Bilingual Schools

The foreign language assistant (LA) has played a key role in the bilingual programs of Madrid for years. However, their role has often been misinterpreted by teachers and the LAs themselves causing LAs to often not be used to their potential. They sometimes carry out inappropriate tasks or they may not completely fulfill their role, often causing undesirable results. This study implicated the surveying of teachers and LAs involved in the three main bilingual programs in Madrid (the CAM, BEDA, and UCETAM programs), asking them about their expectations and experiences regarding the role of the LA in the primary-level classroom. Official documentation from the three programs was also analyzed, and the results were compared to those of the questionnaire results analysis. It was found that teachers and LAs hold similar expectations at the start of the academic year, but that they do not always expect LAs to perform the tasks that they do. The study also revealed that classroom practices do not necessarily match the descriptions in official program documentation. Based on these findings, it is suggested that more is done to reconcile classroom practices with official role descriptions, including reflection on the ideal LA role, and training and improved communication in order to better define the role and demonstrate successful ways to make the most of LAs in the classroom.

Absztrakt:
A jelen tanulmány azt vizsgálja, hogy milyen különbségek vannak az egynyelvű és kétnyelvű személyek között az aktív és passzív szókincs, a tanulmányi teljesítmény és szótanulási képesség tekintetében, a szocio-kulturális háttér és a nyelvismeret függvényében. A felmérésben összesen 113 VIII. osztályos tanuló vett részt. Az iskolatípus (egytannyelvű és kéttannyelvű) illetve lakóhely (a település százalékos felosztását illetően többségi és kisebbségi magyar lakosság) mentén kialakított, eltérő nyelvi tapasztalatokkal rendelkező csoportok nyelvi készségeinek szintjén megmutatkozó különbségek arra engednek következtetni, hogy a kétnyelvűség pozitív hatással van egy harmadik nyelvtanulási helyzetben. Ezentúl a kétnyelvű környezetben élő személyek egyértelmű előnnyel rendelkeznek az idegen nyelvű szavak előhívását illetően, az egynyelvű környezetben, de kéttannyelvű iskolában tanulókkal való összehasonlításban. 

Kulcsszavak:
kétnyelvűség, kognitív kompetencia, szókincs, tanulmányi eredmények, figyelem

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Bilingual Environment: Blessing or Curse?
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Comparison of Cognitive Competences Among Monolingual and Bilingual Students


The current study examines the differences between monolingual and bilingual people considering their active and passive vocabulary, their learning performances and word learning abilities, relating to their socio-cultural background and command of language. In this survey the participants where 113 students from the 8-th grade. The differences derived from the type of school (monolingual or bilingual) respectively the inhabitance (considering the percental division of the settlement, Hungarian inhabitants in minority or majority) and the differing linguistic abilities of the test groups led us to the conclusion that biligualism has a positive effect on the  learning of a third language. Hence the students living in a bilingual environment have the advantage regarding the evocation of foreign terms, compared to the students from a monolingual environment studying in bilingual schools.

Keywords: bilingualism, cognitive competence, vocabulary, learning performance, attention


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Mediu bilingv: binecuvântare sau blestem
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Comparația competențelor cognitive între elevi monolingvi și bilingvi


Abstract: Studiul prezent examinează diferențele între persoanele monolingvi și bilingvi considerând cunoștințele lexicale active și pasive, performanța de studiu și abilitatea de îvățare a unei limbi, în contextul situației socio-culturale și cunoștinței de limbi. În această evaluare au participat 113 de elevi de clasa a 8-a. Diferențele bazate pe tipul de școală (monolingv sau bilingv), respectiv domiciliu (considerând diviziunea procentuală, populația maghiară în minoritate și în majoritate) și diferențele pe baza de abilitate lingvistică a experiențelor lingvistice a diferitelor grupuri, având cunoștințe de limbi diferite, arată concluzia că bilingvismul are un efect pozitiv în condiția de a învăța o a treia limbă. De aici înainte persoanele care trăiesc într-un mediu bilingv au un avantaj de a evoca termeni de limbă străină în comparație cu cei trăind într-un mediu monolingv dar dintr-o școală bilingvă.

Cuvinte-cheie: bilingvism, competență cognitivă, cunoștință lexicală, rezultate de studiu, atenție

Esta dissertação, inserida na área de Linguística Aplicada (LA), notadamente a LA indisciplinar (MOITA LOPES, 2006), objetiva discutir as concepções e realidades encontradas no cenário atual das Escolas de Bilinguismo de Elite (EBE) (CAVALCANTI, 1999) na Região Metropolitana do Recife (RMR). Para atingir tal fim, nos propomos inicialmente a traçar uma trajetória histórica dos estudos acerca de LA (PENNYCOOK, 2006; FABRÍCIO,2006; MOITA LOPES,2011), assim como daqueles referentes ao campo do Bilinguismo (GROSJEAN, 1999; HARMERS E BLANC, 2000; BUTLER E HAKUTA, 2004; MEGALE, 2005; GARCIA, 2009, SCOTT, 2010). Entendendo o bilinguismo como um complexo e multidimensional comportamento linguístico, psicológico e sociocultural (GARCIA, 2009), buscamos observar as diferentes Metodologias envolvidas na Educação Bilíngue (CUMMINS, 1996; MEGALE, 2005; MELLO, 2010; MEGALI E LIBERALI, 2016; FRENCH, 2019). A partir desta base teórica, analisamos o corpus desta pesquisa, qual seja, entrevista com 20 professores atuantes em 8 diferentes EBE do RMR, através de um questionário estruturado subdividido em cinco seções. A conjugação desses pilares teóricos e análise de dados nos levou à reflexão sobre as EBE e os (des)conceitos acerca do bilinguismo no contexto sociocultural do Estado de Pernambuco. Concluímos que uma metodologia que respeite a heterogeneidade e complexidade desse fenômeno convoca o educador a pensar em interdisciplinaridade, multiculturalidade e multiletramentos, situando e empoderando o aluno enquanto cidadão de um mundo complexo, plural, multicultural, com demandas multimodais e de letramentos múltiplos, com diferentes relações de poder e diverso nas mais amplas formas.

Palavras-chaves: Linguística Aplicada, Bilinguismo, Educação Bilíngue.

This study explores the effectiveness of language assistant (LA) training in Madrid’s bilingual programs. LAs rated their preparedness and enthusiasm at the beginning of the academic year, and reported on their training and its applicability to future tasks. It was found that LAs perceived deficiencies in their training despite feelings of enthusiasm and usefulness when taking on responsibilities. LAs reported discrepancies between their training and their duties which resulted in them feeling ill-prepared. Therefore, it is recommended that bilingual programs examine the role of the LA and create a comprehensive training plan that efficiently prepares the diverse body of LAs.