Bilingual Education

Intercultural Orientation

The intercultural orientation tends to empower students personally and academically. Teachers with an intercultural orientation see their role as assisting in adding a second language and culture while also maintaining the primary language and culture. This orientation leads to the creation of an atmosphere of collaborative empowerment. Teachers taking an intercultural orientation are more collaborative with parents, as they tend to encourage them to actively participate in their children's academic development at home and in school activities. Transformative instructional methodologies that are used by teachers involve the teaching of oral and written language through collaborative inquiry where social issues relevant to the students are included. Students use critical thinking as they describe, interpret, analyze, and use language creatively in the learning process. These [Page 69]instructional methods focus on student-centered rather than teacher-centered learning.

Assimilationist Orientation

The assimilationist orientation tends to academically disable students. Teachers with an assimilationist orientation may see their role as assisting in subtracting the primary language and culture while assimilating students to the majority culture. An assimilationist orientation diminishes the possibility of creating an atmosphere of collaborative empowerment. Teachers taking an assimilationist orientation will be less collaborative with the parents as they fail to see the importance of parent involvement for students' academic success. The traditional instructional methodologies that are used by teachers involve the teaching of language through simple language components such as phonics, grammar, and vocabulary. Teaching moves sequentially in parts isolated from the whole. The lessons contain more emphasis on correct recall, drills, and isolated exercises. The social component students bring with them into the classroom is not drawn upon. These instructional methods focus on teacher-centered rather than student-centered learning.

Enriched Immersion (Canadian Model)

The French immersion program in Canada is an example of an enriched immersion model. Students who are dominant in one language or are monolingual will study in both the majority and minority language from kindergarten to sixth grade. They are first immersed in the second language in the earlier grades and begin to develop literacy in their first language in second grade. For example, an English-speaking student will be immersed in French instruction until second grade, when English literacy is introduced.

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