Bilingual Teaching Strategies

Field Report #4: Bilingual Teaching Strategies

Berenisse Cruz

Tarrant County College

Bilingual Teaching Strategies

The required field experience was conducted at Keller Independent School District. The

classroom observation was conducted in Mrs. Groover third grade bilingual class at Caprock

Elementary School. Mrs. Groover teaches social studies and language arts and switches off with

another colleague to teach math and science.

Physical Space

As you walk in the classroom the seats are arranged in partners in rows. They are all facing the

front of the classroom towards the board. In a corner of the classroom there is a word wall in

English and in Spanish. In that same corner they have a library set it with a mixture of books

from both languages. There is a desk where she has an emotional bank account, each student has

an envelope with their name, where they students write them little notes. There is a back

worktable where the teacher does small group. Hanging from the celling there are different flags

from all the Latin American States. In the corner of the library, Mrs. Groover has different book

covers hanging from the ceiling. In the back corner the teacher desk is located. There is a wall of

cubies where their backpacks are hanged on their hook, and their workbooks are located. The

teacher uses a multimedia board that is on a movable table, Mrs. Groover can move it around the

classroom. Half of the classroom lights are turned off, while the white board is surrounded with

green lights, the other half of the classroom lights are turned off. By her desk she has a poster

with “Classroom Family” the students brought in pictures of their family. There is a wall with job

assigned to every student.

Bilingual Program

Mrs. Groover classroom is dual- language classroom. Mrs. Groover teaches both

languages, Spanish and English. As she mentions that her afternoon class prefers to speak

English, she encourages them to speak more Spanish. While in her morning class speaks more
Bilingual Teaching Strategies

Spanish. She tries to have them expand their knowledge in both languages as well as help the

ones who need them practice the language they are struggling with.

Languages

As I was talking to Mrs. Groover about I-Stations, she gave me the knowledge that it

tracks the level of where each student stands. They are given different levels of reading, phonics,

and comprehension. Instruction is giving depending on the day that is posted outside of the

classroom. With this being said, Mrs. Groover tries to mix both languages will given lessons and

while doing their classwork. Students are allowed to communicate in both languages, depending

on their preference. Resources are both in multiple languages. In the corner of their library their

is a word wall in both languages. Textbooks, worksheets are in both languages. Depending on

Mrs. Groover she tells them in what language they should complete their work. Mrs. Groover

encourages them to speak in the language of the day.

Lesson and Activities

Mrs. Groover students are taught new information, while still using their knowledge from

their past. Mrs. Groover taught them about Hurricanes and Earthquakes, after the mini lesson

about both, they had to create argumentative sentences about which one was more harmful.

While observing in Mrs. Groovers classroom her lesson was a whole group, but when they came

to their writing, they were doing their individual work. After being done, they had to finish their

test, finish their I-Stations, and if they had everything done then they can do individual reading.

Compare and Contrast

This is different than a general education classroom, Mrs. Groover teaches both Spanish

and English. Students have days where they are expected to speak English as well as Spanish.

Class works are in both languages. Mrs. Groover helps expand their knowledge in both
Bilingual Teaching Strategies

languages. As they are different there are somethings that they are similar, their techniques can

be describes as similar. As I observe in the general education classroom, both teachers contribute

small groups and using I-stations to help them enhance their knowledge. This way the teacher

can understand their placement in their subject.

Challenges

Some challenges that the classroom may encounter is finding ways to help the student be

able to understand in the English language. If you have a student who barely know any English

how you are going to be successful on helping them understand and obviously not giving them

easy route of telling them in Spanish. There are students who are eager to learn the English

language while others who still struggle and don’t want to give it a try. In a general education

classroom, the students are advance in the English language since it’s what they were taught

since birth. While in a bilingual classroom English becomes their second language. The Keller

ISD district bilingual program does receive a fairly amount of funding for materials to help them

in the classroom. As I remember from being in a bilingual classroom, we would see some of the

same poster over and over. That being said there is few materials a teacher has access to, since

most things are not really much updated, that’s where the teacher has to find ways for the student

to be able to work with both languages.