Should We Teach Bilingual Education in the U.S.?

Welcome to my Portfolio Project for my Level 4 Reading and Composition Class at the English Language Center at the University of Denver.

For this project, I have written an argument essay where I argue that we need to teach two languages instead of just English in our public school system. The annotated bibliography presents my reading and research on this topic, and the vocabulary section provides useful words for helping you understand this topic. 

Below is a video introduction to my portfolio and list of contents.

I hope you enjoy! Please feel free to post comments and opinions!

Thanks....


I. Argument Essay
II. Annotated Bibliography
III. Vocabulary Study

Annotated Bibliography: Bilingual Education

Dual-Language Vocabulary

Teaching Children Through Dual-Language Immersion

In America, we are used to the world wanting to speak English. After all, the United States is a leader in the world economy, and it is a benefit for many throughout the world to learn English. This creates an attitude in this country where many think that learning languages outside of English isn’t important. However, learning multiple languages is a benefit for everyone, including Americans, and I believe our schools should focus on teaching dual-language immersion, and, specifically, we should be teaching English alongside Spanish.

Some believe that we should teach only English and that this country should adopt it as its official language. This, I believe, limits us and our children. The United States, as most know, is the land of immigrants. Sure, many people here speak English, but many don’t as well. We have many people with Chicano/Latina roots who speak Spanish. Only speaking one language limits our ability to speak with many people who are and becoming citizens of this country. This has obvious consequences for the economy because many people who work and produce in this country speak Spanish.   

Movie Night II: Persepolis at the ELC

Because it went so well the last time, we're doing it again! Our bookclub group has decided to share the wonderful movie, Persepolis, with the ELC. And even though it comes at a busy time, we think it is perfect opportunity to unwind and watch a great movie with some great people. Details below!

What: PERSEPOLIS

When: FRIDAY, JUNE 1 at 7p.m.

Where: ELC Student Lounge

Why: To celebrate Level 4 Bookclub!

Details: Potluck event, so feel free to bring something to share. Friends and family encouraged. 

Word Doc Version

Nola's Movie

This is a story a former student made for her bookclub project. 

Click here for the video

Our Portfolio Project: Bringing It All Together

Part of learning a language is immersing yourself. This means surrounding yourself with that language and using it rather than memorizing and translating it. To accomplish this goal, we have combined projects in our classes to assure what you’re learning and working on in one class continues in your other classes. 

This immerses you because you use your background knowledge, language skills and vocabulary in reading, writing, listening, speaking and grammar, which are the main ways we learn and use language – and the core classes you’re taking at the ELC.

Below are descriptions of the various projects you’ve completed and will revise and package for your “Portfolio Project.” We will host this portfolio on our blogs and link all the pieces together to make it coherent. All elements are tied together to the topic/issue you’ve done for your argument paper, so in effect you are presenting your knowledge on that topic using the various assignments we’ve done in class.

Word Doc Version

SP 12 Final Exam Schedule

Below is a document with the schedule for finals.

Environment vs. Economy?

Image from http://www.slopemedia.org/

Based on our discussions and the class readings (including the reading we did in class), answer the prompt below. Be thoughtful and thorough, and, of course, write well to aid your communication efforts.

PROMPT:

"People often think that it is the Environment vs. the Economy. Meaning, that in order to have a strong economy a country has to make policy that promotes using resources rather than sustaining them. Do you agree with this idea? Can a government balance its 
economic and environmental needs?"

My Brother Graduated Today :-)

ELC Open House Pictures

On May 2, 2012 we held an open house, and each nationality at the ELC had a chance to showcase their beautiful and unique cultures to the community. It was great to watch the students have fun and show off how awesome they are.

These are some pictures I took, though they aren't great. My camera started acting up, so I stopped taking pictures. Besides I wanted to focus my efforts on enjoying the moment.

Bookclub Assignment: Persepolis

Now that we’ve read the book, it is time to respond to the ideas in it. One of the things I really enjoy about this text is how we can relate to so much of what we read in Persepolis simply because we grew up. However, since we’re international students we also have a lot of experiences with the difficulty of adjusting to a different culture, difficulties in communicating in a second language and many others.  You may have even witnessed political/societal changes that helped influence the person you’ve become.

Word Doc Version (includes graphic organizers)

Tutoring Workshops for International Students

May 11 for commas and general sentence structure .... May 18 for speaking skills. Both at the I-House in B4. Click here for details or click the jump.

Analyzing Your Favorite American Meal: Level 3 PowerPoint Speech

For this speech you will be describing your favorite American meal, discussing its nutritional value and analyzing whether it is healthy or not. 

Your speech needs to be at least FOUR to SIX minutes and use powerpoint as a visual aid and organization tool.

We will be giving our presentations on Monday, May 14. So be ready!!!

Word doc version
Vince's PowerPoint
Nikkie's PowerPoint
Power Point Principles (Good PowerPoint PPT)

A.C.T.I.V.E. Reading

Here is a sort of rubric I developed. It is basically a list of reading strategies organized into a fancy acronym. Works well as a guide for what we do when we're reading well ...