THE BILINGUAL PROGRAMME Rodrigo Renedo

Gallo
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction: basic characteristics of bilingual education

First part: bilingual schools

Second part CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning)

Third part: activities and projects

 WHAT WILL I LEARN?
1. The main features of bilingual the bilingual education program in the Autonomous
Community of Madrid

2. How bilingual schools are organised and structured

3. How to apply Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in bilingual schools

4. Useful activities and projects

5. How to the Montessoris method for grammar to teach written skills in both languages
BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF
BILINGUAL EDUCATION
BENEFITS OF BILINGUALISM
 BILINGUAL EDUCATION

oIncreases the importance of the second language as a vehicle of communication

oPromotes communicative opportunities and real-life situations
oFosters content and language integrated learning (CLIL)
oDevelops the Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC)
oProvides young people with access to education through Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs)
oInspires young people to engage as global responsible citizens
oInspires and encourages teachers to innovate and widen the range of techniques
BILINGUAL SCHOOLS AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY
OF MADRID
MADRIDS BILINGUAL PROGRAM
THIS DOCUMENT IS BASED ON THE
AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY OF
MADRID BILINGUAL PROGRAM (ORDER
5958/2010, PASSED ON 7TH DECEMBER),
BUT IT IS BEING SPREAD ALL AROUND
THE NATIONAL TERRITORY.
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TEACHING ORGANIZATION
Lessons in Spanish Language, Mathematics and English will be
taught every day.

There is an expection for Spanish Language and Mathematics

All the remaining subjects on the curriculum may be taught in
English

At least a third part of the classes on the timetable will be taught

in English
SCHOOL TIMETABLE
ENGLISH BILINGUAL COORDINATOR

oPermanent qualified English teacher at the school

oResponsible for coordinating English teachers and

language assistants

oIn charge of promoting the schools participation in

the specific activities of bilingual schools, such as
trips or language exchanges with other schools
 LANGUAGE ASSISTANTS

o They are assigned to bilingual schools by the

Consejera de Educacin

o Their goal is to help English teachers involved

in the bilingual programme

o They must be in the school 16 hours weekly

and with one free day.
 LANGUAGES ASSISTANTS DUTIES
They must speak in their mother tongue, that is, English. Not just in class,
but all around the school!

Help the teacher by providing linguistic support.

Follow our instructions.

Enhance students' oral skills. Reinforce their communicative strategies.

Promote an intercultural environment, for instance, by making a Power

Point Presentation of their country. It is important they connect their
culture with our students culture so that they develop their 3rd culture
(space of similarities between their culture and the assistants culture).
 They are not qualified teachers, therefore, can never teach by themselves.

They must not be left on their own in class with the door closed.

They do not have pedagogical strategies or knowledge, their job is part of our responsibility!

They simply required a university degree.

Their main responsibility is to attend necessary meetings.

It is essential to help them, especially at the beginning of the school year.

 SUPERVISING THEIR ACTIVITY

The head teacher is responsible of the language assistants. Their absence must be justified and accepted by
him/her.

If there is a continue absence, then it would be necessary to report it and communicate it straightaway. Any
important incident must be reported.

The bilingual coordinator must guarantee all teachers and assistants work hand by hand in a cooperative way.

If the school is not satisfied with the language assistant, there would be a chance to substitute him/her if
necessary.
CONTENT AND LANGUAGE
INTEGRATED LEARNING CLIL
MAIN ASPECTS OF A CLIL LESSON
Content: knowledge, skills and understanding
Communication: using language to learn
Cognition: developing thinking skills, understanding and language
Culture: exposure to alternative perspectives and shared
understandings (3rd culture)
Skill integration
1. Integrate language and skills.
2. Base your lessons on reading or listening passages.
3. Use language functionally under the context of the
subject.
4. Approach language lexically rather than grammatically.
5. Take into account learner styles and the profile of
students.
 OTHER TERMS DEFINING A SIMILAR APPROACH
Bilingual Integration of Languages and Disciplines (BILD)

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

Content and Language Integration in Primary CLIP

Content-based Instruction (CBI)

Content-based Language Instruction (CBLI)

Content-based Language Teaching (CBLT)

English Across the Curriculum (EAC)

English as an Academic Language (EAL)

English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI)

Foreign Language Immersion Program (FLIP)

Foreign Languages as a Medium of Education (FLAME)

Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC)

Teaching Content Through English

Teaching English Through Content

CLIL TEACHING COURSE BOOKS
ACTIVITIES
Comprehension questions

Information gaps

Jigsaw

Reading tasks

Jumble tasks
Question loops

Trivia search - 'things you know' and 'things you want to know'

Word guessing games

Class surveys using questionnaires

20 Questions - provide language support frame for questions

Students present information from a visual using a language support handout

Project work
 CLIL HOW TO DO IT

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/clil-%E2%80%93-how-do-it
http://www.macmillanenglish.com/category/clil-materials/
http://www.eslprintables.com/teaching_resources/clil/
http://www.isabelperez.com/clil/clicl_m_6.htm
THE MONTESSORI METHOD AND OTHER PROJECTS
 THE MONTESSORI METHOD TO TEACH READING
AND WRITING IN BOTH LANGUAGES (BILITERACY)
Our school will apply the Montessori method for grammar from 1st to 6th grade in English and

Spanish lessons.

This method highlights the importance of grammar from the early-years so as to acquire the

necessary skills to develop written strategies.

This method will be really useful to simultaneously teach both reading and writing in both languages

(their mother tongue and the second language). Transference will play a key importance.
It is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play.

Children are let make creative choices in their learning, while the classroom and the teacher

offer the necessary support and procedures to guide the whole process meaningfully.

Children work in groups and individually to discover and explore knowledge of the world and

to develop their maximum potential.

 READING PLAN IN BOTH LANGUAGES
The study of grammar may be considered to language what the study
of anatomy is to science.
By studying grammar, our students become better writers and readers.
Generally, the grammar materials are introduced in the early-years
after getting exposure to the second language in Infant Education
though attractive games, songs and oral dynamics.
 In the early- years most children have already learned to read and they start to get
interested in words, their meanings, and their functions.
The Montessori Method will be a meaningful tool to show students how sentences are
structured regarding the different functions of words within the sentence.
Students will be able to improve their reading comprehension at the same time they develop
their writing skills.
How should grammar be acquired?
Students will not be obviously expected to acquire
grammar in an academic way.
They will associate and interiorise different elements of
grammar (noun, verb, adjective) by experiencing and
playing with them.
Once they have been introduced to grammar on a sensorial
level, they will be able to understand it in a deeper way at
the end of the Primary Education.
This method should be applied in the mother tongue (MT)
and Second language (SL).
Cooperation between both English and Spanish teacher is
completely required.
E.g. If the name is introduced in Spanish, the English teach
should focus on that same element with the same method.
How to apply the Montessoris method for
reading?
Students will be introduced words as a whole unit, following
the Whole-word approach, with the use of flashcards and
realia (real-life objects).
 With this method students learn to read simple
sentences, while they recognise and interiorise
the different grammatical elements within the
utterance.

With the use of shapes and colours, students will

associate each of them with its corresponding
grammatical category in a meaningful way. At
the same time they develop their reading
strategies by focussing on how language is
structured, they will develop their writing skills
by learning ro build up sentences properly.
For example
The noun family should be firstly introduced in the first year of Primary
Education.
 The noun is represented by a black triangle.
The triangle is similar to the pyramid, one of the first human
structures
The colour black stands for carbon, believed to be the first mineral
discovered by humans.
 Book of Montessoris gramar symbols

At the same time students are introduced

the different words categories, distinguishing

between the noun and verb family, they will

fill-in their book of Montessori grammar

symbols with pictures and familiar

photographs to illustrate each category.

OTHER PROGRAMS

All bilingual schools have a twinned school in the United Kingdom so as to:
o Exchange projects, experiences, and activities
o Exchange correspondence
o Organize visits
o Promote students and teachers exchanges
CAMBRIDGE EXAMINATIONS IN YEAR 4 AND 6
USEFUL BOOKS
USEFUL BOOKS
 RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Speak always in English to the children

2. Be as much involved as possible by participating and sharing your own ideas.

3. Keep yourself updated by attending free courses which will help you do your best in class

4. Focus on language and culture as if they were two sides of the same coin

5. Contribute to the creation a bilingual intercultural environment of integration

6. And, the most important, enjoy your bilingual teaching practice being yourself!
As the American teacher Rita Pierson says, we, teachers, are born to make a
difference. Our main duty is to make every student feel a champion by
finding the champion they have within themselves!

Every kid needs a champion

BIBLIOGRAPHY
oHarding, Edith and Philip Riley (1986). The Bilingual Family: A Handbook for Parents.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

oRomaine, Suzanne (1995). Bilingualism. Oxford: Blackwell. 2nd edition.

oAdrin Maria Martinez and Maria Junkal Gutirrez Mangado (2015). Is CLIL instruction
beneficial in terms of general proficiency and specific areas of grammar? Journal of Immersion
and Content-Based Language Education

oBrinton, D. & Master, P. (Eds.) (1997). New Ways in Content-Based Instruction. New Ways in
TESOL Series II. TESOL.