Limitations and Proposals for Improvement of the Bilingual Program of the Community of Madrid in Public Primary Schools

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the limitations of the Bilingual Program of the Community of Madrid and present proposals for improvement to solve them. The methodology used is based on the collection of information through different sources. The limitations indicated are as follows: the attention to the students with specific need of educational support; the coordination of teachers; teacher training; English language assistants; human resources; material resources; the motivation of students, teachers, and English language assistants; the methodology; the loss of content and vocabulary in the mother tongue; the need for language academies or extracurricular activities in English to complete training; and segregation. It is concluded that the greatest and most urgent limitation of the program is the attention of students with special educational needs. Proposals for improvement are presented, especially in relation to training and coordination with specialist teachers.

Limitations and Proposals for Improvement of the Bilingual Program of the Community of Madrid in Public Primary Schools

“…Laorden and Peñafiel [7] indicate that very few management teams surveyed in their study state that English classes motivate SEN students and point out the difficulty these children face to follow classes in English. In reference to the motivation of teachers and assistants, Gerena and Ramírez-Ve r d u g o [13] indicate that, in their study, they were very satisfied with their role in bilingual programs, that teachers considered bilingualism as very important for the future and as a way of preparing students for globalization, and that assistants considered themselves as promoters of English and perceived the motivation of students in relation to bilingualism and learning more about American customs and culture. Teachers and assistants perceived motivation on the part of the students and their interest in becoming bilingual.…”

“…Gerena and Ramírez-Verdugo [13] expose a series of effective practices that are not used very often in the C.M. Bilingual Program classrooms: activation of prior knowledge before seeing the topic, use of questions and orderly reasoning activities which include advanced and critical thinking skill development, student-centered teaching, encouragement of active student participation, pair or group activities and hands-on interactive activities, and effective use of linguistic and cultural knowledge of English language learners.…”

“…Gerena and Ramírez-Verdugo [13] state that teachers report an increase in the teaching hour load with the bilingual program, as well as a lack of time to plan work with the team of teachers and assistants.…”

“…Gerena and Ramírez-Verdugo [13] point out that the primary and secondary teachers and the English language assistants of the Bilingual Program of the C.M. consider that not enough training is offered, and thus, they request more training and support in methodology and in the way of integrating assistants in the class.…”

“…Those who do not value them positively or negatively point out that it depends on their training, interest, and enthusiasm plus they express the added difficulty that they do not speak Spanish. Gerena and Ramírez-Verdugo [13] state that students consider the assistants responsible for their linguistic and cultural advancement, and that they are very helpful in practicing conversation, intonation, pronunciation, grammar, fluency, communication skills, and exam preparation. On the other hand, it is also pointed out that for some teachers, team teaching in addition to the class preparation and dynamics takes a lot of work and time.…”