Rosa Valles

A Phenomenological Study of Perceived Achievement Outcomes for Students who Received Primary Instruction in a Bilingual Program

Rosa Martinez Valles
Gibbs Pre-K Center, Huntsville ISD, Texas

Abstract

Bilingual Education Programs have a great opportunity to impact academic achievement of all English language learners. Appropriate pedagogical activities in acquiring a second language are of primary importance in promoting children's academic success. To understand benefits English language learners have acquired through participating in a bilingual education program, a phenomenological study was conducted on the perceived benefits of lived experiences of primary instruction in a bilingual program. Interviews were conducted of three young adults using phenomenological methods of inquiry to conduct an analysis. Six themes emerged from 69 significant statements. The lived experiences of participants in benefits, success, academic reinforcement, foundation for academics, culture awareness, and teachers were revealed as key themes. The essence of the experience is discussed in light of theories of Second Language Acquisition and Affective Filter Domain.

English Language Learners, (ELL) is a growing student population that is comprised of 16.9% in Texas (TEA, 2010). Students identified as ELLs increased considerably during the last decade, from 570,00 students in 2001 to 800,000 in 2010, or one in six students in 2010 (TEA). The increase in ELL students has created the need for more concerted efforts helping students overcome the challenges they face in their academic development. Therefore, the methodologies and programs used for educating ELL students are of paramount importance. As supported by Wink & Wink, (2004) students who will succeed socially and economically are those who are prepared for a multicultural world. Due to the role education plays in producing a productive educated citizenry that adequately prepares students for the world of work, requires current research to focus on ELLs' educational needs. Therefore, successful academic engagement and the effects of the school context play an important role in academic achievement. As noted by Callahan, Wilkinson, & Muller, (2008), ELLS' achievement is an important aspect of education that must be explored. Lopez (2010) posited that academic competence and a sense of belonging are two of the strongest predictors of academic achievement. As noted by Cook, "knowing another language is a normal part of human existence; it may well be unusual to know only one" (2008, p. 194). Defining appropriate methodologies for English acquisition is necessary for ELL students' academic success (Lopez, 2010). As such, the purpose of this research was to understand the perceived academic achievement of three bilingual young adults who received primary instruction in a bilingual program through qualitative analysis of a phenomenological study. Selection of the subjects was based on their receiving their primary instruction within a Huntsville ISD bilingual program from August 1992 to May 1998.

Review of the Literature

In reference to the theory of language acquisition, the following literature review addressed the question of achievement outcomes for students receiving instruction in a bilingual program. A theoretical framework for the present study referred to second language acquisition and Affective Filter Hypothesis that regarded the phenomenon of bilingual education through the perceptions of three young adult's lived experiences in a primary bilingual program. The review of literature offers a theoretical support with regards to bilingual education to support the analysis of participant's narratives as part of a qualitative phenomenological inquiry.

The literature review addressed in this study included the history of bilingual education, affective domain, second language acquisition, and Affective Filter Hypothesis. Affectivity has been considered to be a major variable in the successful teaching and learning processes (Gabryś-Barker, 2010). Krashen (1985) addressed students' affective filter by defining it as the students' anxiety levels, attitudes, and motivation when learning a second language. According to Krashen's hypothesis of the affective domain, providing students a stress-free environment will lower the students' affective filter which supports students' engagement in speaking a second language (1985).

Research Question

The present study examines the following research question: What perceived achievement for adults ages 21-24 can be attributed to primary instruction in a suburban east Texas school district bilingual program?

Participants

Participants in this phenomenological study were selected from a group of young adults, who attended the same east Texas independent school district, participated in the same bilingual program during their primary schooling, and could articulate their experience (Creswell, 1998).

Two participants were female, a third male. One female participant has a bachelor's degree in political science, a second is currently working towards a bachelor's degree in elementary education. The male participant is currently working towards completing his bachelor's degree.

Results and Discussion

From the significant statements and meaningful units, a set of themes were constructed to form the essence of the study. The structure of the experience can be understood by the perceptions of the participants surrounding their lived experiences as non-English speaking students in bilingual classrooms. The following six themes emerged from the data collected: (a) program benefits; (b) reinforcement; (c) foundation for academics; (d) promotion of success; (e) cultural awareness; and (f) importance of bilingual teachers.

Overall, the findings of this study provided important insights regarding the perceptions of academic success of bilingual young adults who received primary instruction in bilingual classrooms. Participants described the benefits they have experienced by being bilingual. In terms of their current success, the majority of participant's shared lived experiences during their interviews revealed experiences which portrayed bilingualism to a significant benefit. These documented benefits are consistent with research in bilingual education.
Each participant in the study described their experiences in the bilingual program as giving them the capacity to keep their culture and to learn about where and who they are.

Culturally focused research, is one way to explore cues into what the students' culture may view as significant to their success. Although the results of this study should not be generalized to all bilingual students, the results are promising and offer insight into ways that bilingual education resonate student cultural identity.
Points of resonation are strength in building an academic foundation, reinforcement for learning, and positive benefits of bilingual education. It is evident from this research that bilingual education provided advantages to the participants during their participation in the bilingual program at the primary education level and beyond. For example, participants expressed benefits in regards to reading, writing, and speaking English and Spanish; marketability when seeking employment; expansion of their world views; and maintenance of a cultural identity. In the literature, bilingualism is considered advantageous in problem solving in semantic context; mental flexibility; greater ability to think abstractly, concept formation, verbal IQ; and added association to other words. There is likely to be additional benefits in bilingualism that are not mentioned in this study. For that reason, further research in the long term effects of bilingual education need to be explored.

References

Callahan, R., Wilkinson, L., & Muller, C. (2008). School context and the effect of ESL placement on Mexican-Origin adolescents' achievement. Social Science quarterly, 89(1) 177-198. Cook, V. (2008). Second language learning and language teaching (4th ed). London, England: Hodder Education an Hackette UK Company.

Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oakes, CA: Sage Publications.

Gabryś-Barker, D. (2010). Emotional versus cognition, or what psycho and neurolinguistics tell us about affectivity in second language acquisition. In J. Arabski, & A. Wojtaszek (Eds.), Neurolinguistic and psycholinguistic perspectives on SLA (pp. 44-63). Buffalo, NY: Multilingual Matters.

Krashen, S. D. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications (4th ed.). New York: NY Longman, Inc.

Long, M. H. (1990). The least a second language acquisition theory needs to explain. TESOL Quarterly, 24/4, 649-667. Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.

Lopez, F. (2010). Identity and motivation among Hispanic English language learners in disparate educational contexts.  Education Policy Analysis archives, 18(16), 1-29.

Texas Education Agency. (2010). Limited English Proficiency Policy Development. Retrieved f from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/research/prr10/lepdev.html

Wink, J. & Wink, D. (2004). Teaching passionately: What's love got to do with it? The Bilingual Basics, 8(1).
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.

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