English Language Learners and the Montessori Method
by Kelly Buynitzky

Whatever an education is, it should make you a unique individual, not a conformist; it should furnish you with an original spirit with which to tackle the big challenges; it should allow you to find values which will be your road map through life; it should make you spiritually rich, a person who loves whatever you are doing, wherever you are, whomever you are with; it should teach you what is important, how to live and how to die.                --Dumbing Us Down, John Taylor Gatto

There are two elements in any successful educational program: working with the children at their own levels and giving them the appropriate skills and concrete tools to build confidence in themselves and their communities. The Montessori educational philosophy incorporates, at its core, "following the child" and respecting the child's cultural and developmental identities. A good bilingual program should begin with the enrichment of the child's first language and culture and develop the second language and culture while supporting the first (Ovando, Combs, and Collier, 2006, p.9). A Montessori based educational philosophy and a well developed bilingual program are easily integrated components of successful bilingual programs throughout the world.

What is the Montessori method? The Montessori method was developed by Maria Montessori at the turn of the twentieth century. Ms. Montessori was a practicing, Italian pediatrician, and she went to the State Orthophrenic School in Rome where the "uneducable" children from all over Rome were placed. At this school Montessori found that the intellectual and spiritual development of these children was severely lacking. She began observing these children and their interactions with their environment, and it was through these observations that her teaching methods were developed and used to help these "uneducable" students pass the state exams. She then wanted to establish a public venue in which children of average intelligence could also succeed using the educational techniques she found so successful with the "uneducable". Her schools worked and became the basis for many schools' educational structures throughout the world. Because of Montessori's success with younger children she eventually developed educational techniques and concepts that could be used for multiple ages from birth to about 15.

What are the basic principles guiding a Montessori educational structure? First and foremost, Montessori schools "follow the child". Montessori believed the child's interaction with his/her environment "is most productive in terms of the individual's development when it is self-chosen and founded upon individual interest" (Lillard, 1996, p. 5). Secondly, the Montessori schools have freedom within specific modeled structures. Montessori stated, " If freedom is understood as letting the children do as they like, using or more likely misusing, the things available, it is clear that only their 'deviations' are free to develop" (1995), so the teachers and students in the Montessori schools must carefully model the expected behaviors and structures. Lillard further supported Montessori's observations in her book Montessori Today when she wrote, "The complete development of human beings is made possible by their tendencies to certain universal actions in relation to their environment" (1996). Thirdly, Montessori schools use hands-on activities and manipulatives to help the children explore the world around them because children need to do something. Montessori suggested that we, as educators and adults, "desist from the useless attempt to reduce the child to a state of immobility. We should rather give 'order' to his movements, leading them to those actions towards which his efforts are actually tending" (1965).

These three principles of the Montessori philosophy have been successfully implemented in Montessori schools from North America to India for native speakers from each country. Can these same principles guide the educational endeavors of second language learners? Yes, throughout the world second language learners, of mostly English, have met with great success in Dual Language and "English Medium" Montessori schools. In the United States, Canada, France, Africa, and India Dual Language and English Medium schools have successfully implemented bilingual programs for native and second language learners (Internet sites).

Could our English language learners (ELLs) in the United States benefit from a bilingual Montessori program too? Yes. ELLs have found academic success at the Montessori schools because the teachers begin educating the children at their specific academic and developmental levels; specify, model, and practice the correct behaviors and academic expectations within the classroom; and provide the students with hands-on learning opportunities rather than complex language based learning experiences for which many are unprepared upon initial arrival in the United States (Interviews). It is easier for ELLs to acclimate to the Montessori environment rather than a more traditional, educational environment because, in the Montessori environment, ELLs can more easily demonstrate their competencies in other academic areas while learning their new language.

However, language development is key to developing a strong academic framework, so second language proficiency is still is a barrier for many ELLs enrolled in U.S. Montessori schools. The administrators of the public Montessori schools agree, like those of more traditional public schools, that they struggle with successfully meeting the needs of ELLs because these students have not fully developed the complex English language skills necessary for achieving academic success as specified by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Even though the Montessori model is one of the most successful models for building second language skills of bilingual students in France, India, and Africa, the largest challenge facing U.S. dual language Montessori schools is establishing English proficiency for their ELLs.
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Meeting the federal English proficiency standards imposed by NCLB proves to be a difficult task because unrealistic time limits and English language proficiency standards are placed on the ELLs (Interviews). In traditional Montessori schools there are no rigid time limits or standardized tests for the students. Montessori students work at their own pace, with reasonable time constraints suggested for accomplishing specific tasks, "the schedule[s] which we outlined when we established the first 'Children's House,'. . . we have never followed entirely" (Montessori, 1964, p. 121). Also, traditionally, Montessori students are assessed by their teachers based on their specific, unique academic and developmental competencies. Instead of imposing the arbitrary and unrealistic expectations, mandated by NCLB, on our ELLs, schools should advocate freedom within limits. Our ELLs regularly "prove to us that their real wish is to be always at work . . . Following an inner guide, the children busy themselves with something (different for each) which gives them serenity and joy" (Montessori, 1995, p. 201). We need to continue to provide rich educational environments in which our ELLs experience the joy and serenity of meeting high academic standards in English and their own native languages and cultures. Since dual language Montessori teachers begin working with the ELLs within their own language structures, the ELLs experience more academic success and confidence in acquiring second language proficiency; therefore, dual language Montessori schools can provide the most support in second language acquisition and proficiency.

Dual language Montessori schools develop the students as "complete human being[s], oriented to the environment, and adapted to [their] time, place, and culture[s]" (Lillard, 1996, p. 3). One such Dual Language Montessori school in Raleigh is Casa Esperanza Montessori Charter (Casa). The students in this school experience a two way immersion program in which their individual needs are met through English and Spanish instruction in a Montessori environment. Casa's program is an additive language program in which the students' native languages, English or Spanish, are enriched by their acquisition of a second language. The students' "most important motive for work in the school and in life is the pleasure in work, pleasure in its result, and the knowledge of the value of the result to the community", thus contributing to "friendly and understanding discourse between people of different nationalities" and creating a "spirit of brotherly understanding . . . among them[selves]" (Einstein, 1954, pp. 17, 62). Casa successfully integrates the Montessori educational philosophy and the best practices for bilingual instruction: developing and further enriching the students' native language skills through acquiring a second language. Children who come from Casa or any other Dual Language Montessori program embody the principles that "reveal a human being that is superior not only academically, but emotionally and spiritually, a child who cares deeply about other people and the world, and who works to discover a unique and individual way to contribute" (Montessori, website) to our ever changing, globally interdependent society. For nearly one hundred years Maria Montessori's educational techniques have been successfully used in dual language schools throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia, it is only intuitive that this internationally proven educational method could and does prove successful in the United States with our ELLs.

References:

NCLB, Title III, Section 3201(4)
(4) to assist State educational agencies and local educational agencies to develop and enhance their capacity to provide high-quality instructional programs designed to prepare limited English proficient children, including immigrant children and youth, to enter all-English instruction settings;

Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 1968, Title VII, The Bilingual Education Act
The purpose of Title VII is to improve the academic achievement of English learners in public schools. Title VII supports the academic development of English learners in four ways:
1. The collection of data on the number of English learners, the educational services available to them, and the educational outcomes achieved.
2. The evaluation of Title VII program effectiveness.
3. Research to improve the effectiveness of bilingual education programs.
4. The collection, analysis, and dissemination of data and information on bilingual education.

Einstein, Albert. Ideas and Opinions. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1954.

Lillard, Paula Polk. Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach from Birth to Adulthood. New York: Schocken Books, 1996.

Montessori, Maria. The Absorbent Mind. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1995.

Montessori, Maria. Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook. New York: Schocken Books, 1965.

Montessori, Maria. The Montessori Method. New York: Schocken Books, 1964.

Ovando, Carlos J, Combs, Mary Carol, & Collier, Virginia P. Bilingual and ESL Classrooms: Teaching in Multicultural Contexts. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.

Bonham-West, Janice. Director of Casa Esperanza Montessori Charter School, Dual Language Montessori Charter, Raleigh, NC

Sheats, Eloise. Poe Montessori Magnet. Public Montessori Magnet, Raleigh, NC

Thomas, Meg. Director. Montessori School of Raleigh. Private Montessori School, Raleigh, NC
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