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BILINGUAL PROGRAMMS FOR IMMIGRANTS

 

Within the Comunidad de Madrid, Spain, there exist nowadays several educative programs which promote immigrants’ both educative and social integration. These programs cover all rage of ages: from students in compulsory education period to adult students who need to learn the target language.

 

Mother language and culture maintenance program (ELCO in Spanish)

 

This program aims to both teach the target language and keep tea-

ching contents in the mother tongue so the students can both learn

the new language while maintaining their mother tongue and culture.

 

Itinerant support for immigrant students (S.A.I. in Spanish)

 

Mainly in the L1, this is a support and advice service which aims to

ease the integration of the immigrant students. Moreover, it advises

public institutions about the development of refuge programs. It also supports the incorporation of an intercultural perspective to the educational system, while it suggests several material and methodological resources in order to teach Spanish as L2.

 

Translators Educative Service (Servicio Educativo de Traductores e Intérpretes in Spanish)

 

This is a service which aims to ease the relationship between the educational institutions and the immigrant families who do not know Spanish.


 

Leaving aside the educational and social programs above mentioned, there is one Spanish program which is particularly relevant for immigrant students in compulsory education period (in Spain, period which covers from 3 to 16/18 years old). This program is commonly known in Spanish as “Escuelas de Bienvenida” ( which could be translated as “Welcome Schools”), schools which have developed a new type of classroom called “Aulas de Enlace” (that could be translated as “Link Classrooms”). In this type of classroom young students can dedicate a period of six school months to learn the new language (Spanish in this case) as well as the basic concepts it covers. In this way, students may have less difficulties when they pass to the next grades. However, if the student after this six months period does not feel ready to incorporate to the Spanish classroom, and his/her teacher suggests it, the period in the Aula de Enlace could be extended (as long as the teacher provides a justified reason).

 

Below, there are listed the aims and objectives that the “Aulas de Enlace” pursue:

  • To give individual and specific attention to each immigrant student who may not know Spanish. This program will help them to acquire the linguistic and communicative competences needed to integrate themselves in the new culture. Along the period, each student will have different adaptations depending on particular factors.

  • To ease and shorten the immigrant student’s incorporation and integration period to the educational system.

  • To favor the student’s development of his/her own personal and cultural identity.

  • To let the student integrate in both the scholar and social enviornments in less time and in the best conditions.

 

In addition, these “Escuelas de Bienvenida” have created a

set of out-of-school and free time activities aimed to ea-

se the possibility of sharing experiences with the rest of

students. These activities look for  cultural  interchange,

promoting respect between all of the students  and  approa-

ching our differences as a source of wealth.


 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

 

Boyano Revilla, M., Estefanía Lera, J., García Sánchez, H. & Homedes Gili, M. (2006). Aulas de Enlace: Orientaciones Metodológicas y para la Evaluación. Comunidad de Madrid: Consejería de Educación, pp.1-18. Retrieved from

http://www.madrid.org/dat_oeste/a_enlace/AE_orientaciones_metod_eval/ pdf/aulasenlace.pdf  [Accessed 14 Dec. 2016].

 

González Fernández, C. (2004, March 8). Instrucciones de 8 de marzo de 2004, de la Viceconsejería de Educación de la Comunidad de Madrid, por las  que se regula, con carácter excepcional, el período de permanencia del  alumnado en las Aulas de Enlace del programa “Escuelas de Bienvenida”. Comunidad de Madrid: Consejería de Educación, pp. 1-2. Retrieved from

http://www.madrid.org/dat_capital/bienvenida/impresos_pdf/AE_prorroga_ instrucciones04.pdf   [Accessed 17 Dec. 2016].

 

Programa de Bienvenida. (2015, September 8). Retrieved from

http://www.madrid.org/dat_capital/bienvenida/ae.htm [Accessed 14 Dec. 2016].

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