Bilingual Education

Winter 2012

Research shows that Latinos who remain in bilingual programs long term risk falling behind in the middle grades and failing once they reach high school. CPS is taking long-awaited steps to launch dual-language programs, a strategy that is gaining steam nationally to help students become proficient in their native language and in English.

	Order
Caught between two languages Rebecca Harris As her 7th-grade students bury their noses in the book “Parrot in the Oven,” teacher Elizabeth Carrillo asks a comprehension question that is written in two languages on an overhead projector. “What happened before, that made [one of the characters] think that?” Carrillo asks. “¿Qué pasó antes en el libro?” Carrillo, who’s teaching a lesson on inferences, has written the definition of the word on the overhead, with a formula—in English and Spanish—for drawing inferences by combining what the text states with their prior knowledge. The class uses a mix of English and... bilingual education, elementary and K-8 schools > Read More
A shifting landscape Rebecca Harris Super Mercado La Pequeña could be smack in the middle of Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. Takis, the brand-name of a corn tortilla snack popular in Mexico, are among the items stocked on the shelves. Hand-lettered signs in the large storefront window advertise “Tamales,” “Carnitas” and “Barbacoa” for sale. The freezer section stocks popular Mexican ice cream treats, including paletas, a type of Popsicle. The store’s logo is in red and green, on a white background—the colors of the Mexican flag. But this market isn’t in Pilsen—it’s in the outer reaches of suburbia in Plainfield... bilingual education, suburban schools > Read More
Building a foundation Rebecca Harris Lloyd Elementary teacher Ramona Richards puts one hand over her mouth and raises the other, signaling to the 1st-graders sitting on the carpet that they should be quiet. In Spanish, she tells them to cross their legs. “Ahora es tiempo para el desarrollo de Inglés,” she adds. Translation: “Now it’s time for English language development.” As if a switch has flipped, her speech changes to English. “I drew this picture of my trip to Wisconsin, and I went in a canoe,” Richards tells her class. “The canoe was made out of aluminum, made out of metal.” She leads the students... bilingual education > Read More

Caught between two languages

Rebecca Harris

As her 7th-grade students bury their noses in the book “Parrot in the Oven,” teacher Elizabeth Carrillo asks a comprehension question that is written in two languages on an overhead projector.

“What happened before, that made [one of the characters] think that?” Carrillo asks. “¿Qué pasó antes en el libro?”
Carrillo, who’s teaching a lesson on inferences, has written the definition of the word on the overhead, with a formula—in English and Spanish—for drawing inferences by combining what the text states with their prior knowledge.

The class uses a mix of English and...

bilingual education, elementary and K-8 schools

> Read More

A shifting landscape

Rebecca Harris

Super Mercado La Pequeña could be smack in the middle of Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.

Takis, the brand-name of a corn tortilla snack popular in Mexico, are among the items stocked on the shelves. Hand-lettered signs in the large storefront window advertise “Tamales,” “Carnitas” and “Barbacoa” for sale. The freezer section stocks popular Mexican ice cream treats, including paletas, a type of Popsicle. The store’s logo is in red and green, on a white background—the colors of the Mexican flag.

But this market isn’t in Pilsen—it’s in the outer reaches of suburbia in Plainfield...

bilingual education, suburban schools

> Read More

Building a foundation

Rebecca Harris

Lloyd Elementary teacher Ramona Richards puts one hand over her mouth and raises the other, signaling to the 1st-graders sitting on the carpet that they should be quiet. In Spanish, she tells them to cross their legs. “Ahora es tiempo para el desarrollo de Inglés,” she adds. Translation: “Now it’s time for English language development.”
As if a switch has flipped, her speech changes to English.

“I drew this picture of my trip to Wisconsin, and I went in a canoe,” Richards tells her class. “The canoe was made out of aluminum, made out of metal.” She leads the students...

bilingual education

> Read More

Letter From the Editor

Dual language for all students

By: Lorraine Forte

Back in July, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the creation of a city Office of New Americans intended to, in his words, “make Chicago the most immigrant-friendly city in the world.”

Back in July, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the creation of a city Office of New Americans intended to, in his words, “make Chicago the most immigrant-friendly city in the world.” Indeed, immigration...

Sidebar

State may ease bilingual ed rules

By: Rebecca Harris

Of the 58 suburban school districts visited by state monitors in the past three years, not one district met all of Illinois’ tough education requirements for English-language learners, and nearly 40 percent—22 districts—failed to provide a bilingual program for all the students who qualified for it.

Departments

Catalyst In Depth
Catalyst Notebook
Opinions
In Focus

catalyst-chicago.org

Our Network

Search

Catalyst Extras

Follow catalyst-chicago.org on:

Primary links