Research appears to support, where possible, a bilingual approach to LEP students' special needs. When bilingual teachers and aides are not available, a monolingual science teacher can still show sensitivity by systematically incorporating linguistic objectives into science activities, taking care to explain unfamiliar terms in more everyday English, and using culturally relevant problems and tasks. Teachers need to be aware, however, that the same type of teaching and learning does not work for all the cultural groups that comprise the LEP population. Some students may not learn well in cooperative learning groups and instruction should be modified accordingly. Researchers note the importance of integrating language development with science learning.
Researchers note the importance of integrating language development with science learning.
Hands-on science activities are ideally suited to language development, especially when pursued in teams and when teachers encourage questioning and verbal explanations for solutions. These integrated approaches, which are particularly effective in the early elementary grades, serve both language and science learning needs. Perhaps the best way to help LEP children, however, is for teachers, administrators, the public, and the scientific community to begin to view language minority children as a asset in the science classroom. What We Know About Mathermatic Teaching And Learning.