is playing with at recess or whose attention she is trying to get. She seems comfortable and happy using both languages. The student’s academic language is definitely higher in Spanish than in English. Many people who hear her speak might assume she knows more English than she does because she is very confident and very chatty. However, while she has great social language, she has not really developed much academic language in English yet.
Because I work in a Dual Language Immersion environment, I am not able to speak with my student in English. However, she speaks English occasionally in front of me with classmates, at recess and in specials classes. Her teacher for English time just left on maternity leave, so I have minimal information from her. I have done my best to consider my student’s English oral language proficiency from what I know and what I have heard from other teachers.
Looking at the speaking rubric from the WIDA Consortium, my student’s assessments show that her oral language in Spanish is higher than in English. I would say that she would receive a 4 in linguistic complexity in Spanish and a 2 in English. For vocabulary usage, she would receive a 3 in Spanish and a 1 or a 2 in English. As far as language control, I believe that she would be about a 5 in Spanish and a 3 in English.
My student received a 1 for speaking and listening on the ACCESS test last year. This year, looking at the Can Do Descriptors, I can see that she has progressed in her English oral language this year. This student is able to ask WH- questions and describe pictures, events, objects and people. She is able to restate some facts such as what she knows about plants or nutrition from English time. While she can retell very basic stories and articulate predictions, I am not sure that she can really describe processes in any detail. For this reason, I would have to give her a Beginning Level 2 in her English Oral Language.
Looking at the Can-Do Descriptors for my student’s Spanish oral language, I would say that she is more of an Expanding Level 4. My student can give oral reports (first grade level) and can articulate creative solutions when there is a problem posed or a real life conflict. She loves to discuss issues and can explain what happens in a story in her own words in Spanish.
Hi Courtney,
ReplyDeleteI think that it is awesome that your student is so excited about using both languages and is not shy using either of the two. I wish I could say the same about my student as he is quite shy using Spanish and I am having difficulty with our assignments because of this. Your students comfort level with English and Spanish probably comes from the fact that her parents continue to encourage her use of Spanish at home and have enrolled her in the dual language program to further her language development in English and Spanish. How empowering!
It would be interesting to find out more about how the brain functions when a student code switches as your student did in the midst of working and thinking in Spanish and then blurting out a complete sentence in English. This has to show something as to the amazing wealth of knowledge and ability of bilingual learners.
Her ability to switch in and out of whichever language the listener is most comfortable with reminds me of my godson. He is a simultaneous bilingual who was in an English only classroom. However, even from a very young age it was as if he could look at a person and know "time to speak in Spanish" or "time to speak in English. It mystifies me how many bilingual children have an innate sense to cross over to whichever language is most appropriate according to the context and the people they are interacting with.
I look forward to reading more about your experience with this student!
Melissa
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteI had to switch students also...the student I'd chosen moved to Mexico for the year, so I guess we could call that an attendance issue too :)
Even though her Spanish is stronger than her English, I found it interesting that she has still managed to acquire what sounds like a decent amount of English already (especially with the strict language separation at her house and not too much formal English instruction). I think that this speaks to the fact that our students really are exposed to a great deal of English in the greater society and reinforces the need to start with Spanish as the language of instruction in DLI programs. I guess I do wonder how much English time she gets in 1st grade...I assume it's not much more than the 10% if you guys follow the 90/10 but correct me if I'm wrong.
I also wondered if you use any other type of assessment of oral proficiency of your students in your DLI program (apart from WIDA stuff). I'm particulary interested in how you assess oral Spanish.
Your student also sounds alot like one of my students who has great command of social English and can talk a mile a minute, but really struggles with academic language. She's only been here for a year and had most of her teachers fooled for a good while.
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed hearing about your student and their positive attitude towards both languages and school in general. I find it interesting that this student is prohibited from speaking English at home but I also find it encouraging that the parents consider it important for her to maintain her first language because of the dominance of English in our society. It sounds like her linguistic creativity is very evident when it comes to always wanting to translate and help both family members and peers. I am curious about her family and siblings? I wonder if her being younger or older than siblings may play a role in her oral language acquisition in both languages?
DLI is a wonderful program and I believe it is doing a better job of integrating Spanish dominant bilingual students with their peers. Have you noticed a difference about the status of Spanish as a language and those who speak it in a bilingual classroom versus a DLI classroom? It will be interested to look at ACCESS trend scores over time and compare the oral development in both languages between the two models.
Another component I found interesting about your student’s oral language development is her great social English. I agree with others when they say student fool teachers and then they assume they do not need any scaffolds. Due to these and similar situations it is crucial to always remind our colleagues of the difference between BICS and CALPS.
I look forward to reading more about your student
~Jackie
Wow! Thanks for the wonderful insights and questions that you all brought up this week.
ReplyDeleteI probably should have explained how much English time my student receives in the first grade DLI classroom. She receives 20% of instruction in English, which comes out to be about 40 minutes, 4 days a week of academic English. In contrast, she probably spends about an hour and a half a day using social English (CALPS) with recess, lunch, and specials classes. I think that I should have explained better earlier that perhaps this is why her social language is pretty strong, but her academic langauge is fairly basic.
I do think that the DLI program is doing great things for increasing the quality of English time compared to some transitional bilingual programs (unless they mix with a monolingual class) because there are always language models. Not only are their always language models, but students understand that they are a community of language learners and tend to be very supportive of each other as they take chances with their language.
Thanks for giving me some good questions and comments to reflect on.