The Language Connection: How Dual Language Education Strengthens Local and Global Communities Introduction TABLE OF CONTENTS Though bilingual education has been a part of the US public school system since the Colonial period Page 2 (National Geographic, 2020), it has fallen in and out of favor throughout the country’s history. Today, Introduction however, due to an increasing number of emergent bilingual students, also known as English language Page 3 learners, more and more schools have begun to reframe their thinking regarding dual language learning The bilingual advantage (NEA, 2019; Quintero & Hansen, 2017). Page 4 In fact, dual language immersion programs, designed to teach students in two languages, are on the rise Bilingual education: an overview (Muñiz, 2019). While a larger emergent bilingual student population is one reason for this, another is a growing Page 5 body of research demonstrating the many benefits of bilingualism, from better problem-solving skills to Today’s dual language enhanced creativity. Beyond individual benefits, bilingual education also has much to offer communities— programs and the world at large. Bilingualism can lead to greater acceptance and empathy, creating global citizens and Page 6 leaders who are better equipped to facilitate cross-cultural communication and collaboration. How bilingual education builds community Page 8 How EdTech can support Emergent bilingual education Page 9 bilinguals Conclusion represent: 10% of current public-school 25% of public-school student Page 10 student population population by2025 References In this eBook, we take a closer look at the history of bilingual education, its current state, and the many ways in which it can positively impact both individuals and communities. And we discuss how the right educational technology solution can help support individuals, for stronger community ties and greater unity. 2 The bilingual advantage Today, more of the world’s population is bilingual or multilingual than monolingual (Marian & Shook, 2012). It’s estimated that up to 75% of the world’s population speaks at least two languages (Vince, 2016). The very first words were spoken 250,000 years ago, and since then, language, like biology, has evolved. Yet there is evidence to suggest that even the earliest humans—hunter-gatherers—spoke more than one language (Vince, 2016). Despite the prevalence of multilingualism through the ages, in the US, for much of the 20th century, it was thought that bilingualism would result in cognitive disadvantages—more specifically, that the use of more than one language at a young age would confuse children and lead to cognitive impairments (Antoniou, 2019). This changed in 1962, when two researchers demonstrated that bilingual children outperformed monolinguals on nonverbal tests and some verbal intelligence tests (Antoniou, 2019). Over the course of the next 50 years, additional research has found evidence that, for individuals, bilingualism can improve (Antoniou, 2019): • Executive function—the ability to plan and handle multiple tasks, skills linked to academic achievement and career success >50% of the world’s • Concentration—the ability to focus and tune out or ignore distractions, also linked to academic achievement population speaks at • Metalinguistic awareness—the ability to reflect on and think about oral and written language and how it’s used least two languages • Phonetic perception—the ability to understand, upon hearing speech, the phonetic message (the segments perceived as consonants and vowels) • Cognitive flexibility—the ability to switch between different mental sets, tasks, or strategies • Creative thinking—the ability to look at situations or problems in new ways Yet, despite these proven cognitive benefits, a language gap remains. While 52.7% of Europeans are fluent in both their native language and a second language, only 9.3% of Americans are, and only 20% of K–12 students in the US study a language (Garrett-Rucks, 2016; Mitchell, 2017). 3 A brief overview of bilingual education in the US Though perspectives, approaches, politics, and pedagogies have changed over the years, teaching other languages has been part of US public school education since Colonial times. In fact, the very first public school in the US, the Boston Latin School, established in 1635, taught Latin and Greek and was centered on the humanities (National Geographic, 2020). Up until the end of the 19th century, bilingual education prevailed in areas where ethnic groups had influence, and not surprisingly, was limited in areas where strong anti-immigrant sentiment was felt. As nativism took hold at the turn of the 19th century, the climate became hostile toward languages other than English, leading to a steady decline in bilingual instruction. This would remain the case until the 1960s (Nieto, 2009). Prompted in part by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 offered funding to THE LASTING EFFECTS OF AN ENGLISH- school districts that developed bilingual programs for students whose English was not proficient (Nieto, ONLY APPROACH 2009). The act was later amended in 1974 to define bilingual educational programs, identify goals, and Maya Goodall, currently the senior director of EL require progress reports (Nieto, 2009). curriculum at Lexia Learning, has dedicated her In the 1990s, changing policies began to view bilingual education as an asset not just for emergent bilingual 20-year career to promoting bilingual education, students, but for everyone—a necessary component for improving US competitiveness in the global inspired in part by her own heritage and family. economy. As a result, “two-way” bilingual programs were developed to serve both emergent bilinguals and When Maya was a child, she says, she wondered why her family didn’t speak Spanish, even though non-emergent bilinguals, groups of students who benefit equally from the opportunity to acquire and fully it’s their heritage language. develop second-language skills (Nieto, 2009). She explains: “When my grandmother was in elementary school, her teachers would punish her for speaking anything other than English. In Changing policies began to view bilingual education as an asset those days, the teachers would take a ruler out not just for emergent bilingual students, but for everyone—a and hit her on the knuckles when they ‘caught’ her speaking Spanish. They’d even ask the other necessary component for improving US competitiveness in children to tell on my grandmother—or any of the other kids—for speaking Spanish. Thus, early on, the global economy. my grandmother, and all other students like her, learned that speaking Spanish was considered a ‘bad’ thing.” 4 Today’s dual language/bilingual education programs As the number of emergent bilingual students has increased along with research Today there are two types of dual language emphasizing the cognitive benefits of bilingualism, more and more schools have started programs: (1) two-way programs that integrate to reframe their thinking regarding dual language learning. emergent bilinguals and non-emergent bilinguals in the same classroom for academic instruction Dual language immersion programs, designed to teach students in two languages, are on the rise (Muñiz, in both languages, and (2) one-way programs 2019). These programs vary in structure but often share three common student goals (USDOE, 2019): that instruct students in two languages but serve predominantly students from the same language 1 Develop bilingualism and biliteracy background (USDOE, 2019). Dual language immersion programs are more 2 Achieve academically at grade level or better in both languages effective when they incorporate an asset model approach, which counters popular deficit- 3 Develop an understanding and appreciation of multiple cultures oriented teaching methods by viewing heritage languages and cultures as a strength. Immersion programs also benefit from culturally responsive pedagogies, which help ensure that students see themselves and their communities reflected and valued in the content they’re taught (New America, 2019). Further encouraging bilingualism is the Seal of Biliteracy, a program designed to award students for pursuing biliteracy. Thirty-nine states currently give the seal to students who have attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation. In 2018, 100,000 students across the US earned this honor (Mitchell, 2019). 5 How bilingual education can strengthen community ties and make a global impact Beyond individual benefits, dual language education and bilingualism have the power to strengthen community ties, for greater unity. Here’s how: 1 2 3 INCREASING CROSS-CULTURAL FOSTERING GREATER ACCEPTANCE DEVELOPING PROBLEM-SOLVERS WHO CAN UNDERSTANDING OF DIFFERENCES ADDRESS GLOBAL CHALLENGES Bilingual education can open students’ eyes to Effective two-way immersion programs foster Researchers have found that bilingualism cultures different from their own, increasing greater acceptance of differences by placing strengthens problem-solving skills. One study what is referred to as “cultural competence.” In all students together. These programs don’t revealed that the more dual language toddlers distinguish between native and non-native today’s globalized world, cultural competence switch between languages, the stronger their speakers—they are all bilingual students, can be a key to success (Thompson, 2016). problem-solving skills are compared with creating more cohesiveness and unity among As students