Analyzing Types of Bilingual Education in Japan and the

Classes with students of
different native languages
Native
Japanese
speakers
learn
English
Students learn
from each other
Japanese and English
native speaking teachers
Native
English
speakers
learn
Japanese
Presentation Handouts
Aims and Types of Bilingual Education
There are “varying aims of bilingual education” because it “does not
necessarily concern the balanced use of two languages in the
classroom. Behind bilingual education are varying and conflicting
philosophies and politics of what education is for” (Baker, 2001, pp.
193). These different aims then lead to various actual school systems of
monolingual or bilingual education.
「バイリンガル教育では必ずしも、２つの言語が教室で均等に使用されるわ
けではない。バイリンガル教育の背後には、何のために教育を行うというかと
いうことに関して、相反するさまざまな考え方がある。」 (Oka, 1996, p. 182). そ
うして、それぞれの目的がさまざまな実際の１言語や２言語による教育制度で
現れる。
One activity is to say which of the following aims you think are good for
everyone in a society. A more advanced activity would be to match the
aims with the Types of Bilingual Education that each aim might lead to.
Varying Aims of Bilingual Education
(バイリンガル教育のさまざまな目的)
1. To assimilate individuals or groups into the mainstream of society (個人や集団を社
会の主流へと同化させる).
2. To unify a multilingual society (多言語社会を統一する).
3. To enable people to communicate with the outside world (人々が外の世界とコミュニ
ケーションができるようにする).
4. To provide language skills which are marketable, aiding employment and status (雇用
や地位の面で役に立つ言語技能を身につけさせる).
5. To preserve ethnic and religious identity (民族的、宗教的アイデンティティを保つ).
6. To reconcile and mediate between different linguistic and political communities (言語、
政治の面で異なる共同体の間を仲裁し、和解させる).
7. To spread the use of a colonial language (宗主国の言語の使用を広める).
8. To strengthen elite groups and preserve their position in society (エリート集団を強化
して、社会の中でその地位を保持する).
9. To give equal status in law to languages of unequal status in daily life (法律によって、
日常生活の中で不平等な地位にある言語に平等な地位を与える).
10. To deepen understanding of language and culture (言語や文化への理解を深める).
Adapted from Baker (2001, p. 193) and Oka (1996, p. 182).
Cases of Bilingual Education in the World
Activities: Using the information on the following slides, consider the “10 Cases of
Languages in Education” one at a time. The cases describe various realistic
situations in the world where languages are connected to education. Consider
how the varying aims and other factors lead to the chart of “Types of Bilingual
Education” based on Baker (1993, 2001) and Oka (1996). Next use the template
to make a paragraph for each case assigned to your group by deciding on one of
the choices in boldface type for each factor. Then have one person say it out loud
to everyone. An extra activity is to describe a school system in another region of
the world for everyone to analyze.
References
Baker, C. (2001). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (3rd ed.). Clevedon,
UK: Multilingual Matters.
Oka, H. (1996). Bairingaru kyoiku to daini gengo shutoku [Bilingual education and second
language acquisition]. Tokyo: Taishukan Shoten. (岡秀夫 (訳)『バイリンガル教育と第二言
語習得』。東京：大修館書店。[Baker 1st ed. (1993)の翻訳です].)
Ruiz, R. (1984). Orientations in language planning. NABE Journal, 8(2), 15-34.
[Ruiz is the original source that authorities view language as a problem, resource, or right]
10 Cases of Languages in Education
1. Native speakers of Japanese start studying English in the 5th grade of elementary
school and several hours a week from junior high school. This is because English as an
International Language may be valuable for their future studies and career.
2. Immigrants from South America and Asia are working in a small city in Japan where
there are not many other foreigners. Their children can study only in regular public
school classes.
3. There are Korean and Chinese ethnic schools in Japan. They teach Korean or Chinese
language and culture. Including Japanese and some English, students may become
bilingual or multilingual to some extent.
4. An American Indian tribe tries to keep their children in their home region, to protect
their language and culture, so they teach subjects mostly through their native language,
using some English where it is necessary.
5. In some areas of Africa, black Africans are isolated from government support and
suffer from problems like child labor. Their children do not have the choice to study in a
regional or international language like Swahili, Arabic, French or English, which could lift
them out of poverty. Such African villages must try to conduct their own education in
their native language.
6. Many Canadian Eskimos wish to maintain their native language and culture, but also to
trade with others in North America. The government recognizes their right to keep their
native language and helps their children learn English along with their native language.
7. Most Canadians speak English, but people in the province of Quebec are mostly native
speakers of French. Canada has a bilingual and multicultural policy with both English and
French as official languages. Many schools in Quebec conduct classes in English at least
half of the time.
8. Mexican immigrants to the United States are often seen as having difficulty in school
and adjusting to American society because they speak Spanish. Many of their children are
therefore taught in simple English or regularly taken out of mainstream classes for lessons
in English as a Second Language (ESL).
9. Uyghur children receive education only in Chinese. The government has called it
“bilingual education” in a press release that appeared in international news. Recently
Uyghur students have been urged to live in dormitories at school and see their parents
mostly during vacations.
10. A small number of American schools form classes with about half English and half
Spanish native speakers (or native speakers of other languages, including Japanese). The
two languages are alternated in the curriculum, both cultures are valued, and the students
can help each other.
Paragraph Template for Analyzing each Case
I (or We) think that … Leaders of the society or community see different languages as a
[ problem | resource | right | human right as well as a resource].
The leaders are trying to [ change | maintain | develop ] the native language use of
children.
This education is for language [ majority | minority | majority and minority ] students.
Education for these students is mostly in their [ native | second | foreign ] language.
This education is for the purpose of [ assimilation of language minority students into
the majority culture | separation of an ethnic group from the mainstream culture |
maintenance of a minority or ethnic language | enrichment of language majority
students | encouraging linguistic diversity and multiculturalism ].
The result of the educational system is [ elite (or elective) | folk (or circumstantial) ]
and [ additive | subtractive | monolingualism, not a kind of ] bilingualism.
(continued next slide)
It is [ a strong form | a weak form | not really a type ] of bilingual education.
This is because [ students may be bilingual but their native language is not used in
school | students learn all subjects in their native language | students take some
foreign language classes taught in their native language | students learn in two
languages but not enough to become bilingual | students can get enough input and
interaction in both languages to become bilingual (and bicultural) ].
This type of bilingual education is [ submersion | submersion with pull-out or
sheltered second language classes | segregationist | transitional | mainstream with
foreign language teaching | separatist | immersion | maintenance or heritage
language | two-way or dual language | mainstream bilingual ].
Appendix
The following details can be added to the analysis if an educational program is called immersion:
It is [ actually enrichment, because the teaching is less than 50% in the second language |
partial immersion | total immersion ]. It is [ not immersion | early immersion (starting
around pre-school) | middle immersion (starting around elementary school) | late
immersion (starting around junior high school)].
Sources (other than the author)
Seigakuin Atlanta International School: http://www.seig.ac.jp/atlanta/
White animals & Multi-colored parakeets: shared on Facebook
Multicultural school: Naito Shingo, JICA Tokyo
Creative Commons Image Attributions
Submersion: http:// flickr.com/photos/bayjade/6799665458/
Cameron Road: http:// flickr.com/photos/joybot/5710830407/
Analyzing Types: http://flickr.com/photos/toby_maloy/102413554/
Segregation: http://flickr.com/photos/stopherjones/5547914546/
Separatist: http://flickr.com/photos/doctorow/536084001/
Transitional: http://flickr.com/photos/45005153@N07/6408592859/
Maintenance/Heritage: http://flickr.com/photos/e_phots/2345645865/
Mainstream Bilingual: http://flickr.com/photos/sadeq/6929795079/
Mainstream FLT http://flickr.com/photos/presidioofmonterey/5728486268/
Two-way/Dual: http://flickr.com/photos/eyesore9/5314342480/
Multicultural mitten: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29487767@N02/6977534343/
Puzzle face: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashtynrenee/5350445291/
Teacher and students: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usembassyta/6856672754/
Bilingualism and Japanology Intersection:
http://waoe.org/steve/epublist.html

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