Video Debate

Roles

Moderator:

-Mia Carty

Bilingual Education:

-Emmaline Freeman

-Kyle Kolcharno

English Only:

-Meghan Bode

-Gillian Groom

English Only

Pros:

● Strategies may be used for the whole class

● Full immersion into the language

● Easier for the general teacher to do; they don’t have to be bilingual

Cons:

● May make it harder to communicate with the student

● Time; the teacher may need to spend extra explaining something, or even explain it

again. The teacher may also need to give a student more time to complete an

assignment.

● The teacher would need to differentiate many of the assignments in an English only

classroom for ELL students.

Opening Key Points:

● Full immersion into a new language can boost the speed you learn it at
 ○ Bics vs Calps (Students learn interpersonal language by being immersed in

social situations at school).

○ Example: Studying abroad and picking up the language

○ Students speaking another language can distract other English learners.

● Putting ELL students in english only settings means keeping them in the regular

classroom

○ As a teacher with an ELL student in my classroom, I would use visual aids and

labels around my classroom. These strategies would help my english speaking

students as well.

○ Keeping ELL students in englush only classrooms with the rest of their peers

creates a positive social environment in the school over all. Without social

exposure to the language, students may never develop Bics.

● Easier for the overall school district as well as the general education teacher

○ A general education teacher would not have to purchase books, worksheets, and

supplemental activities in both english and other languages. This can get

expensive, especially if a teacher is buying these resources themselves.

○ A school district would also not have to hire teachers who are able to speak

english as well as another language.

Cross-Examination Questions:

● How do you expect the average general education teacher to provide bilingual

instruction while trying to teach a full class?

● What would school districts that don’t have money for an ELL or bilingual teacher do?

● Some people believe that having separate programs for ELL students to learn

bilingually segregates them from students in English only settings, making a poor and

divided social environment. How would you address this concern?

Closing Key Points:

 ● Keeping ELL students in the general education classroom will be overall beneficial for

both the student and the teacher.

● Full immersion into a class prevents ELL students to rely on their preferred language

and allows them to focus on learning English.

● The only way to become fluent in a language is by being immersed in the language.

Bilingual Education

Pros:

● Students can speak in their native language

● Students remain proud of their heritage and culture and are more open to expressing it

● Can understand content in their native language without falling behind

Cons:

● It is expensive to have a bilingual education

● Bilingual education can shift a student’s focus

● Learning the specific content is very difficult

Key points:

● Children who are instructed only in ESL fall behind

○ Bilingual education allows students to learn grade level content in their native

language so they do not fall behind

○ English pull-out programs take time away from academic instruction

● Learning in their native language allows for better foundation for academic material than

learning material in a language they do not fully understand

 ○ A strong foundational base for reading can be transferred to English once the

language is learned

○ ESL learners can be instructed English in their native language

○ The students already have a strong understanding of their native language

● Preserves cultural values and more gradually eases assimilation into US culture

○ Students “thrown-in” to English only classrooms can experience emotional

trauma from not knowing any of the language they are being taught in

Cross-Examination Questions:

● What would you do if ELL students in an English only classroom start to feel

uncomfortable from not being able to understand instructions, thus leading to a negative

impact on their learning?

● Some people believe that introducing instruction in a student’s native language allows a

student’s learning process to develop faster. How else would you help a student

understand instructions in an efficient way?

● Teachers who have an English Only class may become like “cops” who are constantly

enforcing the usage of English which may waste time and frustrate an ELL student. How

can a teacher work around this issue?

Closing key points:

● Students who are involved in bilingual education are much less likely to fall behind

● Students who are involved in bilingual education are able to be proud of their native

heritage and culture, as well as open to expressing it to other students

● Students who are involved in bilingual education are less likely to suffer from emotional

trauma, rather than students who are “thrown in” to an English-only classroom. Students

in an English-only classroom tend to suffer from emotional trauma, so why not prevent
this happening?