Subtractive Bilingual Education

According to August & Hakuta in 1998, only 10% of teachers working with English Language Learners were certified in bilingual education (Nieto). Our district needs to ensure that our teachers know how to teach English language learners in the classroom before we discuss separate programs for these students. Most schools are in charge of developing their own ways of educating their English language learners, and this can sometimes result in two or three different approaches to educating these students within the same school district (Walqui). Our teachers should start by explaining the social norms in American schools to those who are new to the area. The rules concerning schoolwork, for example, are social norms that have been learned by the

Bilingual programs build on students’ prior education, what W. E. Lambert (1975) called an ‘additive’ bilingual education. On the other hand, ‘subtractive’ bilingual education is when one language is substituted for another, as found in assimilative approaches, resulting in the students struggling to become literate in either language (Nieto). In 1998, achievement test scores from San Francisco and San Jose showed that students who completed a bilingual education generally performed better than native English-speaking children in reading, math, language, and spelling (Asimov, 1998). Bilingual programs also motivate students to remain in school and decrease the dropout rate, they make school more meaningful, and the generally make the students’ school experience more enjoyable (Nieto). Bilingual education can strengthen relationships between peers and family members, resulting in more communication at home than there would be if the student was only taught in English and lost their native language (Nieto). Native-language use at home can increase family relationships which has shown to lower rates of substance use, juvenile delinquency, and alcohol use (August, et al). Bilingual approaches improve cognitive flexibility. Students that are learning in both their native language and in English not only learn the English language, but they become more adaptable and are more

The reason is that in many school systems, there are not enough trained teachers for these programs. In addition, the number of students who speak the same language is generally too small to require an entire program (Nieto). First of all, I think that our district should invest in an ESL Resource Center. Our students need a neutral place where they can go to seek help and information that they may not feel comfortable asking their teachers, families, or peers. Our English learning students could also go to the resource center to get extra help with tests and homework that they are struggling with, making this a great start to improve our current situation. Our next step should be to hire a bilingual teacher who is fluent in English and in Spanish, as the Spanish speaking students make up the majority of our English Language Learners. I believe that it would also be a good idea to hire a full time ESL teacher that our current teachers can reach out to for assistance in educating our small groups of students who do not speak English or Spanish. Our teachers can ask our new ESL teacher about tactics and tips on educating these students in their classrooms. This ESL teacher can also be in charge of an ESL pull-out program, or if funds are too tight, the pull-out program can take place every other day or it can be a before or after school