The phrase "bilingual education" has multiple definitions:

• education designed to help children become bilingual (sometimes called "two-way bilingual education"; e.g., Spanish speakers and English speakers in a classroom are all taught to speak both languages;
• education in a child's native language for no more than three years to for content areas to ensure that while students are learning English, they do not fall behind in content areas like math, science, and social studies. All bilingual education that uses a child's native language as an instructional tool includes instruction in English, and no bilingual model has instruction in a child's native language for an unlimited time period. The goal is to help students transition to mainstream, English-only classrooms.

Examples across the world

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Canada

French_immersion

United States

Bilingual education has multiple forms in the United States. Many parents have begun enrolling their preschool aged English-speaking children in "immersion" programs so that they will learn another languages (primarily Spanish) in addition to their own . Other bilingual education in the U.S. focuses on learners of English as a second language.

According to the U.S. Department of Education website a bilingual education program is “an educational program for limited English proficient students”. Furthermore, the term ‘limited English proficient’, when used with respect to an individual, means an individual whose primary language is other than English and whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language may be sufficient to deny the individual the ability to successfully achieve in classrooms where the language of instruction is English or the opportunity to participate fully in society.

More on [ Bilingual education ]

Library of Congress: News for Teachers

Cybercasts of Digital Natives Lectures Now Available
If you were unable to come to the Library to see the lecture series on digital natives three of the four lectures are now available to view as cybercasts. Lectures include Edith Ackermann speaking on The Anthropology of Digital Natives, Steven Berlin Johnson discussing the response to his argument that popular culture is growing more complex and cognitively challenging, and is not racing downward towards a lowest common denominator, Michael Wesch discussing the impact of You Tube on our world and Douglas Rushkoff speaking about the profound impact of interactive technologies, from the remote control to the joystick to the computer keyboard.
Book Festival Authors Announced
The Library of Congress and First Lady Laura Bush are once again sponsoring the National Book Festival to be held on the National Mall on September 27, 2008. Among some 70 authors and illustrators participating this year are Tiki Barber, Marc Brown, R. L. Stein, Judith Viorst, Sharon Draper, Neil Gaiman, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Robert Sabuda, Dorren Cronin and Steven Kellogg. Jon Scieszka, who was recently named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Librarian of Congress, will also attend the event. You can learn more about the various authors who will be in attendance on the Book Festival website and view this year’s poster, created by noted illustrator Jan Brett.
New Poet Laureate Announced
Visit the Library’s Poetry website to learn more about the new Poet Laureate Pat Ryan. Ryan, a resident of Marin County, California, has written six books of poetry and has won numerous award including the Ruth Lilly Poetry Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, 2004 Guggenheim Fellowship, an Ingram Merrill Award, the 2000 Union League Poetry Prize and the Maurice English Poetry Award and four Pushcart prizes. On the poetry website you can read Ryan’s poem “Turtle”, access a list of online resources about Ryan and learn more about the position of Poet Laureate and the people who have held this position.
New Educational Activities on MyLOC.gov
Have you visited the MyLOC.gov site yet? In addition to seeing the new online exhibits and the virtual tour of the Jefferson Building, make sure to look at our collection of new educational activities. These include teacher tested lesson plans on drafting the constitution, the decision to purchase Jefferson’s library and the details found on the Waldseemüller map. Also included are word searches, a game using actual books from Jefferson’s Library and an opportunity for students to craft an alternative version of the Declaration of Independence.
Journeys and Crossings
Take the opportunity to see our curators bring our collections to life. Journeys and Crossings cybercasts feature Library staff focusing on a specific issue while also highlighting the Library’s collections. Also included are links to online resources of interest and bibliographies for those wishing to learn more about the subject of interest.
Educational Outreach staff at the National Educational Computing Conference June 30 –July 2nd
Join members of the Library’s Educational Outreach team at the National Educational Computing Conference at the Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. Visit us in the exhibition area at booth 9924. We will be doing in-booth presentations highlighting additions to the Library’s website and tips on teaching using our online resources. In addition Educational Outreach staff will be presenting a workshop Teaching with Primary Sources to Promote Media and Traditional Literacies on Sunday, June 29 from 8:30-11:30. Information on the workshop can be found at http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2008/program/search_results_details.php?sessionid=42044092&selection_id=42636061&rownumber=1&max=1&gopage= . For more information about the conference visit the NECC conference website at http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2008/.

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