History and Policy of English Language Programs

When it comes to English acquisition, native-language instruction is part of the solution, not part of the problem, according to Krashen and McField’s 2005 review of the latest evidence on bilingual education.   Based on 12 years of data from a large school district, looking at four distinct linguistic instructional environments: English immersion, transitional bilingual, maintenance bilingual, and dual immersion the study investigated whether reclassification timing, patterns, or barriers differ by linguistic program.

They found that reclassification patterns differ meaningfully between English immersion and two-language programs.  Students in English immersion perform better on English language tests in the elementary grades, but students in two-language (bilingual) programs catch up and surpass their English immersion peers by the end of Middle School.  This pattern holds, not only for reclassification, but also when examining academic ELA achievement and English reading, writing, speaking, and listening proficiency. These findings support both theory and research on second language acquisition and bilingual instruction. Both Transfer theory and Proficiency Theory suggest that acquiring a solid foundation in one’s native language makes it easier to acquire proficiency in a second language.

Secondary school teachers whose classes consist largely of working class students whose parents, although native English speakers, did not complete high school, would concur with these findings.  Students, whose native English consists of “basic interpersonal communication”, need to be deliberately taught the vocabulary of “academic English” in order to grasp the concepts necessary to meet subject area standards for high school completion.

Why does an extended period of instruction in “first language” support higher second language proficiency in the upper grades? The basic reason has to do with the development of knowledge about social studies, science, mathematics, and literature.  ELLs can develop Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) immersed in English-only settings.  Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) requires understanding academic concepts which can be used for reading, writing, speaking and listening in the academic subject areas.  These are more efficiently learned in the student’s first language, and then transfer with less difficulty to second language/English instruction and production. 

In practice, the research implies that:

1) in addition to permitting a longer period of engagement with “first language” content instruction, schools must also insure that ELLs are able to enroll in other classes as well as their “bilingual immersion” classes. 

2) teachers are properly prepared to teach ELLs within mainstream classes.

3) English language instruction is embedded in content area classes.

4) districts need to be be less concerned with how long students have been classified as ELL and more focused on making sure students take English-language content courses which allow for interaction with native English speaking students, and are taught by teachers properly prepared to provide the necessary support.