Running head: USE OF THE NATIVE LANGUAGE IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION 1

Use of the Native Language in Bilingual Education

Indrani Ghosh

Madonna University

ESL 5230 Informative Paper

March 27, 2017

 USE OF THE NATIVE LANGUAGE IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION 2

Use of the Native Language in Bilingual Education

America is a country rich in its diverse community consisting of people from almost every

corner of the world. The fabric of the nation is woven with the myriad of multi-cultural and

multi-lingual characteristics of its people. English is the common medium of communication

here, and therefore, native speakers of other languages strive to be proficient in it. With the

spread of globalization and immigration, American schools are facing the challenge of educating

non-native English speakers and developing their proficiency in English. Many schools have

implemented bilingual education which provides instruction in both English as well as the native

languages. For low proficient English learners (ELs), the native language is found to be very

helpful in developing comprehension skills in their second language. It is being considered as an

efficient and useful scaffold in the acquisition of English and used in many schools in the U.S.

that provide a bilingual education to ELs.

Americas diversity is also reflected in the demography of students in its public schools.

Studies have confirmed that the population of English learners has grown significantly in the

U.S. since 1990, increasing by 81 % (Herrmann, n.d.). Figure 1 shows the highest percentage of

ELs in public schools in the western states, the average being 9.3 % in the years 2013-14

(English Language Learners, 2016). According to the data provided in this map, these six

states in the West are Alaska, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. The

highest percentage of ELs is found in the state of California, while the lowest is found in West

Virginia. The most commonly reported native languages of ELs in the school years 2013-14 are

Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese followed by English, Vietnamese, and others. Spanish was the

home language of nearly 3.8 million ELs (English Language Learners, 2016). With such a
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significant number of increasing ELs, it is imperative to provide efficient educational programs

to meet the educational needs of these students.

Figure 1. Percentage of public school students who were ELs, by state: School year 2013-14

Note. This data on the percentage of public students who were ELs for the school year 2013-14

have been taken from English language learners in public schools, by Indicator, May, 2016,

retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgf.asp

The native language can be used as an excellent support and guide to achieve

comprehension skills in English. As literacy experts S.F. Peregoy & O.F. Boyle (2017) have

stated, Primary language development serves as a resource for English language development

cognitively, linguistically and socially (p. 75). Studies have shown that students who are

proficient in their native language are able to apply the same rules in the acquisition of a second

language. General cognitive abilities like comparing, hypothesizing, predicting, reasoning and
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remembering in their first language are transferred easily when they have sufficient proficiency

levels in English (p. 76). Studies on Section II of the report on the National Literacy Panel on

Language Minority Children and Youth show that literacy in the native language influences

developmental patterns in acquiring English (Escamilla, 2009, p. 436). First language literacy is

related to proficiency in different literary skills like comprehension, reading, writing, speaking,

and spelling in the second language. Educational programs that provide instruction in both

English and the native language produce better results with a higher performance by ELs at both

elementary and secondary levels (p. 437). According to federal policy as stated in the No Child

Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, each state has to identify and be accountable for the

instruction and performance of ELs on measures of English language acquisition as well as in

academic subjects (McBride, 2008). New ways and methods are being tested and tried to ensure

that all non-native English speakers get quality education. As Kurt Landgraf, the president and

CEO of Educational Testing Service has emphasized, It is a matter of morality, a matter of

ethics, a matter of pure economics to provide education to all English learners (McBride, 2008).

As a result, states, districts and individual schools are trying to use efficient tools and strategies

that can support and help them to achieve their goal.

Teachers who are professionally trained to educate non-native English speakers try to

supplement their instruction using the learners native language as a guiding tool. Various

practices and strategies are being developed and used in which the ELs native language is used

as a scaffold to increase comprehension and achievement (Hermann, n.d.). Discussions in native

language with their classmates or teachers helps students to clarify texts. Through social

interactions like brainstorming, they can conceptualize, summarize, and paraphrase their content

material. Using graphic organizers, reading material in their primary language, working on
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projects and presentations with their peers, and involving parents to assist them in their learning

are all useful strategies in the acquisition of English. As stated by the linguists S. F. Peregoy and

O.F. Boyle, proficiency in the home language helps in scaffolding and comprehending the

content matter in other subjects. When students learn new ideas through English, those ideas are

available to them through their mother tongue (Peregoy & Boyle, 2017, p. 77). The native

language also serves as a tool in class management and maintaining discipline. The teacher can

control the class, assign tasks, create a learner-friendly environment and build rapport with the

students. Many schools and teachers are therefore realizing the benefits of using the native

language as an important tool and adopting bilingual education to address the needs of their

diverse learners.

In the U.S., more and more schools with an EL population are implementing bilingual

educational programs to meet the needs of their diverse learners. In elementary grades of 1-3, the

most common program offered is transitional bilingual education, in which the learners receive

some amount of native language instruction in literary and content areas. The second type of

program is called maintenance, developmental, or late-exit bilingual program, for students in

grades K-6. Here, their transition to instruction in English is gradual. Instruction in the native

language is provided until they reach middle school. The third type of program is called dual

language or two-way immersion. Here both native and non-native English speakers receive

instruction in both languages so that they become fluently bilingual at the end of the program.

Specially trained teachers who are proficient in both languages teach the students using both

languages of instruction (Garcia, 2009). Bilingual education is gaining much popularity and

more schools are leaning towards it.

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In the Western states, many schools have adopted bilingual education and have been

successful in meeting the needs of their El population. According to a report by the San Diego

County Office of Education on schools with successful bilingual programs, six schools in

California were identified as such with high achievement levels in their students (Gold, 2006, p.

5). The studies show the achievement of students based on their assessment grades. The report

also analyzes teaching instructions and strategies, demography of the teachers and learners,

accountability factors, teacher qualifications, and professional development that emphasize the

effectiveness of bilingual education. These schools have significant numbers of Spanish speaking

ELs who have excelled in their education by using these programs. All the six schools have

demonstrated success using California Academic Performance Index (API), and federal Annual

Yearly Progress (AYP) as well as the California English Language Development Test (CELDT)

(p. 50). The report shows that an average of 55% of students have achieved proficiency levels

after fifth grade in all six schools. The reading Mean Scale Score is also significantly high in all

schools (p. 50). These examples of successful bilingual schools show us what is possible when

programs are well implemented.

The native language is an efficient and useful tool that acts as a scaffold in the acquisition of

English if it is effectively implemented. Studies have shown that learners can use their native

language in the classroom to acquire comprehension skills through social interaction. It has been

used successfully in different bilingual education programs as seen in six elementary schools in

California. Programs like the transitional bilingual program, dual language or two-way

immersion are all good programs that use both the languages effectively to enhance learning.

Studies have shown that ELs can show improvement when they apply their prior knowledge and

experiences of their native language to learn the various skills to become proficient in English. It
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is used as an effective scaffold and guide for students to learn and understand new concepts and

ideas. Teachers also find the native language helpful in maintaining discipline and creating a

friendly environment in the classroom. It is used as a linguistic resource to clarify doubts,and

explain difficult assignments and abstract ideas. The native language is thus considered to be a

helping hand that can guide the way to achieve proficiency in English through a bilingual

education.
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References

English language learners in public schools (2016). Indicator. Retrieved from

http://www.nces.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgf.asp

Escamilla, K. (2009). [Review of the book English language learners: Developing literacy in

second language learners Report of the National Literacy Panel on language-minority

children and youth, by D. August & T. Shanahan]. Journal of Literacy Research, 41, 432-

452. doi: 10.1080/10862960903340165

Garcia, G. (2009, December 23). History of bilingual education in the United States.

Education.com. Learning Resources. Retrieved from

http://www.education.com/reference/article/bilingual-education

Gold, N. (2006). Successful bilingual schools: Six effective programs in California. San Diego:

San Diego County Office of Education. Retrieved from

http://www.web.stanford.edu/~hakuta/Courses/Ed205X%20Website/Resources/Gold

%20SBS_Report

Herrmann, E. (n.d.). Help or hindrance? Use of native language in the English classroom.

Multibriefs. Retrieved from

http://www.multibriefs.com/briefs/exclusive/help_or_hindrance

McBride, A. (2008). Addressing achievement gap: The language acquisition and

educational achievement of English language learners. ETS Policy Notes, 16 (2).

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Retrieved from http:// www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PIC_PNV16N2.pdf

Peregoy, S. F., & Boyle. O. F. (2017). Reading, writing and learning in ESL: A resource book

for teaching K-12 English learners (7th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.