LOD/LOI

Language of the Day VS Language of Instruction

LOD

Language of the day is an elementary school concept integrated into the SOL Dual Language Model. Secondary is welcome to implement this, but it is not a requirement due to the varying classes the Dual Language students take, as well as the "strand" factor, where the elementary school is entirely Dual Language and the secondary programs run strands through their schools. 

With proper implementation of Language of the Day, each day of the week has a designated language: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are designated Spanish days. Tuesday and Thursday are designated English days. This does NOT mean content is taught in those languages. Language of the day refers to any social language outside of instructional time. This would include cafeteria chatter and hallway talk, as well as how we greet students. This helps to reinforce the importance of both languages and create a bilingual culture. It also helps students build vocabulary in their second language. 

Some may notice that there are more Spanish days than English. The reasoning behind this is that students are able to socialize easily outside of school in English. Consider TV, grocery stores, written language around the city - the vast majority is in English, making it more accessible to our students.  The idea is to expose more students to the Spanish language within the school day.

LOI

Language of Instruction is a concept that relates to both elementary and secondary. Teachers all have a language of instruction that they use. When your content is given in Spanish, your LOI is Spanish. When your content is offered in English, your LOI is English. 

It is VITAL to the program that the teacher remains in their language of instruction throughout their class period. There should be no direct translation of content into the opposite language, and the teacher should not stop and explain a concept in the opposite language. Students who are paired in their bilingual partners will receive the help they need from their partners, but not through direct translation.