TBLT in a Dual Language Program

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TBLT in a Dual Language Program

• Maria Angelova
• Cleveland State University

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Goals of DLP

• Dual Language Programs are based on an
  educational model that integrates native English
  speakers and native speakers of another language
  for all or most of the day, with the following
  goals
• To develop high levels of proficiency in TWO
  languages for both English and Spanish speakers.
• To achieve long-term high academic performance in
  both languages.
• To promote appreciation and respect of ones own
  language and culture.
• To develop understanding of other cultures and
  encourage positive cross-cultural attitudes.

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Instructional model

• 50/50 model
• Population
• Language
• Homogeneous settings
• Native Language and Literacy
• Heterogeneous settings
• Math/Science/ Social Studies/Specials
• Resources in both languages in two separate
  classrooms (English and Spanish)

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METHODOLOGY

• Data collection
• participant observation in Dual Language first
  grade (Spanish class English class)
• audio videotaping in Dual Language first grade
  (Spanish class English class)
• semi-structured interviews with 4 focal children
• collection of relevant literacy artifacts

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Participants

• English- dominant, Spanish-dominant, and balanced
  bilingual speakers
• in a Dual Language Program
• Homogeneous groups of English-dominant or
  Spanish-dominant speakers in the native literacy
  classes
• Heterogeneous groups in the Science, Math, and
  Social Studies classes.

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Fluidity of language roles in a Dual Language
classroom
the expert In the English classroom where the teacher delivered the lesson entirely in English, the English speakers were the language experts, while the Spanish speakers were the novices the novice In the same Science lesson in Spanish, the Spanish speakers assumed the role of language experts while the English speakers were the novices. The dual language expert The role of the bilinguals in both classrooms never changed. Their task seemed to be more complex as they functioned as dual language experts in both contexts.
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The nature of an effective task in a Dual
Language classroom

• The best context for language learning in the DLP
  proved to be the task based language learning
• The tasks can be real-life or pedagogic but in
  both cases they should have the following
  characteristics
• There should be a clearly specified goal for the
  activity
• Tasks should stimulate real communicative
  exchanges
• There should be a problemsolving activity at the
  tasks core
• The task should provide ample opportunities for
  using both language structures and new content
  concepts in situations that motivate learners
• Collaboration is the key to successful language
  learning in a Dual Language classroom

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Pseudo collaborative activities

• It is not enough simply to create task situations
  that seem important for the topic studied at the
  moment.
• The task may be of interest to the students but
  if instead of working in groups (solving a given
  problem) the class works together on a task
  following the teachers instructions, there will
  be no or minimum language exchanges.
• Example The apple sauce task.
• This is a real life task but it does not provide
  any opportunities for practicing language because
  there is no collaboration among peers and hence
  very little communication and language learning.

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Tasks that promote language learning

• Examples
• Shopping activity (simulation of a real-life
  task)
• Christmas activity for Math lesson (cognitive
  task, sorting)
• In both activities students work in mixed groups
  and try to achieve a goal through solving a
  problem together.

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Peer teaching and learning strategies in TBL in a
DLP classroom(Socio-cultural perspective)

• Learners construct knowledge collaboratively as
  a joint activity. In a DLP students act as peer
  teachers who help each other learn the language
  using different strategies in tasks that are
  jointly accomplished.
• Strategies are mental and communicative
  procedures learners use in order to learn and use
  language. (David Nunan, 1999)
• Strategies are an integral part of a task. They
  can be
• Linguistic
• Social

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LINGUISTIC

• Practicing/repeating
• Translating
• Paraphrasing
• Code-switching
• Use of formulaic speech and linguistic routines
• Scaffolding with cues
• Hedging
• Using context
• Echoing
• Clarifying
• Peer correction
• Imitation
• Asking about a word in the target language

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SOCIAL

• Asking for help/clarification in L1
• Relying on others for help
• Pretending that one can understand the language
• Complying with the classroom rules
• Being polite and culturally sensitive
• Cooperating
• Resolving conflicts
• Socializing
• Modeling
• Appropriating teacher strategies

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Comparison of strategies in different
tasksRepetition

• Teacher Ill be right with you.
• Karla ((returns to desk and waits again when
  teacher arrives, she reaches over Loris desk to
  place the apple pieces onto her plate and sits
  down looking around))
• Karla Mrs. Urutia.
• Teacher Yes?
• Karla Um..
• Lori ((jumps in to help Karla)) Oh. She needs
  another napkin.
• Karla ((quietly)) Napkin.

• Lori Aquí a español. Here a Spanish.
• Tania No, Aquí se habla español. No, Spanish is
  spoken here.
• Lori Aquí a habla //español.// ( ) Here a
  speak Spanish.
• Unknown //español.// Spanish.
• Beatríz ((leans in towards Lori)) Aquí. Here.
• Lori Aquí a habla. Here a speak.
• Beatríz No. Aquí. No. Here.
• Lori Aquí. Here.
• Beatríz Se. One.
• Lori Se. One.
• Beatríz Ha. 1st syllable of speak
• Lori Ha. 1st syllable of speak
• Beatríz Bla. 2nd syllable of speak
• Lori Bla. 2nd syllable of speak
• Beatríz Español. Spanish.
• Lori Español. Spanish
• Beatríz Aquí se habla español! Spanish is
  spoken here.
• After several attempts and an exchange in English
• Lori ((leans in towards tape player)) Aquí a
  hablan español. Aquí a hablan español. Here a
  they speak Spanish. Here a they speak Spanish.

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Scaffolding with cues

• Teacher Ok, after you cut them, what happens?
  Whats next? Karla?
• Karla ((lifts head slightly and looks at
  teacher))
• Teacher What happened next after we cut the
  apple into little pieces? ((pauses)) What did
  we do? Did we eat them?
• Karla ((quietly)) ( ) little pieces?
• Teacher Cant hear you.
• Karla ((shifting side to side and covering mouth
  with arm)) ( ) the little pieces?
• Teacher ((stops to discipline another child))
• Karla From the little pieces in the((pauses as
  if to think)) uh.
• Teacher We put the little pieces in the
  ((pauses)).
• Unknown ((whispers)) Oven.
• Teacher Tania help her. In the what?
• Tania We put em in the oven.
• Teacher This is not the oven.
• Karla ((raises hand))
• Teacher Karla, go ahead. What is it?
• Karla ((arm on her head)) In ( ) ((has finger
  in her mouth))
• Teacher Tell Lori. See if Lori understands what
  you ( ) mean.
• Karla ((turns to Lori))
• Lori Pot. In the pot.

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Invented Spelling English classroom (The
shopping task) First pair of students
Lori(English speaker) and Luisa(Bilingual
speaker) 1. We boat bought some burbujas
bubbles and it cost 4 . 2. We boat bought
a ball and it cost 7 . 3. We boat bought una
Purcera a purse. Second pair of students
Karla (Spanish speaker) and Uma (English
speaker) 1. We biy buy some burbujas
bubbles. 2. We biy buy a Dall doll.
3. We biy buy a abion airplane. 4. We
biy buy a necls necklace. 5. We biy buy
a ball.
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Strategies in Collaborative Writing

• Fluent speaker becomes the scribe
• Reinforcing native language skills
• Code switching
• Debating over the lexicon
• Using the vernacular
• Negotiating words and phrases
• Repeating syntactical patterns during sentence
  construction.

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Practical Suggestions for Teachers

• To maximize the learning of a second language
  through peer interaction, teachers should
  consider organizing effective collaborative
  learning activities in which the following
  factors are taken into account
• The nature of the task
• The language proficiency level of each child and
  their linguistic role in performing the task
  (novice, expert, or dual language expert)
• The context in which the activity will take place
  (Spanish or English classroom)
• The materials to be used
• The personality of each learner when placing
  children in groups for group work activities.
• It seems that these findings confirm the
  importance of the use of appropriate tasks as
  learning environments that encourage the use of
  both languages in order for children to openly
  communicate and function at higher cognitive
  levels in Dual Language Programs.