Professional Interview on Bilingual Education

I had the opportunity to interview an ESL teacher and the Director. When it comes to bilingual education both of these individuals felt this was an excellent topic and an area that was of great concern to them both. I must admit they are good and very skilled in what they do as it relates to the language. Some of the topics related to bilingual education are how to teach a child to be bilingual? Will the two languages cause speech language problems?  Does cultural bias pose any problems with bilingual education? What are the current issues related to these topics? What advocacy efforts are currently under way in your area of interest?

They both went on to explain that there are different theories on the best way to teach a child to use two languages. Their belief is that children, who are exposed to two languages at an early age, and simultaneously, will naturally learn to use both languages. Children who are bilingual have the tendency to experiment with the two languages to express themselves. Even though bilingual children may not be equally skilled in both languages it is common for there to be greater understanding than actual use of one language. In addition less confusion will occur if children learn to associate the two languages differently. If both languages are introduced early and simultaneously then speech problems are less likely to occur. TThere is a greater possibility of problems if children are introduced to a second language during the preschool years after another language was used exclusively.

Another problem that arises is cultural bias. Cultural bias poses a real problem of exclusion with bilingual and multicultural students. Cultural bias in teaching occurs when classroom instruction, learning activities, materials, and lessons largely reflect the contributions and/or cultural values and perspectives of the majority race or culture. A culture, which has predetermined that a group is inferior, is unlikely to open the same opportunities for individuals of that group. Group acceptance suffers and the educational opportunities suffer as well

As educators they both agree that it is extremely important that they set the example for the conduct and language exhibited in their classrooms. Those who are sensitive to language and appreciate the diversity of their students will convey this to their students. They also feel that it is important that you foster a sense of acceptance so that no student or group of students feels inferior to any other student or group. They both make it a point of relating to their students in a respectful way, without expressing cultural bias. One key factor they both attest to is to first recognize cultural biases in their own thinking and life. If you recognize cultural biases in your own thinking and life you will be more sensitive to cultural biases expressed in the classroom.

A successful advocacy bilingual program opened in December of 2012. In December a Latino advocacy group opened a bilingual cyber charter school. Aspira of Pennsylvania opened their first bilingual cyber online charter school in Pennsylvania. This school opened the end of December. The school has a principal, four teachers, and 31 students who attend from grades 8-12. There is also Clemente Middle School which has been very successful in their bilingual program.  The interesting thing about this is that I attended what was originally Roberto Clemente Middle School of course whenI was young and now it is Clement Middle School and they have moved to a new and beautiful location. The bilingual program at Clemente Middle School is for students who need to develop their English or who speak Spanish at home.  The program helps develop proficiency in both languages for students who meet the criteria. I had the opportunity to visit this school and I was totally blown away by what I saw. I have been given the opportunity to come in again and spend an entire day to see how they operate. This is something I plan to do. This is what I call advocating for bilingual education and this is jusr the start of more and better things to come.

As a result of the interview I gained a great deal of insights from both of these professionals. I learned that the need for bilingual education is a must. This interview helped meet to appreciate that there are many areas of interest that I can use in researching my paper. Some of the areas I am thinking about focusing on are, the effectiveness of bilingual education, cultural awareness and why it matters, parental involvement, effective schools and classrooms for bilingual students and reasons for second language learners. One thing they stressed several times is to see for myself why bilingual education is so important and to get parents involved as well. I think based on where I work I understand where they are coming from and I see that there is a great need.