URBS 256 - Bilingualism and/in K-12 Public Education

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as LALS 256) Learning in schools where the language of instruction is new presents a challenge familiar to young immigrants and refugees across the globe. This affects their educational achievement, as well as their sense of inclusion and belonging in their new communities. It also presents an opportunity to learn about how the complex social and psychological needs brought about by the trauma of migration and dislocation combine with social isolation and lack of familiarity with a formal school environment to affect adversely a student’s academic progress. This course examines the issue of education for non native speakers through a field based experience in Poughkeepsie Schools. This semester the course focuses on Students with Interrupted/Inconsistent Formal Education (SIFE) through discussions, research and writing activities that examine the experiences of one group of English Language Learners (ELLs). Interrupted formal education is common for migrant, immigrant and refugee children, many of whom arrive at schools with low or no literacy skills, and behind knowledge for their age.

The class meets one day a week at Poughkeepsie High School in a class designed for newcomer students. Vassar students work alongside ELLs in their English language classes, helping them with their English acquisition, and gaining first-hand experience with the challenges that ELLs encounter on a daily basis. This experience also introduces Vassar students to the ELL instructional models used currently used in US schools and compares them to this adopted in other countries.

The hands-on components of the course is paired with readings that draw from critical theories of pedagogy, bilingualism, translanguaging, linguistic and education policy, community organizing, and education for social change. The class takes on a group research and writing project intended to highlight the academic needs of local ELLs, to examine the current instructional models for bilingual students, and to assess the possibilities for the adoption of ELL newcomer programming in the city of Poughkeepsie. The course is open to all Vassar students interested in (a) community-based learning as a tool for social change; (b) learning about the experiences of bilingual students in Poughkeepsie schools; and (c ) gaining practical experience researching bilingual education policy. Tracey Holland.

Two 75-minute periods.