Testimonios of Latino Male Preservice Teachers as Models for Caring and Bilingualism

This qualitative study of three Latino male preservice teachers in a bilingual education preparation program centers on the use of testimonio as a methodology to give voice to the complex experiences of young Latinos as they navigate their way through career choices and college. While work on male teachers has historically focused on white men and more recently black men, Latinos represent a very large ethnic population in the United States with varied histories, cultural practices, and linguistic practices. While caring has been conflated as a practice of female teachers, the young men in this study illustrate an ethic of care that is more complex than that of affect. Their care is directly tied to their willingness to pay forward their learning and experiences to other Latino children by way of teaching in bilingual programs. The findings of this research illustrate the complex terrain that these young men navigate as they decide on a career in a historically white and female profession. This study offers implications for in-service teachers and their role in cultivating the next generation of male teachers. For universities and colleges of education, this study offers insight into the institutional challenges and support systems these Latino men must circumnavigate.

Bilingual Education From Learner Perspectives

The European Commission call to promote early foreign language learning among citizens in member states has led to a major paradigm shift in national and regional educational systems across Europe. The most extended option to make this shift effective has been applying bilingual education models which involve teaching academic subjects in foreign languages. Among those models, the so-called content and language integrated learning (CLIL) approach has been largely implemented in several countries and regions such as Madrid. This chapter gauges students' attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs on bilingual educational programs in Madrid. The findings revealed important issues related to curricular content, methodology and strategies, challenges, and successes of bilingual programs as perceived by students.

Job Shadowing as a Training Tool for Lecturers in Higher Education Bilingual Teaching

The current context of higher education institutions is guided by targets of internationalization and globalization which adopt different forms, one of them based on the essential role of language learning as an operational instrument that contributes to international activity. Different approaches have been devised to promote language learning—content and language integrated learning (CLIL) or English-medium instruction (EMI)—characterized by the use of a foreign language as a teaching device. In tertiary education, the implementation of bilingual programs demands the use of professional and academic language, communicative skills, and training in methodological abilities. The challenge for lecturers is considerable and they have reported the demanding overload of work, effort, and time, but training in dual-focused teaching is essential to achieve goals successfully. Job shadowing is suggested as a training tool focused on developing bilingual professional skills, knowledge, and competences through observation, action, and reflection while accompanying a professional.

Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Project-Based Learning in CLIL: Learning Outputs and Psycho-Affective Considerations

The Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach has become one of the most frequent teaching options used as a pivotal element of bilingual programs. Over the last two decades, a lot has been written about its characteristics, its potential, and the methodological approaches that should be used to encourage such programs. Since the main objective of CLIL is to improve the use of the foreign language as a vehicle for communication by students when accessing and manipulating content matter, it seems evident that methodological strategies should be promoted to provide the opportunity to maximize the use of the language within the classroom. In this respect, project-based learning (PBL) is depicted, in principle, as an ideal proposal for CLIL, since its implementation will entail an increase in language management. Especially concerning the content, this will result in an improvement in students’ ability to perform more comfortably in school and, presumably, more effectively. Nevertheless, there might not be such a straightforward cause-effect relationship and, therefore, it is necessary to dig deeper into the real impact of using PBL. This study is aimed at analyzing its influence from the students’ point of view, to drill down on their feelings and behavior towards PBL and how they tackle and solve the arising challenges. Results have shown interesting information about their views on the benefits of working by projects but also some concerns regarding the use of this teaching and learning model.

A study on CLIL secondary school teachers in Spain: Views, concerns and needs

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a methodological approach that is growing very fast in many European countries, particularly in Spain. The implementation of bilingual programmes in primary, secondary and tertiary education has produced significant changes that have had direct consequences on all educational stakeholders, including teachers, parents and students. In the case of CLIL teachers, research has often addressed their training needs, and actions towards preparing them for successful classes have been proposed. However, few studies have focused on their concerns and views of bilingual programs. Despite the fact that many researchers have acknowledged the importance of understanding CLIL teachers’ views and beliefs, thus hoping for more studies on those issues, this is not yet one of the major research targets. In this study CLIL secondary school teachers in Spain were approached in order to identify the problems they encounter when implementing CLIL. An online questionnaire with both open and close questions was designed administered to informants across Spain. The findings reveal that, overall, the difficulties teachers encounter when implementing a bilingual programme are multiple, and many informants believe that the bilingual programme in English needs a comprehensive reform in Spain.

Analysis of Reading Habits in Secondary Education in Extremadura

This study aims to discern the reading habits of secondary education students of the autonomous community of Extremadura (Spain). A survey was conducted with 4,392 students throughout the region. Their reading habits were analyzed in relation to time spent reading, book purchases, preferred literary genres, and other variables that may influence reading habits. By determining the geographic location of respondents, it became possible to map the variables. Key conclusions include clear differences between geographical areas, together with the following findings: women read somewhat more than men; students enrolled in bilingual programs read more; following specific reading plans has no impact on achieving better reading outcomes; despite the increase in digital reading, paper books are still read more; and reading is not perceived as a leisure activity.

“Make Sure You See This”: Counternarratives of Multilingual Black Girls’ Language and Literacy Practices

Critical scholarship in bilingualism and bilingual education has documented multiple ways that the rich language and literacy practices of Black children participating in bilingual education programs are often erased in favor of dominant narratives about the literacy practices of their White Mainstream English–speaking peers. Utilizing Black girl literacies, raciolinguistics, and translanguaging as theoretical orientations, and counternarratives as an analytical tool, this article presents a cross-case analysis of two ethnographic case studies that explored how multilingual Black American girls enrolled in an elementary dual-language bilingual education program employed their literacies to navigate their social worlds, by challenging raciolinguistic ideologies and hegemonic systems of oppression in their daily lives. It also presents the nuanced nature of multilingual Black girls’ literacies and the various roles that they serve, which are often ignored in multilingual spaces. The need to learn from multilingual Black girls’ counternarratives is emphasized by engaging in a deeper sociopolitical understanding of the complex issues that Black girls face on a regular basis, which are often extended in bilingual spaces. Specifically, we call for educators to create critical translanguaging spaces that honor multidimensional counternarratives and intimately connect with the unique epistemologies and literacies that Black girls in bilingual programs bring to the table.

Perceived Metalinguistic and Cognitive Influences of Bilingual Education

Despite the substantial body of academic research regarding the metalinguistic and cognitive effects of bilingual education, most of the literature reports on large-scale experimental studies (e.g., Bialystok et al., 2010) while little is known about how individuals who have participated in bilingual programs view their learning outcomes. The objective of this study was to investigate whether there are trends in the self-perceived outcomes of bilingual immersion education on people who have spent at least four years in a bilingual educational setting. Ten individuals who met this criterion were interviewed and the audio recordings of their interviews were transcribed and analyzed inductively to allow themes to emerge from the participants’ words. Findings indicate there were identifiable themes in how participants perceived their education and the amount of time and specific grade levels spent in bilingual programs tended to correspond with certain participant response patterns. This study has implications for the many emerging Georgia dual language immersion programs and their recruitment strategies. Keywordsbilingual education, dual language immersion, metalinguistic ability, cognitive ability

Educación Física en centros bilingües: efecto de la utilización del idioma sobre la percepción de la comunicación docente y la motivación del alumnado (Physical Education in Bilingual Schools: Effect of the language use on students' perceptions of teachi

En los últimos años es frecuente la impartición de la educación física (EF) en lengua inglesa, lo que puede influir sobre las percepciones que los alumnos[1] tienen sobre dicha asignatura. En el presente estudio se analizó el efecto de una metodología bilingüe, el code-switching, sobre la percepción de la comunicación docente y la motivación. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 94 estudiantes de entre 12 y 14 años (M= 13.76; DT=.86). El grupo experimental (n=46) estuvo formado por dos grupos pertenecientes a formas diferentes de implantación del bilingüismo (programa y sección) y el grupo control (n= 47) por dos grupos equivalentes a los anteriores. Previo a la intervención, se realizaron entrevistas a profesorado de EF; los cuestionarios pre y post fueron administrados al alumnado al inicio y al fin de la misma. Tras la intervención se hallaron diferencias en la motivación intrínseca de uno de los grupos experimentales. Los resultados sugieren que la percepción de la comunicación docente por parte de los alumnos no difiere en función de que la clase se imparta íntegramente en inglés o utilizando el code-switching. Se discuten las implicaciones educativas de estos hallazgos. Abstract. Over the last few years, the teaching of PE in English language has become frequent which could influence the perceptions that students have about this subject. In the present study the effect of a bilingual methodology, code-switching, on perceptions of teaching communication and motivation was analyzed. The sample was composed by 94 students aging from 12 to 14 (M=13,76; SD= .86). Experimental group (n=46) was formed by two classes with different bilingual programs (programa and sección) and control group (n=47), by other two equivalent groups. After the intervention significant differences in intrinsic motivation were found in one of the experimental groups. The findings suggest that the perceptions of teaching communication do not differ between students taught completely in English and students taught through code-switching. Educational implications of these findings are discussed.