In my community, there is a growing population of immigrants
from India. Often, parents enroll their
children in preschool with minimal to no understanding of the English
language. This can be challenging and
even scary for young children to be dropped off in an entirely new environment,
one in which they do not understand the communications spoken by the caregivers
or other children around them. Children
who are dual language learners—especially those that experience a divide
between the home language and school language—can develop a delay in their acquisition
of language, as these children are taking in twice the amount of language input
and vocabulary as single language learners.
Some of the Indian parents in my community may have a
working understanding of the English language, but rarely have fluency
themselves. I find that many of the
families live in small communities made up of other Indian families and English
is usually not spoken at home or within their neighborhood. Among the families that I interact with,
there seems to be little apparent interest of the mothers in learning English,
as they are non-working and rely on the father to speak with the school. This can hinder vital communications between
school and home.
I am curious as to how schools can improve communications
between home and school and how they can increase parent participation. I would also like to learn how schools can
better provide for the dual language students’ developing language skills and
emotional security.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteAre there any community agencies that you can reach out to? If there is a growing population then perhaps the local school system has a way of communicating with the students and families.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI think that this is such an important area to consider and I know it is one that we need to focus on as we have more dual language learners. Are there any resources in higher education locations that might be able to provide additional support?
Pam
Sara,
ReplyDeleteBilingual programs offer great support in teaching ESOL. Students get the chance to present their own thinking and understand others’ perspectives. Their environment promotes bilingualism; students are less likely to feel withdrawn or not able to participate. In conclusion, offering these programs help English Language Learners understand concepts even with their limited language proficiency (Garcia & Bartlett, 2007).
Reference
Garcia, O. & Bartlett, L. (2007). A speech community model of bilingual education: Educating Latino newcomers in the USA. The International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 10(1), 1-25.
Sarah, this is wonderful and I think that it is important to help children who are learning different languages.In my classroom I have not had any one that spoke another language other than English.
ReplyDelete