The Unspoken Variable in Bilingual Education

When I am asked about my profession and I respond “I am a bilingual teacher”, people usually reply with another question. “So what are your views on bilingual education?”, “Does it really work?” You wouldn’t think that it would be such a discussion topic, but it is. Most people feel that current system doesn’t work, and sometimes I feel the same way. I recently had a conversation with another teacher who does not teach in the bilingual program. During the conversation I was able to share my views on bilingual education, why it works, and why it doesn’t work. She said, “I am surprised at your point of view”. Her comment was not meant to show disagreement, but more so to stress that she was shocked that a bilingual teacher would have the views that I had expressed to her.

The original and true purpose of bilingual education is to create a child that is fluent and literate in the Spanish and English languages. A child that enters school with a home language of Spanish is traditionally placed in a bilingual classroom. That child will stay in a bilingual classroom until 4th or 5th grade depending on the school. Some schools transition students to English in the 4th grade and other schools choose to transition the students in 5th grade to 100% English classrooms.

The change into an all English classroom affects each child differently. Some will transition easily into English only environments and others will not. What I have noticed in the few years that I have taught is that there is a correlation between a child’s academic ability in their 1st language and 2nd language acquisition. If a child is academically at grade level or higher in their 1st language, they will be more successful than their academically low peers when learning a second language. Home language also has a lot to do with whether or not they will be successful. There is one other factor that greatly affects a student’s capability when it comes to being a fluent speaker and writer of the English language. This factor is rarely brought forth as a conversation topic because there are many who would disagree and be angered by its accusations.

The unspoken variable of which I speak is the native language of the classroom teacher. I have not been teaching very long, but I have absorbed a lot of information in a short period of time. How can a child learn to speak English correctly if their teacher cannot set the example that is required? In an attempt to explain myself, I am not trying to say that the teachers are not educated nor qualifed. I am merely stressing that there are children in classrooms across the city being taught by educators that are not able to speak English using proper grammar. The children are not receiving auditory stimulation from a native English speaker on a daily basis. There are native Spanish speaking bilingual teachers whose English and grammar are excellent, but their accents are still very strong. Let me state that this is not the case with all bilingual teachers. Bilingual teachers are made up of different ethnicities and the case that I have is mostly against those who do not have a good grasp on the English language, and there are plenty of them currently in the classrooms.

During a typical school day a child should receive about an hour of English instruction during the school day from kindergarten through the 3rd or 4th grade. Teachers are required to use an ESL program provided to them by their district for instruction. The ESL program does not teach the children English in the same manner in which it would be taught to a native English speaker. Many concepts are lacking from the curriculum and children commonly have difficulty with spelling English words. Since the curriculum cannot be depended upon as the sole method of instruction, it is up to the teacher to provide the students with enrichment in English. What are the chances that a teacher who does not speak English well will be able to provide the enrichment necessary for the children to learn a new language? In addition, native Spanish speaking teachers are more likely to communicate with their students in Spanish during non-instructional time. On the other hand, native English speaking bilingual teachers are more likely to communicate with their students in English during non-instructional time. That little bit of extra exposure to English has a great impact on students and prepares them for what is to come in 4th and 5th grade. Not only have they been able to hear communicative vocabulary, but also academic vocabulary from a native speaker. There are currently teachers in schools who have a hard time communicating in English. They have improper grammar and struggle to find the words to express their thoughts. Why is this allowed? My rationale is that bilingual teachers are like a needle in a haystack - they are hard to find, but are much needed.

The big picture is that there are many students whose parents do not speak English and they depend on the public school system to teach their children a language they know nothing about. They live in communities that cater to their native language and they can easily manage the day to day interactions required to survive. Everyone around them speaks Spanish and there is no need to assimilate and almost no outlets are provided to practice English if they stay within their community. Some parents choose to learn English because they have gotten past the fear of learning a new language and understand the rewards that will come.

Furthermore, students with native Spanish speaking teachers will hear very little if any English throughout the day. At home they will hear Spanish and sometimes English if their parents or older sibling speak it. Are their parents or sibling speaking English properly or do they speak what is known of as “Spanglish”? To define Spanglish I would say it is a mix of the English and Spanish languages. A person who speaks Spanglish is not dominant in either language, but communicates with both while switching back and forth from one language to the other in the same sentence. I have met people who speak in this manner and even one who graduated from the same high school. How could we be so different if we were educated through the same system? Well, the system has changed. When I went to school bilingual classrooms were rarities. All of my teachers were native English speakers and I was pulled out for the ESL program until I was in 1st grade. My environment was very different from the one that this person experienced.

The schools that educate students in low socio-economic Hispanic communities are at risk of producing adults that will never properly speak English or Spanish. You might wonder if there is a solution. The answers don’t come as easy as the problems. School districts cannot choose to only hire native English speaking bilingual teachers when there is a shortage of them to begin with, but they can choose to hire people who are truly bilingual.

Ultimately, it is up to the principal to decide who is on the faculty. They do choose people who are qualified and educated as all teachers should be, but sometimes they aren’t as bilingual as they need to be. The responsibility is a great one and most of the time what has to be done is just done. Positions need to be filled and you have to choose from what is available. The sad truth is that the children are the ones who will be affected in a way that no one would ever imagine. They will likely become a product of the unspoken variable and survive without a dominant language.