Reaction on Teaching for Transfer: Challenging the Two Solitudes Assumption in Bilingual Education
Cummins (2008) discusses the research and theoretical literature concerning the “two solitudes” assumption in regards to the mediums of instruction dominant in second language teaching and bilingual education programs. He argues that this assumption has minimal research basis. The “two solitudes” assumption is rooted in the direct method, which imitated the way children learn their first language by using the target language as the medium of instruction and avoiding translation. The works of Cook (2001) and Turnbull (2001) are presented as thresholds for the establishment of empirical and theoretical basis for the choice of medium of instruction …show more content…
He indicates that based on the work of Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000) and Donovan and Bransford (2005), the role of prior knowledge is relevant to the issue of teaching for transfer in education of bilingual students because if students’ prior knowledge is encoded in their L1, consequently their L1 is tied to their L2. I found evidence of transfer while conducting a math interview to a first grade student in Spanish. The student received math instruction in Spanish in kinder and was receiving instruction in English in first grade. She was asked questions that required her to have knowledge of skills taught in both grades. The fact that she was able to respond to the questions asked regardless of the language demonstrates that she was drawing from her prior knowledge in both languages. Brisk and Harrington (2007) indicate that literacy in the content areas is challenging because it often assumes prior knowledge. Ability to read a text or write about a topic in content area classes in the second language depends on the knowledge about the topic. Cummins also uses the work of Donovan and Bransford (2005) to explain that prior knowledge refers to the totality or the experiences that have shaped the learner’s identity and cognitive functioning. This …show more content…
He suggests us to systematically encourage and support students in focusing on language and relating their L1 knowledge to L2. This resonates with Canagarajah (2011; as cited in Garcia and Wei, 2014), who pointed out that it is important to develop our pedagogies from the ground up, from the practice we see multilingual students adopting. In my experience, allowing bilinguals to express themselves fully through the use of their entire linguistic repertoire, gives bilinguals freedom to experiment with language, which will at the same time further expand their linguistic resources. This aligns with Martínez-Roldán and Sayer (2006) where the use of Spanish and English allowed a group of bilingual Latino third graders to fully communicate their thoughts while retelling
Cummins (2008) discusses the research and theoretical literature concerning the “two solitudes” assumption in regards to the mediums of instruction dominant in second language teaching and bilingual education programs. He argues that this assumption has minimal research basis. The “two solitudes” assumption is rooted in the direct method, which imitated the way children learn their first language by using the target language as the medium of instruction and avoiding translation. The works of Cook (2001) and Turnbull (2001) are presented as thresholds for the establishment of empirical and theoretical basis for the choice of medium of instruction …show more content…
He indicates that based on the work of Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000) and Donovan and Bransford (2005), the role of prior knowledge is relevant to the issue of teaching for transfer in education of bilingual students because if students’ prior knowledge is encoded in their L1, consequently their L1 is tied to their L2. I found evidence of transfer while conducting a math interview to a first grade student in Spanish. The student received math instruction in Spanish in kinder and was receiving instruction in English in first grade. She was asked questions that required her to have knowledge of skills taught in both grades. The fact that she was able to respond to the questions asked regardless of the language demonstrates that she was drawing from her prior knowledge in both languages. Brisk and Harrington (2007) indicate that literacy in the content areas is challenging because it often assumes prior knowledge. Ability to read a text or write about a topic in content area classes in the second language depends on the knowledge about the topic. Cummins also uses the work of Donovan and Bransford (2005) to explain that prior knowledge refers to the totality or the experiences that have shaped the learner’s identity and cognitive functioning. This …show more content…
He suggests us to systematically encourage and support students in focusing on language and relating their L1 knowledge to L2. This resonates with Canagarajah (2011; as cited in Garcia and Wei, 2014), who pointed out that it is important to develop our pedagogies from the ground up, from the practice we see multilingual students adopting. In my experience, allowing bilinguals to express themselves fully through the use of their entire linguistic repertoire, gives bilinguals freedom to experiment with language, which will at the same time further expand their linguistic resources. This aligns with Martínez-Roldán and Sayer (2006) where the use of Spanish and English allowed a group of bilingual Latino third graders to fully communicate their thoughts while retelling