Cognition - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Cognition and efficacy of bilingual educationSlide2

Module map

Some additive benefits (cognition)

Cognitive theories and models

Efficacy of bilingual education

Assessment and placement of bilingualsSlide3

Part 1BenefitsSlide4

ExploreLook on the interwebs

for 2 minutes to try to find any and all benefits of bilingualism. Make a note of what you find (and where you find it)

Compare your list with a partnerSlide5

benefits

Positive transfer between two languages

Increased attention to linguistic structures (having to sort through multiple linguistic systems)

Physical changes in the brain (increased gray matter) but the affects of this are currently unknown. (147)

Divergent thinking (148)

Delays the onset of normal decline in cognition with age, dementia (157).

Communication sensitivity (157).

Employment advantageSlide6

History of cognitive research Detrimental Neutral AdditiveSlide7

Elizabeth Peal and Wallace Lambert’s The Relation of Bilingualism to Intelligence (1962)

A bilingual child

is:

[…]

a youngster whose wider experiences in two cultures have given him advantages which a monolingual does not enjoy. Intellectually his experience with two language systems seems to have left him with a

mental flexibility

, a

superiority in concep

t

formation

, a more diversified set of mental abilities […] There is no question about the fact that he is superior intellectually. […] In contrast, a monolingual appears to have a more unitary structure of intelligence which he must use for all types of intellectual tasks (Peal and Lambert 1962:20)

What does baker mention about this study?Slide8

The experimentSubjects: number, age, gender, class,

proficiency

Two

groups of 110 ten-year old fourth-graders from six middle-class French schools in Montreal with a gender ration of six boys to four girls: ‘balanced’ French-English bilinguals and French monolinguals

Testing instruments

: verbal and non-verbal IQ tests

language tasks and self-rating

Results

: Bilinguals scored higher than monolinguals on 15 out of 18 measures; no significant difference on the remaining three measures.Slide9

Some concerns of the studyGeneralizability from the 110 students

Balanced bilingual students were selected

Does bilingualism positively affect IQ or does IQ positively affect bilingualism?

Control for socioeconomic but not socioculturalSlide10

How the brain stores and processes two languages

Indep

endently: Separate storage systems

Interdep

endently: Shared storage systems

Kroll and De Groot (1997) suggest that the lexical representations are separate and the conceptual information is shared.Slide11
Slide12

Write down as many uses you can think of for this object (1 minute)

balanced vs. non-balanced Bilingual vs. monolingualSlide13

Divergent thinking“The divergent thinker will tend to produce not only many different answers, but also some that may be fairly original” (148).

“The research findings largely suggest that bilinguals are superior to monolinguals on divergent thinking tests.Slide14

Bilingualism vs dementiaBialystok (2009) found that in a sample of 184 individuals, half bilinguals and half monolinguals, the bilinguals showed signs of dementia four years later than the monolinguals (

Avg

age 71.4 vs. 75.5). Other studies claim 4.5 year difference.Slide15

Communication sensitivityReference study described on p. 157. Students were asked to describe a board and dice game to two of their classmates, one of the listeners was blindfolded.

Bilingual children tended to be more attentive to the blindfolded classmate by providing more detailed instructions for that studentSlide16

Some limitations to findingsBalanced bilinguals may differ greatly from non-balanced bilinguals

There are always extraneous variables (particularly in the social sciences)

Some of the research is yet to be corroboratedSlide17

Part 2Theories and ModelsSlide18

The balance theory

Bilinguals will either have half developed two languages or something like 75% developed in one language and only 25% developed in the other.

Full competency in one language and partial in another (or full) doesn’t seem possible.

May seem like a logical theory but what about the

millions of children

who grow up bilingual throughout the world without any sort of linguistic disadvantage?Slide19

Iceberg theory

Lexical representations may be separate (as evidenced by the two emerging icebergs and through language production)

Conceptual ideas are shared and are stored together.

Chomsky’s idea of surface structure and deep structure (there’s a fork in the road vs. I like food/I adore food)Slide20

Sapir-whorf hypothesis (linguistic determinism)

“A

main point of debate in the discussion of linguistic relativity is the correlation between

language

and

thought

.

The strongest form of correlation is linguistic determinism, which would hold that language

entirely determines the range of possible cognitive processes of an individual. 

”Slide21

Thresholds theory

Helps to conceptualize and understand that bilingual education is not a magical quick fix formula. It must be applied over time like a healing salve until benefits become evident. Slide22

Developmental interdependence hypothesisThe idea that there is

positive language transfer

from one language to another.Slide23

Part 3EfficacySlide24

Write down as many uses you can think of for this object (1 minute)

StrawSlide25

Varying resultsWhy do different researchers find different answers to the same questions?

Extraneous variables

Experimental method

Bias/political agendaSlide26

Various levels of efficacyIndividual Child

Classroom level

School level

Beyond school (model level)Slide27

How to measure effectivenessHow do we measure success in bilingual education?

Think/write, pair, share to come up with a list of some clear measures of success for bilingual education.

Our List

Creativity

Curiosity/interest

Linguistic confidence

Cultural/society connections

Parent involvement

Academic skills

Stress level

From the Book

Basic skills

Literacy

Curricular gains in math, science, etc. as evidenced by assessments

Non cognitive outcomes

Dropout rate

Attendance

Attitude

Tolerance

Employment

Self-imageSlide28

Baker & de kanter (1983)Slide29

Implications of the baker de kanter study

Lau Remedies and Regulations (1975, 1980)

The importance of meta analysis vs. narrative integration (the former being strengthened by statistical analysis to account for extraneous variables.

The amazing way in which politics can take the same set of findings to support two different conclusionsSlide30

One program to rule them all

“The key issue is not finding a program that

works for all children and all localities

, but rather finding a

set of program components

that works for the children in

the community of interest, given the goals, demographics, and resources

of that community” (August &

Hakuta

, 1997). Slide31

And yet, we try anyway – Dual languageEffectiveness of

Dual Language

programs

Yes, it seems to be effective according to a plethora of studies.

Thomas and Collier described DL programs in the following order (with the most effective being number 1)

Two-way bilingual education

Late-exit transitional

Early exit transition

ESL pull-outSlide32

More trying - immersion

Effectiveness of

Immersion

programs

Second language learning:

Yes

, but important to note that potential or understanding does not necessarily equate to performance (lack of opportunities to use the SL outside the school setting)

First language learning:

Yes

, but development may lag in the first few years when compared to mainstream programs, this gap is closed after six years of schooling (and they have second language proficiency)

Other curricular areas: Some concern when learning content that requires higher level processing (math, science, etc.) when proficiency in the 2nd

language is not fully developed. However, other findings indicated that these areas do not suffer because of bilingual education (mixed results)Slide33

Public poll vs. expert opinionNow that we’ve heard some expert opinions, let’s do a public poll. Text someone in your phone to ask them the following question;

“Random question: do you think that bilingual education works?” (or some variation of this question that the class comes up with)

Gather results and post here!Slide34

Public poll vs. expert opinion

“Random question: do you think that bilingual education works?” (or some variation of this question that the class comes up with)

Why would it not?

I would thing it would be great. I wished I had learned Spanish.

I think the right way will work out and benefit the students.

Yes, without a doubt.

Yes (formal?)

Yes.

Yes, I wish it was Saturday.

Annie’s brother says “yes.”Slide35

Part 4AssessmentSlide36

3 important factors1

st

language proficiency

2

nd

language proficiency

Existence (or not) of physical, learning, or behavioral difficulty

But why?Slide37

Formative vs. summative“A key element of assessment with language minority children is that there needs to be early identification, assessment, and intervention.

Formative Assessments vs. Summative AssessmentsSlide38

Esl vs. special ed.What is the difference? (you teach me)

Are there problems with grouping these two populations? What are they?Slide39

Key concepts

Assessment in stronger language: Activity - 3-8 grade math tests!!!

Multiple assessments that range in format, including teachers’ evaluations/comments: Activity – How high can you jump?

Test scores – more than just a number, longitude and latitude

Cultural bias in questions –

Good Times clip

(1970’s)

Spanish words for “bus”

Washback

- negative and positive, flood of true false questions or holistic approach?Slide40

accommodationsSimpler English instructions (all instructions should be simple?)

Use of bilingual dictionary/glossary

Small group or individual administration

Extra time to complete

Oral administration (read aloud)

Oral response in students’ language

May all be best guest scenarios to “level the playing field.”Slide41

Criterion vs. norm referenced testsCriteria benchmarks (as outlined in the curriculum for example) vs. percentage compared to performance of others.Slide42

Other assessmentsRIOT – review all information available, interview teachers, friends, and family, observe student in multiple contexts, and test school and home

languages

PortfolioSlide43

Root of the problem?Minority discrimination

Acceptance of multilingual/multicultural populations

The test may have part of the blame, but even the best test may be flawed when these underlying problems exist.