Factors contributing to language proficiency in bilingual teachers and their relationship to classroom language use
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived teacher profile, academic, and affective factors that contribute to the oral language proficiency of elementary, dual-proficient, English-dominant, and Spanish-dominant bilingual teachers (English and Spanish) in one school district in New Jersey. A second purpose of this study was to explore relationships between these oral language proficiency factors and their influences on instructional development, procedures, and directions. The collection of the data in this study was accomplished through the distribution of two instruments: a questionnaire, Factors Contributing to Bilingual Proficiency, and the Time Allocation Procedure (TAP). Frequency distributions, chi-square contingency tables, and Fisher Exact Test results were used to express the correlational patterns of the data. Two one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) and a t test were employed to determine whether significant differences existed in the language use of the teachers for instruction and procedures/directions. Overall, some significant differences were found in the three language dominance groups with regard to the factors that contributed to their bilingual proficiency. With regard to the language of instruction and procedures/directions, the findings suggested that there is a strong relationship between the language dominance of the teachers and the language they use for instruction. The findings and conclusions of this study provided implications for teacher training programs, administrators of bilingual programs, and teachers of limited English proficient students concerned with the teaching of a second language. The implications for teacher training programs were related to the development of opportunities for teacher candidates to become dual proficient. The implications for administrators of bilingual programs were related to proper assessment of the bilingual teachers' language proficiency for the placement of instructors within a program. The implications for teachers of limited English proficient students were related to their ability to monitor their own language use in the classroom, and provide environments in the classroom that foster the growth of the two languages.
Subject Area
Elementary education|Language
Recommended Citation
Rodriguez, Vivian Caridad, "Factors contributing to language proficiency in bilingual teachers and their relationship to classroom language use" (1992). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI9304525.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI9304525
