Abstract:

The pace and scope of bilingual program development and implementation in Spain have been rapid over the past seven years. The National Spanish Ministry of Education and the Comunidad de Madrid (CAM) Regional Ministry of Education have made bilingual program development and expansion top priorities for pre-primary, primary and secondary levels of education. This presentation will focus on the 2011-2012 Fulbright Senior Scholar grant awarded to the presenter, Dr. Linda Gerena, and sponsored by the Spanish and US Fulbright Commissions, to study bilingual education frameworks and program development in bilingual centers in Madrid, Spain. Dr. Gerena collaborated with a major institution of higher education in Spain to observe and analyze bilingual teaching programs and instructional practices.

This session will talk about the data gathering tools that were developed over the course of the project:
• Observational Protocol
• Teacher, Language Assistant, And Student Surveys
• Interview And Focus Group Question Protocols

It will present an overview of the analysis of the data that was collected during the course of the project. Additionally, it will also briefly discuss the topics and themes for bilingual teachers and language assistants’ professional development sessions.

Of importance to this project are the strategies for strategic and effective teaching that will be developed in teacher and language assistant professional development modules. These include vocabulary, comprehension, content-based language teaching, student engagement and active participation strategies [1, 2, 3]. These professional development sessions will demonstrate how to provide interactive strategies that support and develop CLIL based teaching and learning.

It is the collaboration and cooperation between two nations and educational systems that give this project an international focus that can make an important contribution to effective educational practices. It is hoped that this research and engagement can build continued professional ties between the two countries as well as the two institutions that have supported this project. This collaboration is further intended to increase international understanding of effective practices in bilingual education, as well as continued support of teachers and language assistants in bilingual educational contexts and settings in Spain.

References:
[1] Gerena, L. (2012). Fulbright Scholar Support For Professional Development Of Teachers And Language Assistants (Auxiliares De Lengua) In Bilingual Programs In La Comunidad De Madrid. Proceedings of INTED 2012 Conference. ISBN: 978-84-615-5563-5. March 2012. Valencia, Spain.
[2] Gerena, L. (2012). Granada English Teachers Association (GRETA): Jaen, Spain. Presentation: IV Encuentro Formativo para Profesorado de Inglés: Presenter: Effective Teaching, Learning, and Assessment in the CLIL Classroom
[3] Gerena, L. (2011, Fall). Building Vocabulary Using Student Centered, Active and Participatory Strategies In a Content and Language Integrated Learning Environment. Teaching Times, TESOL France.

Keywords:

Fulbright International Collaboration, Bilingual Education Programs & Practices, Research Protocols and Surveys.