Development of Bilingual Texts

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Developing Bilingual Texts and Educational Materials for Teaching English to Adult Mexican Immigrants

by Paul Rogers, May 6, 1998

1. Introduction

In general, there is an increase in the need to teach ESL in the United States as more and more immigrants, primarily from Mexico, enter the country. In addition there seems to be an increase in the interest in learning English in other countries, particularly in Latin America. However, a cursory view of the texts available for students reveals a need in that area also.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use and development of texts and other materials, such as audio and video tapes, in the context of teaching Beginning and Intermediate English to adult Mexican immigrants in bilingual classes.

2. Description of the Population The students targeted in this discussion are Spanish speaking adults primarily from Mexico and now residing in the United States. The age range of these students is from 21 on up and the educational background varies. These students usually work in minimum wage jobs as laborers. Their knowledge of English ranges from Beginners who know a few words or phrases of “survival English” to Intermediate or Advanced Beginner students who have acquired a vocabulary, etc. through several years of English instruction in their native countries or from adult ESL classes in America. These students attend one or one and a half hour classes 1 to 4 times per week at night in an adult education setting or in a Home Study tutorial setting.

3. Some Basic Premises

A. Fluency versus Literacy Fluency is here defined as the ability to speak a language. Literacy is defined as the ability to read and write. The goal of teaching (and learning) English should be competency in fluency and literacy. In addition, it must be stressed that the ability to listen to a foreign language and understand the majority of the words spoken should not be underestimated and also needs to be “taught.” And, finally, learning how to communicate or “get around” is a component part of the beginning stage.

B. Length of Time Needed According to Collier and Cummings (see Bibliography) the length of time needed to learn a foreign language is between 5 and 7 years. This figure is usually given with respect to children in an elementary school program who also have the opportunity to interact and communicate with native English speakers every day. At the present time there does not seem to be any research on how long an adult would require to learn English in the context of adult evening classes. Therefore it must be assumed that 5 to 7 years would be the minimum amount of time expected.

C. Step by Step, or “Graded” Learning Process Just as in the learning of other subjects, such as math, biology, chemistry or history, learning English progresses in stages from a lower to higher level. Therefore, the texts and materials used should allow the student to learn step by step through the gradual increase in complexity. Such an approach can be called a “graded” approach, and the texts “Graded Readers.”

D. Bilingual Classes or English Only Classes (The Direct Method)? The author prefers a bilingual approach to teaching English for a number of reasons: 1. To facilitate explanations. 2. To build rapport among students. 3. To create an atmosphere of relaxation and “comfortableness.” 4. To allow for team learning. 5. To create cross cultural respect. The rationale for English Only classes is clearly related to availability of multi-lingual teachers. But at the same time, the author learned German in a German Only class many years ago, which was based on a Graded Reader method and which was very effective (see Appendix A). It is the author’s opinion that bilingual texts can also be used in an “English Only” classroom setting . In addition, the texts can also used by the teacher to learn Spanish.

E. Student Ownership Of Texts In this paper it is assumed that it is better for a student to own the textbooks and materials than not to own texts. It is the author’s belief that personal ownership adds to the student’s sense of importance and self-esteem, along with incentive to study at home. Yet from the author’s own experience and research, there seems to be a tendency for teachers to offer photocopied “worksheets” instead of textbooks and materials. Perhaps this method is a result of the fact that state sponsored ESL classes are free to the students and therefore there are funding considerations. In that event, perhaps textbooks and materials could be distributed in the context of a library loan. In any case, it is argued here that students should have access to an adequate amount of appropriate material for the study of English. It is the opinion of the author that students should also pay a minimum fee for classes.

3. Description of Texts and Materials Developed by the author: See PUMAROSA.COM