In the past, schools encouraged students to speak only English and move away from their native language as quickly as they could. Evidence has increasingly shown that this is harmful to students and does not lead to them attaining English proficiency any faster; in fact, often it hinders them.
Here is a brief overview of findings regarding students using their native languages in the classroom:
- Programs that incorporate students' home languages lead to higher levels of academic success, both in literacy and other subjects, than English-only programs.
- ELs in two-way immersion programs (I'll talk about different kinds of programs next week!) have been found to show a positive relationship between their bilingual proficiency and their achievement in math and reading in English. Basically, as their ability to read and write in another language improves, so does their reading in English and math!
- Children learning to read in a second language transfer skills and knowledge from their first language to facilitate the process in their second language.
- When ELs switch to only using English, they operate at a lower intellectual level. Such interruptions can lead to academic failure.
- Learning in their native language, such as in Mrs. Bramer's and Mrs. Mellor's classes, teach students how to communicate academically, not just socially, in their L1.
Bilingual people also have cognitive advantages over monolingual people. For example, they:
- can concentrate more easily, multitask better, and develop Alzheimer's/dementia later in life.
- exercise more of the brain, leading to denser gray matter in the left hemisphere of the brain.
- have higher cognitive function.
- have a heightened ability to monitor the environment.
- are more open-minded.
- show increased executive control, which is related to attention.
There are some non-academic reasons why it's important for students to maintain their native language as well. By the third generation in the United States, a majority of the time, the home language has changed to English and is on its way to being dropped from the family's use. If students are shown at school that their native language is valuable and worth keeping, perhaps they will be encouraged to continue speaking it with their families and future children.
Some reasons why students need their native language outside of education:
- They must communicate easily in their L1 on a variety of topics.
- Language is connected to emotion.
- Switching to English implies that the home language and culture is not important.
- Being bilingual provides job and cultural opportunities later in life.
- Speaking your home language prevents languages from dying out.
- It helps them maintain a link to culture and family who speaks L1.
You may be thinking: I don't speak another language (or at least not the ones my students speak)! How can I use their language in my classroom? There are ways to promote its use, even if you can't speak it yourself. However, if you do learn even a few words in a student's native language, you will surprise and delight them!
Ways teachers can support native language (L1) use in the classroom:
- bilingual academic dictionaries or glossaries
- subject-specific books in the native language
- pair students with the same L1 together for group work
- translated lists of key words and phrases for newcomers
- lists of key words and phrases before each unit for learners to translate
- learners allowed to take notes or annotate texts in their home language
- learners compiling subject-specific bilingual glossaries
- first drafts of extended writing in home language