Bilingual Education Does NOT Assimilate Non-English Speaking Students

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Bilingual Education Does NOT Assimilate Non-English Speaking Students Lo siento señor. No he aprendido hablar inglés. No puedo ayudarlo. (I'm sorry Sir. I didn't learn to speak English. I can't help you.) When visiting McDonald's and having a non-English speaking person taking your order, one becomes frustrated with the lack of appreciation for learning English. Today, schools in Arizona no longer have true bilingual education classes; they have almost all Spanish instruction with limited English instruction. From the time bilingual education for Spanish was instituted in 1973, it has been ineffective in assimilating non-English speaking students into the English-speaking American society. The bilingual education programs that are in existence now are not completely successful. In these classes, the teachers are teaching in mostly Spanish and very limited English. When the non-English speaking students are put in to a separate class, they are segregated and are not assimilated with the English-speaking students. This keeps them from learning in an English only situation, which makes them learn English faster. This also prevents English speaking students from not knowing total extent of culture and background of peers in their own schools. In addition to that, it doesn't give non-English students a reason to really learn English if they are going to be taught in their native tongue most of the time. When that happens, it hurts those students in the long run. They won't know enough English to communicate in the American society, and they'll be doomed if they can't live in the American society. Richard E. Ferraro, "When you're talking about language," he argued, "English is essential for success in this count... ... middle of paper ... ... expensive one at that" (Duignan) If these programs were updated and made to fit the students now, they wouldn't be money wasters. The current bilingual education program in ineffective in teaching non-English students English and assimilating them into the English-speaking American society. It's ineffectiveness is seen in the students not learning English, or being able to speak it; students who are capable of speaking English abusing the system because it's an easy way out; and the waste of money the current system is. Works Cited Duignan, Peter. "Bilingual Education: A Critique." Hoover Institute. http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/publications/he/22/22c.html Ferraro, Richard E. "Bilingual Education: A Critique." Hoover Institute. http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/publications/he/22/22c.html Garnaat, Sarah L. Personal Interview. 21 November 2000.

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