The article I chose this week focused on a school in Georgia named C.J. Hicks Elementary that has chosen to immerse a dual language program into its elementary curriculum. C.J. Hicks is one of 38 elementary schools in GA that has chosen to do this on a trial and error based method, but has found it very successful thus far.
What they have done is two teachers team up in a particular grade level, one teacher teaches completely in Spanish while the other teacher teaches completely in English. The English taught classes are writing, social studies, and phonics and the Spanish taught classes are math, science, and phonics. Students start in one class and rotate between the two classes so they are getting half a day with English and half a day with Spanish.
Since research also shows students learn better in the morning rather than afternoons, the teachers also switch their schedules every other week, so students are learning the opposite subjects every other week. The teachers must be very in tune with each other, and plan together very well.
The reason for starting this program was, the U.S. Department of Education reports that bilingual students have more cognitive skills and students of dual enrollment programs are less likely to drop out. The teachers have promoted very high success, and student enjoyment and excitement. Parents have also shown a high level of support for this program and would like it to continue.
I think it is wonderful something like this is being offered and has seen such a high level of success. I could see how this could be so difficult to make work, and it is amazing to me these teachers are making it function! They must work so well together!
Source: http://www.rockdalecitizen.com/news/school/elementary-school-promotes-bilingual-education/article_be2c2001-c004-5d91-9beb-d24115a41b00.html
I like the entire concept, especially how the teachers switch so students are not receiving the same course content at the same time week in and week out. Years ago, I worked on a team where we rotated the students schedules because we had observed that worked better for the students retention and acquisition. I am seeing more and more articles stating that dual language instruction has provided more gains for L2 students.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea. I like the fact that all students are involved in the educational process. This encourages participation among students and they may not feel so singled out. Immersing students for only half of the day, I could see how this would help keep a student from being overwhelmed. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI always liked the idea of kids learning multiple languages while they are young. It will make them more citizens of the world, not just of the US. That said, I worry that they are only receiving math and science terms in Spanish. They may be at a disadvantage if they never learn the English terms.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great program, and I agree with some of the other comments that a half day of each is probably best for success and to avoid frustration. I also like that they switch between the morning and afternoon- we do this with our rotating schedule in the HS. It's amazing how different a class can perform and behave depending on the time of the day!
ReplyDeleteI agree this sounds like a wonderful opportunity. It gives them a chance to work with both languages. I think it would be difficult for them to sit and learn in English all day long and this gives them a nice break and a time that they can really focus on just their learning. It sounds well planned out and a wonderful opportunity for these students.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I have always wondered how successful dual language classrooms would be. In some countries this is everyday.
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