Dual-Language Gifted Education and Its Evaluation

Gifted English Language Learners

“…Assumptions were made on the belief that these students needed remediation skills because their home environment (and particularly their first language) would have had a negative impact on their ability to achieve, particularly with regard to the acquisition of English (U.S. Department of Education, 1998). Hamers and Blanc (2000) and Hakuta (2000) have referred to the seminal work of Cummins (1979), which has indicated that most ELLs may take up to 7 years to attain age-appropriate levels of classroom performance in formal English at a level high enough to be tested in English without bias (Bernal & Garcia, 2009). Gifted ELLs may take less time, but no confirmatory studies exist to date and any evidence supporting this claim has been largely anecdotal (Matthews & Shaunessy, 2008).…”

“…None of the contributing authors made reference to giftedness in EAL students; however, recommendations for evidence-based pedagogical practices (e.g., Coleman, 2015;Hammond, 2015) and models (e.g., Miller & McCallum, 2015) were featured extensively and could be applied to gifted ELLs. Shavinina's (2009) comprehensive book, The International Handbook on Giftedness, devoted a single chapter specifically to gifted ELLs focusing on the advantages of dual-language gifted education as best serving the needs of gifted ELLs, native speakers of English, and gifted bilinguals (Bernal & Garcia, 2009). Again, this focus has little applicability to the Australian context, as dual-language gifted education programs are virtually nonexistent in Australia.…”

“…For many years now, authors have suggested that education systems have often penalized gifted students who display different values and attitudes from those of the dominant culture by excluding them from gifted programs (e.g., Colanero, 1985; Maker, 1996; Senate Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Education References Committee, 2001, § 3.126). Teachers have tended to nominate or select only the most acculturated minority students for inclusion in gifted programs (Bernal & Garcia, 2009; Briggs et al, 2008; Geake & Gross, 2008). Attempts have been made to remedy this oversight by being more inclusive of the cultural differences of potentially gifted ELLs; however, even in identification processes using intelligence tests that are purportedly language-free, there is a cultural base to the instrument that may work against ELLs (Bernal & Garcia, 2009; Matthews, 2006), challenging their validity for this group (Gonzalez, 2002; Lohman et al, 2008).…”

“…Teachers have tended to nominate or select only the most acculturated minority students for inclusion in gifted programs (Bernal & Garcia, 2009; Briggs et al, 2008; Geake & Gross, 2008). Attempts have been made to remedy this oversight by being more inclusive of the cultural differences of potentially gifted ELLs; however, even in identification processes using intelligence tests that are purportedly language-free, there is a cultural base to the instrument that may work against ELLs (Bernal & Garcia, 2009; Matthews, 2006), challenging their validity for this group (Gonzalez, 2002; Lohman et al, 2008).…”

“…Department of Education, 1998). Hamers and Blanc (2000) and Hakuta (2000) have referred to the seminal work of Cummins (1979), which has indicated that most ELLs may take up to 7 years to attain age-appropriate levels of classroom performance in formal English at a level high enough to be tested in English without bias (Bernal & Garcia, 2009). Gifted ELLs may take less time, but no confirmatory studies exist to date and any evidence supporting this claim has been largely anecdotal (Matthews & Shaunessy, 2008).…”