What is required for transition from the ESL classroom to the general education classroom? A case study of two classrooms

Abstract

Speech-language pathologists in the schools and classroom teachers repeatedly face the challenge of how best to provide services and instruction for students who are learning English as a second language (ESL). A better understanding of second language acquisition issues, such as code-switched and code-mixed behaviors, is essential because, as Aguirre (1989) maintains, code switching is obvious and unavoidable with bilingual students. An ethnographic observational study of ESL and regular classroom discourse was performed. The researchers asked the questions: "What language skills must the bilingual student possess to succeed in the general education classroom, and what skills should the SLP be aware of in assessing bilingual students?" This study found that bilingual students in the general education classroom needed to shift and adapt their language uses to meet the demands of the classroom. The general education classroom proceeded at a fast pace of instruction, which necessitated fast processing abilities and more independent student follow-through. Learning is dependent upon precise understanding of long teacher utterances, many utterances spoken within a short time period with few opportunities for clarification or seeking of help. The student in the ESL classroom who is also enrolled in the general education classroom is using three language systems : listening and speaking Spanish, English, and a mixed series of Spanish and English code-switched and code-mixed language. Code-switching and code-mixing serves as a bridge between Spanish and English and is not an indicator of a language disorder or language confusion. It is typically used by the teachers, aides, and the students. The findings of this study suggest that language evaluations should incorporate ethnographic observations to obtain a truer picture of what occurs, where it occurs, how it occurs, why it occurs, and how often it occurs. Hence, use of dynamic assessment procedures and ethnographic observations may help make apparent the distinction between a language disorder and typical difficulties associated with second language acquisition.

What Language Discourse Tells us about Bilingual Adolescents: A Study of Students in Gifted Programs and Students in General Education Programs

“…Analysis revealed that 18% (448/2,454 words) of the facilitator's language was spoken in Spanish. This is comparable to the 17.4% figure found by Brice and Perkins (1997) when bilingual teachers spoke with bilingual students in classrooms. Therefore, it appears that the facilitator offered ample opportunities for the students to speak in both languages.…”

Code Mixing in a Young Bilingual Child

“…Spontaneous language use. The SLP should ' allow the children to code switch and code mix when it facilitates spontaneous language use (Brice & Perkins, 1997). Children who code switch are dependent on the community's acceptance to use of this form of communication (Kayser, 1995).…”

“…The code-mixed combination of English and the native language (e.g., Spanish) constitutes a unique third language form (Brice & Perkins, 1997;Heller, 1988). We argue that language alternation (particularly code mixing) may indicate a sophisticated user who, with appropriate input, time, and practice, exhibits sound cognitive and linguistic functioning.…”

“…A higher frequency of mixing occurred during the earliest stages of bilingual development, from 2 years to 2 years 5 months of age, and it decreased as children became older and more linguistically proficient. Patterns of code switching and code mixing in school-age students have not been extensively reported (Brice & Perkins, 1997) and comparisons cannot be reliably reported.…”

Case Studies in Inclusion

“…He has been listening and speaking English for approximately 2 years. Miguel was observed as part of an ethnographic study reported elsewhere (Brice & Perkins, 1997). However, information from his experiences in the general classroom shall be reported here.…”