Bilingual Education: Improving O0ne’s Life
Currently there are about 6,000 languages (Language Loss). “10,000 years ago, there may have been 12,000 languages (Cancio).” In the next century about ninety percent of all world languages could go extinct, because “languages are no longer being learnt by children” (Law). Some of these languages are also being lost because people move to the United States in search for a better life. Another cause would be that “the United States is failing to graduate enough students with expertise in foreign languages” (Saiz, and Zoido 523). In 2009, there were 38,517,234 immigrants in the U.S. (Batalova and Aaron). In 2011, 23 percent of children from elementary school and secondary school in California had LEP, or limited English proficiency (Percent Limited English Proficient Student). Bilingual education is one way of teaching a child in his or her own native language while learning English at the same time (Bilingual Education). Schools should teach a child in their native language while teaching the child English because it helps preserve his or her culture, secure a better employment future, and bilingual students perform better in school.
Even though bilingual education is expensive, costing 800 million dollars in 2011, it has raised test scores, increased the amount of money earned and increased the chances of getting a job and maintained the United States’ varied cultures (Peek). These 800 million dollars only represent 0.0002 percent of the education budget. People may not want to learn English with the fear of losing his or her culture, but bilingual education helps these people learn English and integrate into the United States (Bilingual Education). People say that bilingual education exa...
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Peek, Liz. "Bilingual Education: Toss It and Teach Kids English." The Fiscal Times. The Fiscal Times, 25 Aug. 2010. Web. 20 May 2014.
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Opinion Editorial By Hassan Abdi In the article written by Richard Rodriguez, Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood, he conveys an opinion that Bilingual education doesn’t work. He conveys it through his personal experience. Published by the Phi Beta Kappa to the American Society in 1981, the audience and his message are a broad and important now as it was thirty five years ago. As the amount of children that don’t speak English as their first language continue to rise, bilingual education has become a polarizing topic like most things, and for me, I am neutral on the topic. A form of bilingual education has failed me, but, for most students it benefits in the long term, and it 's not right to dispel one side of the topic to push your own
The legal and historical rationale of Bilingual Education has been around for quite some time and appears to a continuous issue with educators and political figures. Numerous articles have been written in favor and against Bilingual Education. The articles I read and summarized relate to some of the issues that have evolved from various proponents and opponents of how education should be presented to ELs in the United States. Summaries and a brief timeline of legislation up to the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) follow.
Dual language is a form of education in which students are taught to read and write in two languages. The majority of dual language programs in the United States teach in English and Spanish, although there are emerging programs that teach in Mandarin, Japanese and Hindi. The programs start of mostly in kindergarten sand 1st grade and continue throughout primary education, in addition some dual language programs depending on the grade continue through middle and high school. Even Hayward’s own Burbank elementary and Winton middle school are offering dual language programs. Each level of teaching uses a different language ratio in which class is instructed the classes start off with a 90:10 ration and later as years pass the ration becomes a steady 50:50 (Lindholm-Leary, Kathryn J,2001). The goals of dual language immersion programs are to get children to become both bi-literate and bilingual, in other words, they will be able to speak and write fluently in two different languages. Dual language programs are becoming more and more common most of them are in public school but there are some beginning to become present private and charter schools. Dual language education should be introduced in all elementary schools beginning in the Kindergarten to boost achievement for English language learners, benefits it will bring to the community, outstanding brain benefits and lastly cost efficiency in education across the United States.
Dillon, Naomi. “LANGUAGE TEST. (cover story).” American School Board Journal 192.8 (2005): 10. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 18 Feb. 2001.
Since, the issue of Bilingual education became relevant in the United States, people have argued over the need and effectiveness of such programs in American school systems.
Bilingual education allows for an emotionally safe transition. This program lets children communicate in their native tongue, while being exposed to a new language. It's hard enough to be "the new kid" in school. It is easy to imagine the difficulty children have not being able to communicate with anyone and not understanding what is going on around them. Many argue that children will use the bilingual classroom as a crutch and will never learn English because of it. In actuality, it has been proven that children learn English faster if they are taught in their native language first. The goal of bilingual education is for students to learn while not falling behind. Without bilingual education programs, children come i...
In the article, “Public and Private Language”, Richard Rodriguez argues that bilingual education delays learning a “public language” and developing a public identity”. I can relate to Richard’s story because my family and me moved to America when I was young and we also had the same struggle learning a new language. I agreed with Rodriguez when he expressed that he didn’t feel like a true American until he mastered the English language because English is the first and main language in America.
When visiting just about any school across America, students who attend come from all over the globe. This raises the question across America about bilingual education. This can create many challenges in and out of the classroom. The classroom should be a safe place for all students regardless of what native language they speak. In the essay Lost in translation written by Eva Hoffman, describes a foreign student who tries hard to fit in. Instead, Eva begins to feel angry, hurt and confused because people laugh at her. In Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education by Elizabeth R. Howard, Julie Sugarman, Donna Christian Center for Applied Linguistics Kathryn J. Lindholm-Leary San José State University David Rogers Dual Language Education of New Mexico. Guiding principles gives great ideas to educators to stop kids from making other students feel the way that Eva felt. After reading several articles about bilingual education, it is evident that all children in school should learn English but never lose their native language. When all the students speak one language, students will be less likely to make fun of each other. A good educator should learn enough foreign languages to aid them in effective communication in their classroom although; if an educator does not speak a foreign language, they should recruit within the classroom students to be peer mentors. However, a teacher should be willing to listen and encourage the students. Above all a good educator should be a good role model to their students by respecting their heritage and their language.
The issue of bilingual education is a much debated topic in this country and especially in this state. The Spanish-speaking populace has grown tremendously in these past decades, much of which has immigrated with Spanish as their only language. This has left the public school system with an interesting problem; how to successfully transition Spanish speaking students into an English environment. Public school systems have generally adopted one of two approaches to this problem. One is to allow students several years to develop their English with lessons taught in both languages. The other is a total immersion program where students are thrust into English-only lessons with little time develop their second language. Both approaches have ardent followers with valid arguments for each approach.
From my experience, bilingual education was a disadvantage during my childhood. At the age of twelve, I was introduced into a bilingual classroom for the first time. The crowded classroom was a combination of seventh and eighth grade Spanish-speaking students, who ranged from the ages of twelve to fifteen. The idea of bilingual education was to help students who weren’t fluent in the English language. The main focus of bilingual education was to teach English and, at the same time, teach a very basic knowledge of the core curriculum subjects: Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. Unfortunately, bilingual education had academic, psychological, and social disadvantages for me.
The debate has been especially strong in states where Latino populations are high. In fact, changes in education programs have already occurred in such states as California and Arizona. The sunshine state’s infamous Proposition 227 (also know as the English for the Children initiative), Arizona’s Proposition 203, and a number of other state’s English for the Children campaigns are evidence that many people are dissatisfied with bilingual education and are seeking – and getting - changes. Regardless, the general public remains divided on the issue. Teachers, administrators, students, parents, politicians, and researchers ...
...thousands of years. Generally, bilingual education can mean any use of two languages in school, by teachers, students, or both – for a variety of social and pedagogical purposes. It also refers to the different approaches in the classroom that use the native languages of English language learners (ELLs) for instruction. These approaches include teaching English, fostering academic achievement, acculturating immigrants to a new society, and preserving a minority group’s linguistic and cultural heritage. Building on, rather than just discarding the students’ native-language skills, create a stronger foundation for success in English and academics. Also, if students learn languages at a younger age, it will be easier to remember and learn them, rather than if they were older. It helps to learn another language for students, and can later be useful in the future.
Bilingual education has been used in many ways and different countries. In the US, however, it can be more specific and complex. It is the way their native languages are used by English language learners for instruction. There are many views concerning bilingualism. This paper outlines different views people have on this type of program. From personal views, pros and cons, the positive or negative outcomes, and the overall different perspectives people have in bilingual education.
“Learning a second language not only has cognitive and academic benefits, it also supports a greater sense of openness to, and appreciation for, other cultures” (Tochen, 2009). For many students in the United States, English is not the primary language spoken at home. There are several options for getting these children to reach proficiency in the English Language. However, there is only one model that preserves the child’s first language, while also gaining literacy in English. This model is Bilingual Education. Bilingual education is not new to the United States. It in fact started in 1968 under title VII. However, there is still a lot for the general public, and parents of language learners, to learn about this form of education. Bilingual
In 2009, teachers of a New Jersey school banned foreign languages and stated, “any language other than English will not be tolerated" (Debaron 1). This situation was soon no longer allowed. While over ten percent of the total adolescent education systems contain emergent bilinguals, a whopping sixty percent of those students are educated in only English (Bale). Maria Estela Brisk, a Boston College Education professor, believes, “schools has wasted much energy in the search for a "perfect" model and the best way to learn English” when they could just focus on proving “quality education” to every student in the system (1). Teacher’s main priority should consist of effectively teaching their students to prepare them for the future, but currently there are a lack of certified bilingual education teachers. When students are taught more in different ways, they can educationally benefit their cognitive abilities, involving the brain with “mathematics, problem solving, logic and memory”, can be improved to create an overall better student. Even by learning another language at a earlier age can contribute to __________. Learning another language will be