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Texas children in a bilingual classroom.

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Bilingual education, also known as dual language education, is the delivery of academic material in two languages. One of which is usually the students' native language. Most bilingual programs in the United States are delivered in Spanish and English.

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Dual Language Two-Way: Designed to help English Language Learners (ELLs)  attain full proficiency in Spanish and English to participate in school. Students may maintain proficiency in both languages for their entire school career.    

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Dual Language One Way: Designed to help students of limited English proficiency develop fluency and literacy in English. Students typically transfer to English-only instruction between six and seven years of age after enrolling in school.

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Strategic Language Allocation - 50/50:  English and the partner language are used equally throughout the class, school day, semester, or program length. This model is typically used in elementary level students, beginning in kindergarten or first grade and ending in middle or high school as needed. Most students who enter a 50/50 bilingual program before 7 years of age are more likely to become proficient in the language compared to older students.

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Strategic Language Allocation - 90/10: This format is used by both non-English speakers and native-speaking students to learn a new language. 80-90% of course content is delivered in English or the partner language, with some classes offered entirely in the partner language.

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Strategic Language Allocation - 100% Immersion: Second language immersion programs use a partner language (typically not English) for all communications, both in and outside the classroom.

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What is Bilingual Education? [+ Career Guide]

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Bilingual education is more important than ever. Learn about the types of bilingual education, plus how to become a bilingual education teacher.

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Students in bilingual programs are grouped according to their first language. Teachers must be proficient in English and the native language of the student.

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Children from families in which English is not the language of the home represent a rapidly increasing percentage of students enrolled in U.S. schools. Language minority students can be found in schools across the country, not just those in large cities or in areas near the U.S.-Mexican border. All schools must be prepared to meet the challenge of an increasingly diverse student population, including many students who are not proficient in English.

The effectiveness of various program models for language minority students remains the subject of controversy. Although there may be reasons to claim the superiority of one program model over another in certain situations (Collier 1992; Ramirez, Yuen, and Ramey 1991), a variety of programs can be effective. The choice should be made at the local level after careful consideration of the needs of the students involved and the resources available.

ESL program models

ESL programs (rather than bilingual programs) are likely to be used in districts where the language minority population is very diverse and represents many different languages. ESL programs can accommodate students from different language backgrounds in the same class, and teachers do not need to be proficient in the home language(s) of their students.

ESL pull-out
This is generally used in elementary school settings. Students spend part of the school day in a mainstream classroom, but are pulled out for a portion of each day to receive instruction in English as a second language.
ESL class period
This is generally used in middle school settings. Students receive ESL instruction during a regular class period and usually receive course credit. They may be grouped for instruction according to their level of English proficiency.
The ESL resource center
This is a variation of the pull-out design, bringing students together from several classrooms or schools. The resource center concentrates ESL materials and staff in one location and is usually staffed by at least one full-time ESL teacher.

Bilingual program models

All bilingual program models use the students' home language, in addition to English, for instruction. These programs are most easily implemented in districts with a large number of students from the same language background. Students in bilingual programs are grouped according to their first language, and teachers must be proficient in both English and the students' home language.

Early-exit bilingual programs
These are designed to help children acquire the English skills required to succeed in an English-only mainstream classroom. These programs provide some initial instruction in the students' first language, primarily for the introduction of reading, but also for clarification. Instruction in the first language is phased out rapidly, with most students mainstreamed by the end of first or second grade.
Late-exit programs
These differ from early-exit programs "primarily in the amount and duration that English is used for instruction as well as the length of time students are to participate in each program" (Ramirez, Yuen, & Ramey, 1991). Students remain in late-exit programs throughout elementary school and continue to receive 40% or more of their instruction in their first language, even when they have been reclassified as fluent-English-proficient.
Two-way bilingual programs
Also called developmental bilingual programs, these group language minority students from a single language background in the same classroom with language majority (English-speaking) students. Ideally, there is a nearly 50/50 balance between language minority and language majority students. Instruction is provided in both English and the minority language. Students serve as native-speaker role models for their peers. Two-way bilingual classes may be taught by a single teacher who is proficient in both languages or by two teachers, one of whom is bilingual.

Other program models

Some programs provide neither instruction in the native language nor direct instruction in ESL. However, instruction is adapted to meet the needs of students who are not proficient in English.

Sheltered English or content-based programs
These group language minority students from different language backgrounds together in classes where teachers use English as the medium for providing content area instruction, adapting their language to the proficiency level of the students. They may also use gestures and visual aids to help students understand. Although the acquisition of English is one of the goals of sheltered English and content-based programs, instruction focuses on content rather than language.
Structured immersion programs
These use only English, but there is no explicit ESL instruction. As in sheltered English and content-based programs, English is taught through the content areas. Structured immersion teachers have strong receptive skills in their students' first language and have a bilingual education or ESL teaching credential. The teacher's use of the children's first language is limited primarily to clarification of English instruction. Most students are mainstreamed after 2 or 3 years.

Conclusion

Successful program models for promoting the academic achievement of language minority students are those that enable these students to develop academic skills while learning English. The best program organization is one that is tailored to meet the linguistic, academic, and affective needs of students; provides language minority students with the instruction necessary to allow them to progress through school at a rate commensurate with their native-English-speaking peers; and makes the best use of district and community resources.

Citations

Excerpted from: Rennie, J. (1993). ESL and Bilingual Program Models. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics. Digest based on an article in (August, 1993) Streamlined Seminar (vol. 12, no.1). National Association of Elementary School Principals.

References

Collier, V. P. (1992). A Synthesis of studies examining long-term language minority student data on academic achievement. Bilingual Research Journal, 16, p. 187-212.

Garcia, E. (1991). Education of linguistically and culturally diverse students: Effective instructional practices. Educational practice report number 1. Santa Cruz, CA and Washington, DC: National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 338 099)

Lucas T., Henze, R., & Donato, R. (1990). Promoting the success of Latino language minority students: An Exploratory study of six high schools. Harvard Educational Review, 60 (1), 315-340.

McKeon, D. (1987). Different types of ESL programs. ERIC Digest. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics.

Pease-Alvarez, L., Garcia, E., & Espinosa, P. (1991). Effective instruction for language minority students: An early childhood case study. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 6, 347-361.

Ramirez, J. D., Yuen, S. D., & Ramey, D. R. (1991). Longitudinal study of structured English immersion strategy, early-exit, and late-exit transitional bilingual education programs for language-minority children. San Mateo, CA: Aguirre International.

Tikunoff, W., Ward, B., van Broekhuizen, D., Romero, M., Castaneda, L.V., Lucas, T., & Katz, A. (1991). A Descriptive study of significant features of exemplary special alternative instructional programs. Washington: U. S. Department of Education, Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs.

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Program Models for Teaching English Language Learners

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Children from families in which English is not the language of the home represent a rapidly increasing percentage of students enrolled in U.S. schools. Language minority students can be found in schools across the country, not just those in large cities or in areas near the U.S.-Mexican border.

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A diverse group of students holding a bilingual education sign.

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It is incredibly important a teacher in a bilingual program has strong classroom strategies, and ideas. Students are learning important content to strengthen their native and second language, so it is crucial to have successful strategies that promote academic success. To promote a healthy learning environment the educator needs to honor students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In order for a student to thrive they need to be confident and feel motivation to participate. Bilingual strategies and ideas ensure students can engage and thrive, not just native speakers of the dominate language.

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One classroom strategy you can implement are graphic organizers! Graphic organizers are a great tool for English language learners, because visual illustrations allow ELLs to better understand the material while learning important vocab. When using a graphic organizer, the educator needs to verbalize the relationship between the ideas and the information being taught. Make sure the students know how to use them, and check back to ensure their understanding. Write and/or draw information on a K-W-L chart. K-W-L stands for what I know, what I want to know, and what I learned. When you are finished teaching from a graphic organizer, provide students the opportunity to participate in discussions.

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A strategy to help students with their oral fluency and verbal processing is Think-Pair-Share. In think-pair-share, the student(s) will have more time to reflect on the question silently, so that they may have more time to process the question, the language, or think how to respond in the language. With having a partner, they have the opportunity for increased interaction amongst peers. They are able to share their thoughts with their partner, hear feedback, or hear a new answer to make them think differently. Finally, the students will share their thoughts to the group which serves as accountability. This strategy provides an opportunity to reinforce confidence in ELLs thinking, grammar, and English word modeling. As a teacher this strategy is great to monitor comprehension and be able to provide feedback. An additional teacher benefit would be to hear from quieter or shy students who do not always share or interact in class.

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The SIOP teaching model is a wonderful framework for teachers with bilingual students. The focus for each SIOP lesson is content and language objectives that are clearly defined, displayed, and orally reviewed with students. Students will know what they are expected to learn and/or be able to do by the end of each lesson although it can be challenging for teachers. Students will benefit from this because they have a plan and can focus on what is important and take an active part in the learning process. In these lessons educators connect new concepts with students' personal experiences and past learning. It is necessary to activate students' prior knowledge in order to learn what students already know, to identify misinformation, or discover when it is necessary to fill in gaps. The SIOP model places great significance on building a broad vocabulary base for students. Studies of vocabulary instruction show that ELL students learn more words through explicit instruction, working with words that are embedded in meaningful context, and having many opportunities for repetition and use of the words in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. If information is presented in a way that students cannot understand, such as an explanation that is spoken too rapidly, or reading selections that are far above students' reading levels with no visuals or graphic organizers to assist them, many ELLs will be unable to learn the necessary content. Reducing the complexity of language is at times effective when used as needed. When it comes to strategies for students, by explicitly teaching cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies, teachers quip their students for academic learning inside and outside the classroom. Interaction is important, as students learn both conversational and academic language through interaction with one another and their teacher. When delivering instruction, it is important to use visual gestures; if you're presenting a video turn the subtitles on and continuously use modeling and demonstrations.

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Building a relationship with families is an important step in supporting your students. Getting to know the families' languages, cultures, and interests can help build trust, strengthen school-family partnerships, and allow teachers to make important connections as part of instruction and family engagement. The better you know the family the more effective family outreach will be.

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Students proudly show off their Chinese heritage and love for the United States.

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A great way to engage families of English Language learners is to host a "Our Heritage" showcase, cultural potluck, or storytelling session.  Whether you center the event around curriculum, celebrating different cultures, or a fun night out, it gives families the opportunity to take part in their child's learning and know what's happening at the school. This is a fun way to bring cultural knowledge to students, families and the community. It can help encourage parents to feel a sense of pride and self-esteem in their culture and appreciate cultural differences in others, this in return allows them to encourage their child to do the same.

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Provide parents with children's learning activities to support home language development and connect the curriculum with learning at home. This can include interactive read alouds in both their native language and English, parent letters, establishing family cohorts to create a site-wide culture that values family engagement to support dual language learning, and how to support literacy skills and oral language. Not only will this benefit the student by allowing them to have strong support at home and more practice in English, it can help family members not feel alienated in not knowing how to help their child succeed in a language they are not proficient in.

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Offer workshops or information sessions with parents and/or family members. These can be hosted in person or virtually online and include topics such as how to help with homework, understanding report cards, and how to navigate school systems. This will greatly help with engagement and positive relations amongst parents and teachers. Additionally, this will benefit the student by having their parent be more involved and have an understanding of important information such as how to access report cards, understanding them, how to contact the teacher, how to contact or reach out to certain school staff, what to do if their child is home sick, how to catch up on late work, etc. It is also important to email or text updates to family members of the student with big projects, field trips, or homework assignments coming up. Keeping family members up to date with the curriculum will help keep them actively involved with their child's education.