MICHELE REGALLA
The goal of the research I am conducting is to investigate bilingual
educational strategies in the secondary schools of Malaga, Spain in order to
inform educational practices in the U.S. I will examine how bilingual programs
are structured for secondary students who are learning academic content in both
English and Spanish. Bilingual education, where students receive academic
instruction in two languages, is known as Content and Language Integrated Model
(CLIL) in Europe. Since the start of the European Union, the European
Commission has supported a model of bilingual education in order to address the
needs of citizens living in a global economy.
Bilingual education has not enjoyed such popularity throughout the United
States. For example, the state of Florida is ranked third in the U.S. for the
number of students enrolled in public schools who speak Spanish at home and are
learning English as a second language. Despite the large number of Spanish
speaking students, Florida is classified as an "English-only" state,
meaning that bilingual education is not officially recognized. However,
bilingual charter schools are on the rise and a number of school districts have
begun to open their own programs due to the increased need for bilingual
education. Without state recognition, many teachers are starting bilingual
programs lacking the training to be effective. Florida is in need of current
research in best practices to inform bilingual education and prepare effective
teachers.
Since my arrival in Malaga, I have visited four different secondary schools
including public, private, and concertados to observe the types of strategies
used for bilingual instruction. I have been invited to observe in 26 different
classrooms including subjects such as math, science, history, art, physical
education, business, philosophy, and English. I have interviewed 17 teachers,
many of whom have shared their teaching materials with me. One of the secondary
schools I visited was Universidad Laboral in Malaga. This is a highly populated
secondary school with a large campus. I spent 3 days visiting teachers in
biology, chemistry, art, English, and economics. Two of the classes I observed
were taught by English language teaching assistants. The other classes were
taught by the teachers and the English level of the teachers I observed was
quite high. Many of the teachers used English for most (at least 90%) of the
lesson and used Spanish to translate new vocabulary words or clarify a concept
for students. Some teachers reported to me that the students’ level of English
in their classes was mixed so they chose to speak about 50% of the time in
English and the other 50% in Spanish so that students would understand the
academic content while learning English.
The teachers I observed were very helpful, dedicated, and open to answering
my questions. They all stated they are motivated to prepare lessons in English
and communicated their commitment to bilingual education. The teachers
explained that although some students may struggle, it is important for them to
learn academic content in English to improve educational and career
opportunities for their future.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg){kind=link}