Language Assistants’ Expectations Towards their Role and Main Functions: the Case of Madrid’s Bilingual Schools

Abstract

Language Assistants (LAs) are nowadays part of the faculties of those schools oriented towards an improvement in foreign languages across the world. In Madrid, LAs have been part of the school staff since the implementation of bilingual programs in 2004 (Consejería de Educación e Investigación, 2017). Their role and main functions, however, have not always been clear (Tobin & Abelló-Contesse, 2013) and, as a result, LAs have been greatly underestimated. In this paper, their perceptions are analysed to provide recommenda-tions on how to improve their participation in bilingual programs. The participants (n=106) responded to a questionnaire adapted from Buckingham (2016) about their role and main responsibilities at Madrid’s bilingual schools after some years of the program implementa-tion. Responses show evidence of how LAs’ perceptions differ from the recommendations provided in the guide issued by Consejería de Educación especially on responsibilities, as-sessment and teachers’ support