Towards the improvement of bilingual education in Andalusia: The Language Assistant perspective

Bilingual education is present through a wide network of Andalusian centers in which foreign Language Assistants (LAs) perform their duties. The study investigates LAs" representations of the teaching/learning processes that take place in bilingual classrooms, documenting their suggestions for improvement. A questionnaire with 81 items was designed and sent to all bilingual centers, with a total of 279 responses. The analysis of the quantitative data was undertaken through SPSS and the qualitative information was codified using ATLAS.ti. Among the results, three emerging categories stand out for the improvement of bilingual teaching, ideas linked to a) Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach, b) classroom methodology, and c) the role of languages. The CLIL approach is positively evaluated, although LAs consider the need for an adjustment on the use of the foreign language according to the difficulty of the subject content. Regarding classroom methodology, teaching practices are described as teacher-centered, together with a considerable dependence on the textbook. Pertaining to the use of languages, the prominent role of the Spanish language is attested, intensified in cases in which teachers' and students" foreign language competence is lower. The conclusions point to the relevance of reinforcing the methodological and linguistic dimensions, thus requiring renewed efforts in terms of initial and ongoing teacher training.