Bilingual Education

Viewpoints of Novice Language Teachers

Abstract

This study aims to identify the salient features of bilingual programs. The study explores this issue from the perspective of novice language teachers. The data was collected by conducting interviews with five language teachers. Results suggest that some of the most important concerns in bilingual programs are: the necessity of language teachers with appropriate teaching skills, subject content knowledge, and the appropriate use of English (at a level B2 of the Common European Framework). Results also demonstrate that there exists a lack of teaching materials for bilingual programs. It is also important to mention that the participants recommend evaluating the curriculum of the ELT programs to include subject matters related to bilingual education.