| Terms and Definitions Native Speaker: A person who was born into a culture which speaks their first language. Someone born in England is a Native Speaker of English, Someone born in France is a Native Speaker of French, etc. First Language/Primary Language/L1: The first language a person learned in their life well enough to carry on daily tasks and conversation in it. Second Language/L2: The second language a person learned in their life well enough to carry out daily living and hold a conversation in it. Subtractive Bilingualism: When learning a new language causes the old first language to be overwritten and lost to the learner. Inclusion: A method of teaching in which all students, regardless of their special needs or ability are taught in the same classroom in an effort to promote understanding and equal opportunities through interaction with their peers. Immersion: Literally, the act or condition of being immersed. (http://www.websters.com) Originally used to describe Bilingual French-English education programs in Canada, in modern usage it refers a method of language education where the student is placed in a setting where only a language foreign to them is spoken. Limited English Proficiency(LEP): term used by the education system in the United States to refer to those under the age of 18 who enter the Education System unable to use English to communicate at functional levels. Also called English Language Learners (ELL's). Transitional Bilingual Education: Students in this form of second language education are taught initially grade-level subjects in their own language with part of their day being learning English and then slowly they switch to all English instruction in all classes over a period of 2-3 years. This is also called Early Exit Bilingual Education. Maintenance Bilingual Education: In this model students learn their grade level subjects in their own language while spending part of their day learning in English. The goal is to keep the students equally bilingual in both their own language and English at the same time. Two-Way Bilingual Education: In this type of language education students from two languages are taught half of their subjects in one language and half of their subjects in the other language with the students helping each other learn and practice both languages. ESL: Students in an English as a Second Language (ESL) class are put into a special education programs where they are taught only how to speak, read, write and communicate in English. These programs may be full time or part time, depending on the age of the children, although normally they will start as full-time as the system tries to "immerse" the children completely in an English-speaking environment. Content-Based ESL/Structured Immersion: In this type of program the students are being taught English, but the exercises they are doing for practice are based around the curriculum the school wants the students to learn. For example, to practice reading skills, the students are also reading articles from the grade-level history book which the teacher has changed to make them simpler and easier for the students to read. Sheltered Immersion: Students in this kind of program are taught school subjects at the same time they are learning English, with the idea being that they are getting practice in English at the same time they are learning about their subjects. This is similar to Structured Immersion, but the emphasis here is on the subjects, not learning English, which teachers hope the students will naturally learn with practice. The subjects are presented to the students at a level of English they can understand, but the content itself is still the core grade-level content that other English-speaking children of that grade are learning. Back to the Main Page... |