Post on 26-Dec-2015
Separado ou together? How to use two languages of instruction
in immersion
Else Hamayan
Cordoba, Argentina
ehamayan@gmail.com
Historically, in immersion programs, there has been a perceived need for clear and sustained separation of languages during instruction.
Dual language use by the teacher (Code mixing)Concurrent translation
Flip-flopping
Preview/teach/review
Individualized code mixing
Single language use by the teacherAcceptance/modeling when students mix
Taking advantage of the “teaching moment”
The need to bridge between the two languages
The need to teach language explicitly and directly
Encouraging the use of both languages is going to favor the more proficient language, typically the home language.
•This is especially true when the home language is the language of the majority and the
language of power in the larger society (for example, Portuguese in Brazil)…But is it the same inside the school? •In English-speaking countries, research does show
more English language use by learners in French immersion programs in later grades
and shows a decrease in the accuracy of pronunciation and correct usage of French around fourth grade (LaVan, 2001; Tarone & Swain, 1995).
Programmatic Level
Curricular Level
Instructional LevelPERSON
(Who delivers the curriculum and in
what language[s]?)
PLACE(Where is the
curriculum delivered and in
what languages?)
TIME(When are the
languages delivered in the
curriculum?)
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
Language Allocation and Use
CONTENT(What content
areas are delivered in what
language?)
Monolingual
Bilingual
---------------------LANGUAGE ALLOCATION--------------------
-------LANGUAGE USE-----
English
90/10English
50/50
Portuguese
Portuguese
alignment
alignment
Teacher uses the language of instruction exclusively
Teacher uses both languages during an instructional
event
>
When we use Portuguese more frequently, we encourage the development of that language.
When we use a language for certain purposes and not others, we implicitly assign a certain status to that language.
Cross-Linguistic TransferCross-linguistic transfer occurs when
specific knowledge and skills in one language are used in another language:
general strategies from one language are used to figure out the meanings of new words or to comprehend text in the other language.
When students make a “mistake” that is the result of transfer, it is important to view it as an indication of students’ resourcefulness.
rich as “reach”
strap as “estrap” I must to go now
ran as “rang” I don’t know nothing
Capitalizing on Cross-Linguistic Transfer to Promote Metalinguistic Awareness
For students to transfer knowledge from their home language to using the second language, it helps to have an awareness of the two languages; they must understand how the two languages represent sound and meaning and the similarities and differences in the ways they do this.
All students can benefit from being asked explicitly to engage in cross-linguistic comparisons.
Metalinguistic awareness can promote competence in the following areas:•Awareness of and knowledge about the cueing systems used to read and write: sounds (phonology), word formation (morphology), grammar or word order (syntax), and word meaning (semantics)
•Strategies for figuring out the meanings of new words or comprehending complex text
•Students’ confidence in their capacity to grow as readers, writers, and language users
(Mora 2007)
Aspects of word learning that depend on “metalinguistic awareness”:
• Word consciousness—Awareness of and interest in words and their meanings; understanding why some words are used instead of others and the power of words.
• Using parts of words to unlock their meanings—Using word roots, prefixes, and suffixes to figure out the meaning of new words; for example, words that begin with in or un often refer to the lack of something, like incomplete or unsure.
• Using cognates (words that are identical or almost identical in two languages and which have the same or highly similar meaning) to figure out word meanings.
Cognates: Almost 40% of all words in English have a related
word in Portuguese!
Animal
Hospital
Moral
Descriptive
Imaginative
Complete
Comment
The key:Although it is very tempting to use the students’ more proficient language, and although we need to take advantage of the transfer that occurs between languages, and encourage students to use all their language resources, the teacher should maintain the sanctity of the language of instruction.
Let the languages of learning rely on and feed one another (in the learner), but keep the languages of instruction (produced by the teacher) separate.
•The context of the conversation
•Which language we are switching to or away from
•The time allocation model
•The purpose of the “lesson”
The need to teach language explicitly and directly
+The need to teach for cross-linguistic transfer
=Strategies for learners to integrate the two
languages
The bridge is the period during the lesson or unit where the focus is on instructing students in how to transfer what they have learned and stored in one language into the other language.
Beeman & Urow, in press
-ly-fy-ous
-mente-ificar-oso, osa
Strategies for integrating the use of both languages:
The Bridge
Cross-linguistic objectives
Process in one, produce in the other
Students work individually or in groups to complete an activity. They can use whatever language they would like while working on the task, but they produce the final product in the language of instruction.
Strategies for integrating the use of both languages:
The Bridge
Cross-linguistic objectives
Process in one, produce in the other
Extend book activities into the other language
•write books in both languages •create a home-language version of a book in the second language or vice versa•analyze bilingual books
•pre-learning: read a book in one language, learn the concept in the other language•post-learning: learn the concept in one
language, check in the other language to see if you learned it