Abstract While Dual Language Immer...

Abstract

While Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs promise succes in many aspects for linguistic minority and majority scholars the job of teachers in classrooms is tangled and challenging. This case investigation investigates the complex and multifaceted character of teacher-talk in a DLI third-grade classroom. Using ethnographic methodology and discourse analysis, it was identified that the bilingual teacher in this third-grade class utilized her teacher-talk to provide support in sociocultural, linguistic, cognitive, and academic areas for her students' learning. These four areas of support were closely interrelated in her teaching. All of these four areas of support were necessary for the succes of the DLI program and therefore the academic succes of the observers

Introduction

Educating linguistically diverse children is a great disquiet in a multicultural country like the United States. by what means do we educate our English learning bookish mans without sacrificing the student's native language and culture? in what way do we teach English to them without sacrificing their academic development? These are about of the questions driving bilingual education.

Bilingual education is the mostly notable, and controversial at times, program for providing better academic opportunities for non-English-speaking scholars who come to the United States (Crawford, 1989; Hakuta, 1986; Wong Fillmore, 1991) Many different programs exist subordinate to the umbrella of bilingual education in order to accommodate the different povertys of students from diverse social, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Among them, Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular; (McCargo and Christian 1998 reported an increase from 30 programs in 1987 to 250 programs in 1998)

DLI programs integrate native English speakers and language-minority close examiners together in a way that the couple English and minority (or target) languages are used, at separate times, for academic instruction. Normally, starting in kindergarten, the program aims to excite bilingual proficiency, high academic achievement and cross-cultural awareness in all close examiners (Christian, 1996). The benefit of DLI programs is that English-speaking children unravel a "foreign language" and non-English-speaking children benefit from having instruction in their mother tongue while each collection interacts with peers who speak their target language (Christian, 1996; Lindholm, 1990; Valdes, 1997) In these classrooms, all children learn a secondary language through a means of academic appease area instruction.

Most importantly, DLI programs raise additive bilingualism (Lambert, 1975). In additive bilingualism the individual meet withs no loss of the primary language and the associated agriculture In societies where linguistic and cultural diversity is not valued and the urgency for assimilation is strong, learning English as a secondary language often results in the los of the primary language (Wong Fillmore, 1991) that is, subtractive bilingualism (Lambert, 1975) The implication of losing one's native language should not be taken lightly. Language is directly related to one's refinement and identity. Gloria Anzaldua convincingly contends: "Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity-I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself (Anzaldua,1987, p 59)

Minority pupils can benefit greatly from additive bilingual environments (Lambert, 1987) promoteed by DLI programs, wherein students' native languages are highly valued and their language knowledge is considered a resource.

While the DLI program potentially promises succes in many aspects for the linguistically diverse learners the job of classroom teachers is manifold and challenging. When students from sum of two units language backgrounds are together for make contented instruction, teachers always have to consider that any students are learning that peace through a language they do not speak natively. This means that the language used by the agency of the teacher must be modified somewhat, especially in the early grades, in order to answer to the needs of those children who are in the early stages of acquisition (Valdes, 1997)

What makes the task of the DLI teacher distinct is that at all times, regardless of the language of instruction, they are asked to deliver instruction to integrated arranges of native speakers and other language learners. Therefore, they must always be mindful of ways to make the peace comprehensible to the non native speakers, while still making positive that the lessons are stimulating and challenging to the native speakers (Howard & Loeb 1998) The teachers have to be in point classroom teachers with a thorough knowledge of the other language learning process. They must also be aware of the sociocultural issues involving the education of minority children. Furthermore, those teachers who instruct in the couple languages are required to have highly sophisticated language skills in the brace languages. (Christian, 1996; Howard & Loeb 1998; Lindholm, 1990; Valdes, 1997)