Classroom Environment in a TWI Program

Classroom environment is incredibly important in a dual language classroom.  There needs to incredibly high levels of organization and consistency of environment as well as the procedures that children are expected to follow to access that environment--this is to make sure that as much energy as possible is devoted to the learning of language and content rather than remembering where things are, how to get them, what the teacher expects this time.  Consistency and predictability is critical for children in any classroom...just that much MORE important when children are learning in two languages.

Because every child spends at least half the day learning content in a language he or she is NOT completely proficient in, they need to know where they can look or go for support and tools that will help instruction become more comprehensible.  This consistency is incredibly important when children transition from one classroom to another in the middle of the day.  Again, remember--you want childrens' environment to be so organized and so predictable, that they never unnecessarily waste time and energy on finding materials, inefficient systems, or ever-changing procedures that could and should otherwise be spent on learning language and content.  The classroom environment can and should be a powerful learning tool--but will only become such with really careful planning.

Over last spring vacation I read a fantastic book, English Language Learners Day by Day, K-6  by Christina M. Celic, that provides an excellent (and super practical!) overview of creating a language learning classroom.

There's a great chapter on classroom environment and organization.  I highly recommend the entire book to anyone with second language learners in their classroom (regardless of the bilingual model you may be implementing).  As I read it the first time, I felt like I was reading a summary of everything we'd been learning to do with Dr. Mercuri during year 1!  (I wasn't surprised to discover that the author had done extensive work with David and Yvonne Freeman, dual language experts that often work very closely with our consultant, Dr. Mercuri).  Reading it was incredibly affirming while also providing models of how we can take what we've implemented to the next level.  It's a great read!  Click here to purchase from Heinemann Publishing

After reading it, I wanted to synthesize the key points in one page.  Here's an overview of the book:

ELLs Day by Day Overview

Often dual language models have some key signage to draw attention to certain aspects of the classroom environment.  Here are some we've used, along with some I've found via other schools/districts.

Dual Language Labels: Classroom (Bilingual)
Dual Language Labels: School (Bilingual)
Dual Language Classroom Labels (Bilingual)
Centers Labels (Bilingual)
Language of Instruction Signs: Inside Classroom English
Language of Instruction Signs: Inside Classroom Spanish
Language of Instruction Signs: Outside Classroom Bilingual
Language of the Day Signs: School
Subject Headers & Objective Tags (Bilingual)
Sentence Frames & Thinking Maps (English--no Spanish translation yet...sorry!)
Word Wall ABC Labels (English)
Word Wall ABC Labels (Spanish)
Word Wall Headings (Bilingual)
Calendar Headings: Days & Months (Bilingual)

Here is some signage we developed at IDEA Mission to ensure our big goals, core values, and other important representations of our school culture were 100% bilingual.

Core Values 2009: RISE (Bilingual)
Phoenix Rising 2009 (English)
Phoenix Rising 2009 (Spanish)
Core Values 2010: Ready to Try Again (Bilingual)
Core Values 2010: Inner Compass (Bilingual)
Core Values 2010: Seek Knowledge (Bilingual)
Core Values 2010: Every Student, Every Day (Bilingual)
Core Values 2010: Joy (Bilingual)
Core Values 2010: Smaller Signs (Bilingual)
IDEA 55 (English)
IDEA 55 (Spanish)
Gigantic Goals: Student Trackers (Bilingual)