Second Language In Schools

The cultural landscape in America is shifting and our educational system must change with it. Our approach to educating students who speak other languages has been inconsistent and our results mirror that fact. The education of Spanish speaking students has been a topic of debate for quite some time depending on the political climate of the era. The four main options used in schools in the United States are English immersion, English as a Second Language (ESL), Transition programs, and Bilingualism (cite). English immersion and ESL programs seek to immerse the students in English as much as possible with varying degrees of support. Typically the students are put in general education classrooms where content in taught in English and they are

This can equate to a loss of instruction in grade level content which often equates to significant delays as the students move up into middle and high school (cite). Both Immersion and ESL emphasize a rapid transition to English. Transition programs are more gentle as they initially use the native language and then gradually acclimate the student to English (cite). At some point students in Immersion, ESL, and Transition programs become proficient enough to perform in mainstream classes. This can be costly for students who fail to progress, though. Since language learning is an individual process, outcomes vary from person to person. Spending extended time in these programs may limit other educational opportunities and can cause poor academic performance overall (Bigler, 2014). Some students languish in these programs partly due to speaking Spanish at home (Zehr, 2002). Sometimes schools mistake delayed progress for special needs while others delay necessary special education placement because ESL is more cost efficient for the school (Hibel & Jasper,

With TWI, educators have the opportunity to ...... while capitalizing on cultural and language diversity. With the TWI model, half of the school day is taught in Spanish and the other half is in English. This allows students form both languages to become bilingual. It is well known that students who are bilingual have higher intellectual abilities, and are more marketable after graduation (cite). According to Neuroscience researchers, the bilingual brain works more efficiently than the monolingual brain (citation correct?CNN, 2014 find cite in MY lit review). First, bilinguals have greater use of skills in regions of the brain controlling executive functioning (Ramirez, 2016). They are able to use their bilingual brain pathways to switch between tasks quickly or to complete multiple tasks simultaneously. They also have metalinguistic skills so they are able to think about language abstractly and concretely. These skills build further cognitive strength over monolinguals. In addition, having the ability to process two languages in the brain makes it easier for individuals to learn a third language. Finally, speaking more than one language enhances overall brain function in a way that protects against age-related cognitive decline (Ramirez, 2016 - cite from my lit review or peer review journal!). REWORD BEC THE