Bilingualism: How can schools

preserve and promote this skill?

EDUC 827
What are your initial reactions to the following?
● Children who are fluent in two languages perform better than their single
language counterparts on tests of control of attention, concept formation,
analytical reasoning, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, cognitive complexity, and
cognitive monitoring. (Bialystok, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015; Bialystok &
Craik, 2010; Sullivan & others, 2015).

● However, recent research indicates that bilingual children have a smaller

vocabulary in each language than monolingual children (Bialystok, 2011).
Our Discussion should be framed by the following
topics:
● Academic/ Cognitive
● Family Relationships
● Identity

To ultimately connect with the question:

What can a school counselor do? What resources are available to

assist?
Acronyms to Know
ESL: English as a Second Language

ELL/EL: English Language Learner

LEP: Limited English Proficiency

Subtractive Bilingualism
“However, a different type of bilingualism occurs when immigrant children have
learned only their native language at home and then must learn the main language of
their new country at school. For example, in the United States, many immigrant
children go from being monolingual in their home language to bilingual in that
language and in English, only to end up monolingual speakers of English. This is
called subtractive bilingualism, and it can have negative effects on children, who
often become ashamed of their home language.”

Santrock, John (2015-10-14). A Topical Approach to Lifespan Development (Page

283). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Case Study
Phan is a 5th grader and a former EL student that no longer receives ESL services.
He has attended school in the United States since kindergarden and while he speaks
Vietnamese at home with his parents and family he is well adjusted to academic
learning in English. Many times throughout his school career he has been the
translator for his parents as they attend parent conferences or other school events.

What are the impacts on the relationship between parent and child in this
situation?

What could happen to Phan’s opinions around his native language and his
identity?

What could a school counselor do?

What biases, stereotypes, and triggers may be associated with these
classifications?

LEP ESL Latino/Latina

Immigrant Bilingual Latin@/ Latinx

ELL Immersion Hispanic

What biases or stereotypes do you have when discussing English Language

Learners and bilingualism? How will you work to recognize and counteract?
Data Case
You are an 8th grade school counselor. When exploring the data at your middle
school and disaggregating for different groups you find the following gaps:

Attendance: An increase in EL students missing at least 1 class period a day

Academics: Latino students are underrepresented in Honors and High-School Credit

Courses

What other questions do you have?

Given what you know about development and these populations, what could your
close-the-gap action plan look like?
Our Discussion included consideration of:

● Academic/ Cognitive
● Family Relationships
● Identity

So, with an increased knowledge What can a school counselor do?

What resources are available to assist?

Resources
Colorin Colorado http://www.colorincolorado.org/
Includes resources for students, parents, and educators. Including documents in other languages.

Seal of Biliteracy http://sealofbiliteracy.org/

Program of honoring schools/districts to show they are promoting proficiency in 2 languages for
students by graduation. Shows skill for colleges and/or employers.

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language

https://www.actfl.org/advocacy/what-the-research-shows
Organization for teachers of other languages, shows proficiency levels within language acquisition,
and additional research and resources.

Promoting a Language Proficient Society Article

http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.aatg.org/resource/resmgr/Promoting_German/Promoting_Languag
e_Proficien.pdf Article includes actions that parents, teachers, administrators, and the community
can take to promote proficiency in multiple languages to be shared with various stakeholders.
Case Study #1
Karla is an 8th grade student from a Spanish speaking family that speaks Spanish at
home. She has an IEP at school because she struggles with reading and is
considered an LEP student. The school has recently offered a “Spanish for Native
Speakers” elective course which is a high-school credit course for heritage speakers
of Spanish to focus on academic skills such as reading and writing.

What could be the benefits of this course for Karla?

What could the school counselor do to communicate with Karla and her family
about signing up for this elective course?