Bilingual Education in Kindergarden Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bilingual Education in Kindergarden - Essay Example International aspects of bilingual education were also reviewed with Canada, Australia, and the US especially being considered. Whereas the Canadian model has been successful, its success is tempered by the fact that little research has been done specifically on kindergartens with children of immigrants (Wren, 2013: p18). The Australian model is different to the UK’s as it does not seek to assimilate but to preserve the language, in contrast to that in the US, which has insisted on English as the main language of instruction.The review also identified important requirements for meeting the needs of EAL children, which was reported to be dependent on the kindergarten’s policy and how teachers implemented the policy to accommodate EAL students. Such policy involved making EAL children feel comfortable and communicating with their parents (De Lamo White & Jin, 2011: p618). With regards to the link between bilingual education and culture, the review found that teachers with a similar culture to EAL students can validate the children’s cultural identities, while those teachers who attempt to understand the EAL student’s culture can also offer culturally compatible instruction. For this latter group, however, the mainstreaming of UK schools and teaching programs premised on mainstreaming have posed challenges. In reviewing the literature on the advantages and disadvantages of bilingualism and bilingual education, bilingual education was found to improve overall linguistic ability.