Stanley A. Lucero
26963 Merril Avenue, Madera, CA 93638
209-661-0510 (home) 209-661-8710 (fax)
lucerito@thegrid.net (email) www.thegrid.net/lucerito (webpage)
BASIC BILINGUAL EDUCATION CONCEPTS
Stanley A. Lucero
November 1997
 Piaget: Developmental Stages of Language Development: Listening,
speaking, reading and writing.
 Cummins: Threshold Proficiency Level: Low levels of language
proficiency in the first language have a negative effect on second
language acquisition and conceptual development.
 Hakuta: Native language proficiency as a strong indicator of second
language development.
 Collier & Thomas: It is important not to limit the academic development
of LEP students while they are learning English.
 Lev Vygotsky: If children are denied the opportunity to use their (native}
language, they are denied the opportunity to develop their own cognition.
 Lau vs. Nichols: Imposition of a requirement that, before a child can
effectively participate in the educational program, he must have already
acquired those basic {English} skills is to make a mockery of public
education.
 Cummins: The language needed for academic success is cognitive
academic language proficiency (CALP).
 Ramirez: Content area instruction is based on the notion of
“comprehensible input,” in which the teacher uses only the vocabulary
and structures that can be understood by students.
 Cochran: Second language acquisition is similar to the process of young
children becoming fluent in a first language.
 Bartoff: Haitian Creole who were taught literacy skills first in the L1
acquired English language and literacy skills faster than those not
receiving L1 literacy instruction.
 Goodman & Goodman: Elementary grade Spanish, Arabic, Samoan and
Navajo students learned to read English more easily if they were literate
in their first language than if they were preliterate bilinguals.
 Cummins: Common Underlying Proficiency Model – There is no need to
relearn acquired knowledge; thus, time spent developing conceptual
knowledge in the L1, including a multidimensional concept such as
literacy is not wasted time.
Stanley A. Lucero
26963 Merril Avenue, Madera, CA 93638
209-661-0510 (home) 209-661-8710 (fax)
lucerito@thegrid.net (email) www.thegrid.net/lucerito (webpage)
SUGGESTIONS FOR CLASSROOM TEACHERS
Stanley A Lucero
May 1998
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Find textbooks that have English and Spanish side by side.
Find literature books that have English and Spanish side by side.
Find literature books on the same theme in English and Spanish.
Purchase bilingual ditto-master stories.
Purchase bilingual software.
Purchase a bilingual reading software program.
Prepare homework assignments with English on side one and Spanish on
side two. Give extra credit if both sides are completed.
Give all of your students the same (or very similar) assignments in
English and Spanish to insure equal access to the core curriculum.
Alternate days for English and Spanish on routine activities such as
calendar, weather, lunch count, attendance, flag salute, etc.
Alternate days for cultural activities such as songs, games, art projects,
food demonstrations, sayings (dichos), etc.
If you have a fluent bilingual aide, ask your aide to assume the role of the
Spanish Model while you assume the role of the English model.
If you and your aide are both bilingual, alternate weeks as English and
Spanish models.
If your school has a bilingual teacher in the same grade as yours, team
teach during the mornings. You provide English curriculum to English
speakers and the bilingual teacher provides the Spanish curriculum to
Spanish speakers. You provide ESL to the Spanish speakers and the
bilingual teacher provides SSL to the English speakers.
If you are a bilingual teacher, adopt one of the bilingual teaching
strategies for your classroom. Ideally, all of the bilingual teachers at your
school would use the same strategy. Some samples are Dual Language
Model, Eastman Project, Alternate Day and Team Teaching.
Schedule ESL and SSL during the same language arts time block of your
day and then alternate English and Spanish days. Advanced ESL and
Advanced SSL students will be focusing on reading and writing skills.
Beginning ESL and Beginning SSL students will be focusing on
understanding and speaking skills.
Stanley A. Lucero
26963 Merril Avenue, Madera, CA 93638
209-661-0510 (home) 209-661-8710 (fax)
lucerito@thegrid.net (email) www.thegrid.net/lucerito (webpage)
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Team-teach ESL with other teachers to group students according to their
English proficiency levels. Each teacher takes a group of students with
similar English proficiency levels and provides instruction at that level.
Group all of your students by Math ability levels and then alternate days
for English and Spanish lessons. (Use the same idea for other academic
subjects.)
Teach students how to read what they can say (Language Experience
Approach). Use the language of the students (English, Spanish, etc.).
Find out what languages the parents read and send home reading
assignments in that language to encourage parent support at home.
Always send homework instructions in the language of the parents if you
wish the parents to work with their children at home.
Send a letter home to all of the parents in your classroom explaining the
benefits of learning a second language.
If you are a bilingual teacher, consider sending a “Request for a Bilingual
Classroom” to get parent support for your classroom.
Display English and Spanish information on your bulletin boards.
Have your bulletin boards reflect the languages and cultures of your
students.
Popular bulletin board idea – 50% in English and 50% in Spanish.
Expect all of your students to meet grade level expectations and
standards in their first language.
Encourage all of your students to meet grade level expectations and
standards in their second language.
Test all of your students in their first and second language to measure
progress in both languages. If you only test in one language, you are
only seeing half of the picture.
Stanley A. Lucero
26963 Merril Avenue, Madera, CA 93638
209-661-0510 (home) 209-661-8710 (fax)
lucerito@thegrid.net (email) www.thegrid.net/lucerito (webpage)
Request for a Bilingual Classroom
 I want my children to learn to speak, read and write Spanish as well as
English.
 I want my children to advance academically in their studies.
 I understand that my child will learn academics faster in the language
he/she speaks.
 I want my children to know and appreciate their own culture.
 I want my children to understand and appreciate the cultures of others.
 I want my children to receive instruction from a bilingual teacher with
bilingual credentials.
 I understand that a bilingual credential verifies that the teacher speaks,
reads and writes two languages and knows how to teach students who are
learning a second language.
 I understand that parent involvement and support is crucial to the
education of my children.
I want my children to be enrolled in a bilingual classroom with a
bilingual teacher to receive these services.
Parent Signature
Date
Children