MICHELE REGALLA

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.