COMPUTER BASED LIFE SCIENCE LESSONS FOR JR. HIGH STUDENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH-PROFICIENCY

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY IS A GROWING PROBLEM IN EDUCATION. IN THE AREA OF SCIENCE, THE SITUATION IS EVEN MORE SERIOUS, SINCE STUDENTS NOT ONLY HAVE TO LEARN SCIENCE BUT ALSO TO UNDERSTAND THE EXPLANATION IN ENGLISH. THUS, WE PROPOSE AN INNOVATIVE COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR LIMITED ENGLISH-PROFICIENT STUDENTS IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS TO LEARN SCIENTIFIC CONTENT WHILE MASTERING THE SCIENTIFIC LANGUAGE IN ENGLISH. TO TEST THE FEASIBILITY OF THE APPROACH IN PHASE I, FIVE RELATED MODULAR LESSONS ON LIFE SCIENCE WILL BE PREPARED FOR MACINTOSH COMPUTERS. THEY WILL BE EVALUATEDUSING A SMALL BILINGUAL TEST GROUP. DURING PHASE II, THE PROGRAM WILL BE EXPANDED INTO TWENTY MORE MODULAR LESSONS TO COVER ALL THE TOPICS IN A TYPICAL BIOLOGY COURSE AT THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL. IF THE RESULTS ARE SATISFACTORY, SIMILAR TYPES OF LESSONS WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR BOTH PHYSICALSCIENCE AND EARTH SCIENCE IN PHASE III. THE FINAL PRODUCTS WILL SERVE AS IMPORTANT AIDS FOR LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT STUDENTS TO LEARN SCIENCE IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL. THE METHOD OF APPROACH SHOULD ALSO SERVE AS MODELS FOR OTHER COMPUTER AIDED INSTRUCTION AT OTHER STAGES OF THEIR EDUCATION.