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Bilingual Education: What the Research Tells Us

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Book cover Bilingual and Multilingual Education

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Language and Education ((ELE))

Abstract

This chapter explores key research findings about bilingual education and the related efficacy of various approaches to teaching bilingual students. Its principal focus is on the research to date on the most common forms of bilingual education. This research consistently supports the efficacy of bilingual education, particularly when it is predicated on additive bilingual principles. Even so, ongoing public opposition to bilingual education, often highly misinformed, remains strong. The chapter also examines recent research around the notions of “dynamic bilingualism” and “translanguaging,” along with their pedagogical implications for existing bilingual programs.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Not all Indigenous communities accept heritage bilingual programs as an appropriate overarching term – as evident, most clearly, in the rejection of the term by many First Nations peoples in Canada (Cummins, personal communication).

  2. 2.

    This diagram was developed in conjunction with my colleague, Richard Hill and is loosely based on an earlier diagram by Hornberger (1991). It was previously published in May (2010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Auckland, 74 Epsom Avenue, Epsom, 1023, Auckland, New Zealand

    Stephen May

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, New York, USA

    Ofelia García

  2. Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong

    Angel M. Y. Lin

  3. Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Stephen May

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May, S. (2017). Bilingual Education: What the Research Tells Us. In: García, O., Lin, A., May, S. (eds) Bilingual and Multilingual Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02258-1_4

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