Bilingual Special Education

Bilingual special education teachers and those with multicultural experience are needed to work with an increasingly diverse student population.

Consider three factors for students:

  • Level of disability
  • Level of language proficiency in both English and the primary language
  • Intellectual capacity

The student's placement on each of these three continuums will determine the nature of instruction and the educational placement.

Variables and bilingual factors identifying placements

  • Student's age
  • Type and degree of impairment or disability
  • Age at which disability occurred
  • Level of language involvement because of disability
  • Level of academic achievement
  • Entry level language skills (upon entering schools)
  • Measured intellectual ability
  • Method and language used in measuring academic achievement and intellectual ability
  • Level of adaptive behavior
  • Time spent in United States
  • Current cultural home setting
  • Social maturity
  • Level of language proficiency in English and other language
  • Amount and type of language input received in the home environment
  • Speech and language capabilities in both language
  • Presence of multiple disabilities
  • Success in past and present placements
  • Wishes of students and parents

RESOURCES

ORGANIZATIONS


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