Екі тілді білім беру: мазмұны мен түрлері

Use of two languages across a variety of educational subjects

Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction are referred to as the L1 and the L2 for each student, with L1 being the student's native language and L2 being the second language to be acquired through immersion programs and techniques. There are different types of language immersion that depend on the age of the students, the classtime spent in L2, the subjects that are taught, and the level of participation by the speakers of L1. Although programs differ by country and context, most language immersion programs have the overall goal of promoting bilingualism between the two different sets of language speakers. In many cases, biculturalism is also a goal for speakers of the majority language (the language spoken by the majority of the surrounding population) and the minority language (the language that is not the majority language). Research has shown that such forms of bilingual education provide students with overall greater language comprehension and production of the L2 in a native like manner, especially greater exposure to other cultures and the preservation of languages, particularly heritage languages.

Bilingual education has taken on a variety of different approaches outside of the traditional sink or swim model of full submersion in an L2 without assistance in the L1. According to the Center for Applied Linguistics, in 1971, there were only three immersion programs within the United States. As of 2011, there were 448 language immersion schools in the U. S., with the three main immersion languages of instruction being Spanish (45%), French (22%), and Mandarin (13%). The first French language immersion program in Canada, with the target language being taught as an instructional language, started in Quebec in 1965. Since the majority language in Quebec is French, English speaking parents wanted to ensure that their children could achieve a high level of French as well as English in Quebec. Since then, French immersion has spread across the country and has led to the situation of French immersion becoming the most common form of language immersion in Canada so far. According to the survey by CAL (the Center for Applied Linguistics) in 2011, there are over 528 immersion schools in the US. Besides, language immersion programs have spread to Australia, Mainland China, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Hong Kong, which altogether offer more than 20 languages. A survey in the United States by CAL in 2011 showed that Spanish is the most common immersion language in language immersion programs in the country. There are over 239 Spanish language immersion programs in the US because of immigration from Spanish speaking countries. The other two common immersion language programs in the US are French and Mandarin, which have 114 and 71 language immersion programs, respectively.

In foreign language experience or exploratory (FLEX) programs, students are exposed to a different language(s) and culture(s) in the classroom. A small percentage of class time is spent sampling one or more languages and/or learning about language and so proficiency in the target language is not the primary goal. The goals of the program are to develop careful listening skills, cultural and linguistic awareness, and interest in foreign languages for future language study, as well as to learn basic words and phrases in one or more foreign languages. In foreign language in the elementary schools (FLES) programs, students focus on listening, reading, writing and speaking in the target language. In two way immersion programs, also called dual or bilingual immersion, the student population consists of speakers of two or more languages. Two way immersion programs in the US promote L1 speakers of a language other than English to maintain that language as well as to teach English as a second language (ESL). In addition, such programs allow L1 speakers of English to be immersed in a “foreign language acquisition environment.” To impact competence in the target language positively, Celeste Kinginger notes, research about language learning during study abroad suggests "a need for language learners' broader engagement in local communicative practices, for mindfulness of their situation as peripheral participants, and for more nuanced awareness of language itself.”

The task of organizing and creating such a program can be daunting and problematic, with everything from planning to district budget posing issues. One method of implementation proposed by the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition is a phase in method, which starts with the lowest year participating in the program as the only year and adds a new grade of students into the program each year, working up towards high school. This slow incorporation of an immersion program is useful for schools with limited funding and those who are skeptical about the benefits of such a program because it allows for yearly evaluation and, if it were to fail from the beginning, the impact of the loss is less significant. The method of implementation is crucial to the success of the program, as the RAND Institute has concluded that the final result of these programs is positive, but only so long as implemented correctly, meaning consistency and strict adherence to the curriculum in the classroom.

Pre production: also called "the silent period," this period lasts 10 hours to 6 months in language immersion environment. Students may have about 500 receptive words in their mind but cannot speak the language yet. During this mimicking period, students are likely to repeat everything that they heard in class and can respond to pictures and yes or no questions by using their gestures like nodding or shaking their head. The class must integrate pictures and physical response methods. Speech Emergence, in which students will have about 3000 active words, lasts one year after the early production stage. Students can answer simple questions and use three or more words in simple phrase and patterns. Students can understand the general idea of a story with pictures and may not be able to use the patterns correctly, but they can correct some of them by themselves. This is also called a self correcting period. Teachers focus on conversations in class during this stage. which requires students to know most content area vocabulary, lasts from 4 to 10 years. It is an achievement of cognitive academic language proficiency in the target language. Students' second language ability has arrived to become near the native level. According to additional research, learning another language can also help students do better in math, focusing, and remembering. Students who study foreign languages also tend to have increased mental capabilities, such as creativity and higher order thinking skills (see cognitive advantages of bilingualism) and have advantages in the workplace, such as higher salary and a wider range of opportunities, since employers are increasingly seeking workers with knowledge of different languages and cultures. Bilingual immersion programs are intended to foster proficiency or fluency in multiple languages and therefore maximize these benefits. Even if fluency in the desired language is not fully attained, bilingual immersion programs provide a strong foundation for fluency later in life and help students gain appreciation of languages and cultures other than their own. There are no long term adverse effects of bilingual education on the learning of the majority language, regardless of whether the students' first language (L1) is a majority or a minority language or of the organization of the educational program. Several observed outcomes of bilingual education are the transfer of academic and conceptual knowledge across both languages, greater success in programs that emphasize biliteracy as well as bilingualism, and better developed second language (L2) literary skills for minority students than if they received a monolingual education in the majority language. Language immersion programs with the goal of fostering bilingualism, Canada's French English bilingual immersion program being one of the first, initially reported that students receive standardized test scores that are slightly below average. That was true in Canada's program, but by Grade 5, there was no difference between their scores and the scores of students who were instructed only in English. The English spelling abilities soon matched those of the English only students. Ultimately, students did not lose any proficiency in English and were able to develop native like proficiency in French reading and comprehension but they did not quite reach native like proficiency in spoken and written French. However, the immersion program is seen as providing a strong foundation for oral French fluency later in life,

As of 2009, about 300,000 Canadian students (roughly 6% of the school population) were enrolled in immersion programs. In early immersion, L1 English speakers are immersed in French in their education for 2 to 3 years prior to formal English education. This early exposure prepares Canadian L1 English speakers for the 4th grade, when they begin to be instructed in English 50% of the time and French the other 50%. Language immersion classes can now be found throughout the US, in urban and suburban areas, in dual immersion and single language immersion, and in an array of languages. As of May 2005, there were 317 dual immersion programs in US elementary schools, providing instruction in 10 languages, and 96% of those programs were in Spanish.

The 1970s marked the beginning of bilingual education programs in Hawaii. The Hawaiian Language Program was geared to promote cultural integrity by emphasizing native language proficiency through heritage language bilingual immersion instruction. By 1995, there were 756 students enrolled in the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program from K to 8. The program was taught strictly in Hawaiian until Grades 5 and 6, when English was introduced as the language of instruction for one hour per day. The Hawaiian Language immersion Program is still in effect today for K 12. With an emphasis on language revival, Hawaiian is the main medium of instruction until Grade 5, when English is introduced but does not usurp Hawaiian as the main medium of instruction.

A study by Hamel (1995) highlights a school in Michoacan, Mexico, which focuses on two bilingual elementary schools in which teachers built a curriculum that taught all subjects, including literature and math, in the children’s L1: P’urhepecha. Years after the curriculum was implemented in 1995, researchers conducted a study comparing L1 P’urhepecha students with L1 Spanish students. Results found that students who had acquired L1 P’urhepecha literacy performed better in both languages (P’urhepecha and Spanish) than students who were L1 Spanish literate.

New Zealand shows another instance of heritage bilingual immersion programs. Established in 1982, full Māori language immersion education strictly forbids the use of English in classroom instruction even though English is typically the students' L1. That has created challenges for educators because of the lack of tools and underdeveloped bilingual teaching strategy for Māori.

A study by Williams (1996) looked at the effects bilingual education had on two different communities in Malawi and Zambia. In Malawi, Chichewa is the main language of instruction, and English is taught as a separate course. In Zambia, English is the main language of instruction, and the local language, Nyanja, is taught as a separate course. Williams's study took children from six schools in each country in Grade 5. He administered two tests: an English language reading test, and a mother tongue reading test. One result showed that there was no significant difference in the English reading ability between the Zambian and Malawian school children. However, there were significant differences in the proficiency of mother tongue reading ability. The results of the study showed that the Malawian students did better in their mother tongue, Chichewa, than Zambian children did in their mother tongue, Nyanja.