Language Loss at My School Site
Language Loss
How is language loss an issue for ELLs?
By: Brittany Pales
Reference Page
Questions for the class to respond to are on the final slide! :)
- CDE (2007). Preschool English learners: Principles and practices to promote language, literacy, and learning. Sacramento, CA: CDE Press. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/drfaithpolk/language-loss
- Dastgoshadeh, A. & Jalilzadeh, K. Language loss, identity, and English as an international language. European Journal of Social Sciences. Volume 21: Number 4. Language and identity. Pg. 660. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/32524993/Language_loss__Identity__and_English_as_an.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1547315685&Signature=sNNzwcIwnWRtf4uhueibhW3ZgsE%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DLanguage_loss_Identity_and_English_as_an.pdf
- Gandara, P. Opportunity gap: Chapter 2: A brief history of language policy affecting LM and EL students. Pg. 164
- García, O., & Kleifgen, J. (2018). Educating Emergent Bilinguals. Policies, Programs and Practices for English Language. New York: Teachers College Press.
- Illinois School Report Card. Retrieved from: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/school.aspx?source=studentcharacteristics&source2=studentdemographics&Schoolid=190222050262003
- Mora, P. Elena. Tongue Tied. Pg. 165.
- In my observation, there were several students speaking Spanish after they finished with their morning work. One of these students asked me if I spoke Spanish. I told her, "Hablo un poco español."
- These students only spoke Spanish during free time in the classroom. During work or instructional time, only English was spoken.
- This fourth grade classroom's instruction is a mostly monolingual one, but there was a dual language instructional coach teaching the fourth graders about commas under the Dictado approach to language.
- "Linguistic items are not only the characteristics of groups or communities; they are themselves the means by which individuals both identify themselves and identify with others" (Dastgoshadeh & Jalilzadeh Pg. 660).
- Language loss can lead to a loss of one's identity and communication with family members or friends that speak that language.
- If a student's native language is replaced with English, they may feel conflicted about their identity. This individual may ignore or feel ashamed about their ethnic and cultural identity in the U.S. school system and society due to the lack of multiculturalism.
What is Dictado (Dictation)?
Questions
- As a future teacher, how can one ensure their students will not be a victim to language loss?
- What advice would you give to an English only speaking teacher educating emergent bilinguals?
- What are some strategies you have seen/heard of that work in maintaining a native language?
- What are some strategies you have seen/heard of that result in language loss?
- Have you or has someone you know experienced language loss? How was it? Respond to this question only if you are comfortable sharing.
- Instead of using traditional spelling tests or daily language practice, this class is given a dictation sentence to practice throughout the week. The students take a quiz on Friday to demonstrate what they have learned. The goal of Dictato is to help students become a better speller and writer.
- All notes written to families, the weekly schedule of the Dictato, and the directions on the worksheets ("Name/Nombre_____" and "Date/Fecha____") are provided in both Spanish and English to accommodate the emerging bilinguals in the classroom.
- The Spanish language is acknowledged in the classroom subtly, as shown when the Dual Language instructial coach spoke a few words in Spanish during her Dictado lesson.
Language loss: Family Members
Why does this happen?
- Language loss may lead to a loss of communication with family members. This is exemplified in Pat Moras' poem, Elena. Pat Mora is a Spanish speaking mother that used to understand every word her children said when they were in Mexico (Mora).
- Now that her children are in schools in the U.S., they speak English and she is struggling to understand them.
- As a mother that cannot understand her children, she feels "dumb [and] alone" (Mora).
My School's Student Population
- Due to the fact that the school has a Hispanic student population of over 55% (Illinois Report Card), I expected to see some books written in Spanish in the classroom library. I only saw books written in English.
- Over 50% of the student population at this school are emerging bilinguals (Illinois Report Card). Including books written in Spanish would be beneficial for emergent bilingual students as well as monolingual students.
- Not only would emergent bilinguals be less likely to experience language loss, other students would be exposed to the Spanish language found in the book. This not only helps students explore other cultures, it also opens the door to them becoming emergent bilinguals.
- The U.S. educational system is mostly a monolinguistic one, with English dominating a majority of the instruction and curriculum.
- "Schools continue to educate emergent bilingual students as if their different linguistic and cultural practices did not exist" (García & Kleifgen Pg. xiii).
- "Some scholars have concluded that US education policy is... driven more by language ideology ('true Americans speak only English in public') than by any real concern that English is about to become extinct" (Gandara Pg. 164).
Language Loss: Context
Title VII: The Bilingual Education Act
- Language loss in the U.S. educational system may occur with emergent bilinguals or emergent multilinguals whose native language is not English.
- Emergent bilinguals has a broad definition that encompasses students that are learning another language that is different from their native one (García & Kleifgen, Pg. 3).
- Emergent multilinguals may be learning two or more languages, or have mastered two or more languages and is in the process of acquiring another one (García, & Kleifgen, Pg. 4).
- In the United States, language loss may occur in students or individuals in every language expect for English.
What is language loss?
- In 1968, under the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, "the Bilingual Education Act… address[ed] the needs of students who had ‘limited English proficiency” (Gandara Pg. 164).
- Under this act, the United States is required to “provide financial assistance to local educational agencies to develop and carry out… programs… for language-minoritized students” (Garcia & Kleifgen 36).
- This act "established a federal goal of assisting 'limited English speaking' students in the acquisition of English” (Garcia & Kleifgen 36).
- The initial policy of Title VII was not effective for ELLs' learning. The program was limited to poor students, viewed these students in a deficit perspective, and did not include all emergent bilinguals in this policy.
- Language loss "occurs when some of the proficiency [in the native or minority language] is no longer accessible" (CDE) to an individual.
- For example, a child in the U.S. may only speak and understand Spanish up until they start public school. If this child does not receive instruction or support in Spanish, they may not use it as much.
- This may result in the child not being as proficient as they once were in Spanish. Eventually, this child may not use Spanish at all, and forget the language they were raised on. When this occurs, the student may not understand their own family, and vise versa.
Impact of The Bilingual Education Act
- While this policy shone light on the attention and education emergent bilinguals deserve, the legislation used deficit perspective terms, such as limited English speaking, to describe these students (Garcia & Kleifgen 36).
- Instead of viewing these students as emerging bilinguals on the way to mastering two languages, they were seen as students that have not yet mastered English, thus their native language was quickly disregarded in the U.S. educational system.
- This act not only initiated the goal of students becoming English proficient, it also discouraged the use of students’ native languages.
- When a student’s native language is not used in school and not viewed as important in society, this may result in language loss. “In the United States… languages other than English are lost very rapidly” (Gandara Pg. 164).