NOTE: This article has not been copyedited due to its length.

Language Joke:

Q: What do you call someone who speaks 3 languages?
A: multilingual
Q: What do you call someone who speaks 2 languages?
A: bilingual
Q: What do you call someone who speaks 1 language?
A: An American

This old U.S. language joke highlights the theme of this article. In this era, should we be content with having just a smattering of bilingual education programs throughout the country? Or should we be tapping into the broader linguistic potential of our next generations by increasing the number of dual language programs and expanding some of these to be trilingual or multilingual programs. A poignant article on linguistic hegemony in schools opens with the phrase, “Schools remain monolingual, despite societies being multilingual” (Tochon, 2013) which once again highlights the issue .

The U.S. has historically made the learning of English an issue of national identity and security. Because we are a nation of immigrants, anyone speaking another language was looked upon suspiciously in terms of their real allegiance to this country, whether or not they also spoke English fluently and/or could function efficiently in more than one culture. The tradition of multilingualism is well-known and valued in many parts of the world where several languages operate within a single country to negotiate education, government, and communication with neighboring communities. Speakers may have full literacy skills in one or more languages and only speaking or writing skills in others, depending on the linguistic needs of each language environment (García, 2009). Geographic proximity to other countries and linguistic variety within a country, results in authentic language learning due to the necessity of communicating across languages that one encounters. Learning languages through contact and/or formal instruction becomes an expectation and is not viewed as an insurmountable challenge. An analysis of the 2011 census data from 2011 in regard to language use, revealed that 60.6 million or 21% of people 5 years of age and older in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home. We have long had a tradition of multilingualism in the U.S., now we need the will and the policy to recognize those talents as national assets that we welcome into our schools.

Some trilingual/ multilingual schools exist in the U.S. and no doubt this is a not a particularly new phenomenon in a country that is home to some 381 languages. However, Google searches of trilingual schools yield only a handful of schools, all of which are private. Most of these schools offer language learning in English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese, but French and Japanese can also be found. However, an interesting trend appears to be emerging in some bilingual programs that are striving to expand language learning for their students, and others that are striving to capitalize on the linguistic diversity of their communities. In one model, schools have established “double-bilingual” programs in a single school. Such is the case with the Puente de Hózhó School (http://www.fusd1.org/pdh) in Flagstaff, Arizona, where large segments of the school population are either Navajo or Latino/a.

In response to parent requests, low academic success rates for language minority students, and tribal members dismay at dwindling numbers of Navajo speakers, the district created a double Spanish-English, English-Navajo bilingual program. The name of the school itself reflects this integration in that “puente” is the Spanish word for “bridge” and in Navajo “Hózhó” means “beauty, peace, and harmony”. For many of the students, these are heritage language programs and parents are only too happy to provide their children with the opportunity to learn their ancestral language. Cultural understanding is an integral part of this program as well. For example, on a visit to the school, a group of students in the Navajo-English program were engaged by a tribal teacher in learning about the significance of each component of cradleboards. The experience was made even more authentic by the fact that the teacher demonstrated each component, using the cradleboard her husband had crafted by hand for their own children.

It was noted that the children were demonstrating an interest in the language not represented in their bilingual program (either Navajo or Spanish) and were beginning to use some words and phrases from that language. Other double bilingual programs are likely to make the same observation. In these cases, when the students themselves are experiencing an interest in expanding their language learning opportunities, would it not be an authentic and logical enrichment option to transform a double bilingual program into a trilingual program?

Another similar option would also take advantage of the actual school setting. In many school neighborhoods in California, for instance, there are two large groups of students who speak either Chinese or Spanish or some from homes where these languages are spoken to some degree. Other areas, of course, would have other combinations of languages represented in the neighborhoods surrounding a particular school. For example, the New York Public Schools (http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/49375968-8BB1-4617-A287-7A18C795B1FF/0/BilingualProgramsListSY201516.pdf) list three double bilingual programs (French/Spanish, Chinese/Spanish, and Haitian/Spanish). Such schools have readily available triple language populations to learn from in the classroom, which would help ensure proficient language development in each of the three languages. If students have lived for a significant amount of time in these neighborhoods, they may already have a good sense of cultural values and practices of the groups represented, which may or may not be accurate. Trilingual education offerings could extend these understandings, clarify misconceptions, and promote greater tolerance for differences in the community.

In other instances, students come to a district already fluent in two languages/cultures. For example, students may have emigrated from an area where they speak an indigenous language, such as Mayan, Mixteco, or Nahuatl. In these instances, the speakers of the language have oral language skills, but may or may not have literacy skills. In this case, oral language skill development and cultural understanding may be the main focus of this strand of a trilingual program. This would be a very authentic way to invite fluent speakers of the language from the community into the school program.

Much of the world would not recognize language learning in school as much of a controversial issue, as many children grow multilingual just by the nature of their surroundings, as mentioned earlier. The European Union, in fact, establishes trilingual/ education as a minimum standard in its educational expectations. In the U.S. we find it difficult to imagine how we might organize languages in a trilingual program and how they would be integrated into the overall curriculum.

Observation of trilingual/multilingual education programs over the past several years shows that there definitely are universal characteristics of successful trilingual programs, but great variety in the way in which these programs are implemented and developed across the grades. Most of the bilingual schools and programs demonstrate a strong commitment to language learning in terms of their vision/mission statements, the hiring of teachers fluent in the target language, the design of curriculum schedule, a scope and sequence of language learning across grade levels (PK-12), integration of language and content, and a rigorous assessment system for both content and language.

Two schools, one in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the other in Barcelona, Spain, exemplify two very successful programs with very different approaches to language learning (Henn-Reinke, 2012). Both have programs that begin in preschool and end with the International Baccalaureate Program, which are generally equivalent to a PK-12 arrangement.

Colegio Pestalozzi, in the Belgrano barrio of Buenos Aires, was established in 1934 by families who had immigrated to Argentina to escape the turbulent years of Nazism. Students begin with a preschool program, which places a strong emphasis on the development of oral comprehension of German. Spanish literacy skills are emphasized in grade 1 and German literacy skills are emphasized more fully in grade 2. English language classes do not begin until the third grade. In contrast, the Hamelin Laie International School established in Barcelona about 30 years ago takes a completely different approach to introducing and developing languages. The nursery program provides a portion of the day in the language that most of the students hear at home, Catalan, to provide them with a level of comfort in their surroundings.But 80-90% of the day is focused on developing understanding of English. Once the students begin preschool, they receive literacy instruction in all three languages at the same time and all three languages are tied to content area instruction. For example, science is taught in English, mathematics is taught in Catalan, and social studies in Spanish. In the first grade, students select German, Mandarin Chinese, or French as a fourth language, but this language is taught as a world language and is not connected with content area instruction. As students make progress through the primary and intermediate levels, each of the three main languages receives equal instructional time in the curriculum.

Both schools have extensive and comprehensive assessment systems that measure progress in each of the languages. Students in both locations take Cambridge English language assessments and the results are used to continually refine each program. Hamelin Internacional students take provincial and national language exams in Catalán and Castellano and Colegio Pestalozzi students complete national assessments of Spanish. They also sit for German language tests also administered through the German Ministry of Education. Since 2010 they have received the “Colegio Alemán de Excelencia en el Extranjero” (Foreign German School of Excellence).

One distinct difference clearly emerges in comparing the design and implementation of these two programs to those found in the United States and that is the commitment to language learning beyond the intermediate grades. In the U.S., many bilingual programs are very well-developed through about the fifth or sixth grade, with a directed language instruction and content area instruction in both languages. Districts have put a great deal of thought into the type of bilingual program that will best enhance learning for their students, the hiring of qualified bilingual teachers, and the assessment of progress across the grade levels. However, in many areas of the United States, bilingual offerings in grades 6-12 are greatly reduced and become merely an additional language class in the students’ schedules or serve as support or resource centers for English learners.

However, the opposite scenario was documented in observations at the above-mentioned schools. These schools recognized that they could capitalize on the firm base that their students acquire in their primary years and extend this much more completely into the middle and secondary levels. They also recognized that in-depth language learning integrated with content area instruction must continue through the end of the program in order for students to receive the full benefits, i.e., the ability to use each of their languages throughout a lifetime. The German Ministry of Education sends a small number of German teachers and administrators to Colegio Pestalozzi (and other German language schools around the world) to ensure in-depth language learning and authentic German culture, history, and geography. These teachers are placed in the secondary program to ensure that students at this level receive the most comprehensive opportunities to refine their German language skills. Each of these schools carefully designs their curricula and strategically places their resources to ensure the highest academic and linguistic levels possible.

It seems that the single most effective way to enhance our bilingual programs and any potential trilingual/multilingual programs would be to secure a commitment to building developmental programs that will be offered through the middle and secondary grade levels. Exploring opportunities to expand bilingual programs into trilingual programs can enrich this premise. Taking advantage of language groups that already exist in the community, expanding double bilingual programs into trilingual programs, or exploring language usage worldwide hold great promise.

References

Gracia, O. (2009). Bilingual education in the 21^st century: A global perspective. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Henn-Reinke, K. (2012). Considering trilingual education. New York: Routledge Research in Education Series.

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/49375968-8BB1-4617-A287-7A18C795B1FF/0/BilingualProgramsListSY201516.pdf. New York City Dual Language Programs.

http://www.fusd1.org/pdh. Puente de Hózhó School. Flagstaff Unified School District. New Mexico.

Tochon, F. V. & Harrison, K. M. (2013). Linguistic Hegemony in Schools. In F. V. Tochon (Ed.), Language Education Policy Studies (online). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin—Madison. Retrieved from: http://www.languageeducationpolicy.org/whatareleps/linguistichegemony.html accessed Nov. 2015.

Kathryn Henn-Reinke, Ph.D. is Professor of ESL/Bilingual Education at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA. She is the Project Implementer for Project ESTRELLA, a Title III grant for the preparation of ESL/bilingual teachers. Her research focuses on the development of bilingualism and biliteracy in PK-12 bilingual programs.