Advantages And Disadvantages Of Bilingual Education

This paper will be revisiting the article PreK-3rd; Challenging common myths about young English language learners written by Linda Espinosa. In this article Espinosa provides us with some common myths that people believe about dual language programs and the effects that it has on children. Therefore, in my previous reflection paper two myths were chosen which were myths one and six. Thus the two myths are “myth 1: Learning Two Languages During the Early Childhood Years Will Overwhelm, Confuse, and/ or Delay Acquisition of English (Espinosa pg. 5).” The second myth is “myth 6: Native English Speakers May Experience Academic and Language Delays in Dual Language Programs (Espinosa pg. 15).” In the previous reflection paper, I discussed the two myths based off of my prior knowledge. Thus since the course is coming to an end, I will be stating if my opinion has changed or remained the same towards these two myths. Therefore, this paper will be providing more evidences that was been provided for us throughout the quarter.

As parents, want to make sure we offer the best opportunities and knowledge available to our children. Considering the effects of today’s globalized and interconnected society, knowing and speaking more than one language represents extra opportunities. Additionally, more and more homes are made up of biracial and bicultural parents, which in many instances, includes bilingual or even trilingual environments for our children.

We learned in our text that the development of language is a complicated process that involves phonemes, morphemes, syntactic development among several other factors (Siegler, DeLoache, Eisenberg & Saffran, 2014, p. 218). Proper and effective development of these language skills has been shown to have a critical learning period that enables successful fluency of a language; this period usually occurs between the ages of 5 and puberty (Siegler et al., 2014, p. 220). I believe that this critical period is the backbone of the argument against bilingual education. Proponents of this argument believe that the sooner a child is immersed in the new language, the better off they will be with regards to mechanics and use of that language.

The need for bilingual education is not directly related to the need for the student to have a more pleasant learning experience, but based more on the increasing need for these individuals to learn about their heritage, how they can present themselves to others in different scenarios, and being knowledgeable in both languages at a dual equivalence. The key

Why should people nowadays see languages as a big prize? A person speaks more languages have more opportunities are skewed to him because he benefits the profit comparing to a person who speaks only one standard language. It is time for globalization and its effects on children for speaking other languages as a must. In two articles “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” by Richard Rodriguez and “Whose Voice Is It Anyway?” by Victor Villanueva, the two authors both expressed their opinions on native language and how the assimilation impacts a child. However, Rodriguez believed that the assimilation was beneficial for him as he had grown up in the English-speaking world and he disliked bilingual education which created many controversy.

There are more than 6500 language around the world. We cannot control or decide where we are going to be born or we cannot decide our mother language. But we can choose which language we are going to use as our second language. The existence of large numbers of people who speak more than one language but who do not exhibit native-like control in both languages raises the question of how proficient a person must be to be classed as bilingual. Bilingualism may be defined as having some ability to use two or even more languages. Being of bilingual has practical benefits in globalize world and it is not limited to having conversations with more people around. In 1922 the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said, “The limits of my language mean

One of the first issues that presents itself when discussing the concept of bilingualism is its definition. Over the years, there has been much debate

Bilingual education is when students learn in their native language along with another language. There are three different ways teachers ease another language into a student's education. One of the programs is called Transitional bilingual education consisting of a student learning the main core subjects math, english, science, etc. for at least three years so they can properly understand the subjects. Since it's easy to translate the subjects to english it would be easier in the students to transfer them to only-English classes. Next, Dual Language Immersion is specifically designed so English speakers and non-English speakers become fluent in another language but the teachers that are educating them do not translate their material in a language they understand but in one they don’t in order to get them used to the different language. Lastly, Developmental Bilingual Education strive is to educate a student in their native language and slowly get them to be literate in another language. The program's’ aim is to teach their students how to be fluent in another language that would later make

The struggles of learning a new language often overshadow the added advantage of bilingualism; in a globalized English speaking world however, the need to acquire the tongue of the trade becomes more apparent. As an immigrant, my advantage of having access and support to learn English at a young age enabled me to embark on a smooth journey transitioning into bilingualism. However, had this opportunity come at a later, less malleable stage of my life, I would have surely been lost, like my parents in a limbo between cultures and stranded by language. A debate surrounded by both political and ethnic tensions, the argument over bilingualism and the enforcement of English education creates a polarizing split in opinions. Although Richard Rodriguez and Martin Espada shares the common similarity of bilingualism, their arguments reveal two uniquely different views influenced by their opposing backgrounds.

In a country such as Canada, having two official languages makes it nearly impossible to avoid the topic of bilingualism. Anyone who grew up through education system in Ontario likely has strong opinions about the value of being able to speak both English and French fluently. Those opinions may be strengthened further once a resident is faced with the challenge of deciding which educational stream to apply their children to. Immigrant families have it more difficult in that their children are already learning their native language and English when they arrive, and then they may be required start learning French as well. Along with these social implications of bilingual learning, there are also psychological issues that come up. There are helpful effects and some that are not so helpful that result from trying to learn two languages, this paper serves as a means to display both the benefits and the drawbacks related to bilingualism and the bilingual learning process.

Dual Language education is increasing throughout the United States giving students at a young age an advantage over their monolingual peers. Different research studies resulted in a major success by proving that "bilingual children outperform monolinguals in a wide array of cognitive and language-based tasks" (Wallstrum 16). Dual language immersion is defined as fifty percent of the non-English is used for the instructional part of the day, and the other fifty percent is spoken in English. The purpose of these immersion schools is to promote fluency in the foreign language while also performing at their grade level in that language.

Language is a key part of any family, community, culture and the human race. Without language the world today would be much different. From cavemen, to the Egyptian use of hieroglyphics, to Old English, to more than 6,500 languages spoken around the world today, the advances that humans have made in language is remarkable and inspiring. The ability to speak, read, write and understand more than one language is also remarkable and expands the liberties in life, especially for young people. High school students should be required to take at least two years of a foreign language class in order to graduate, as many recent studies support the benefits of doing so. Students who have learned a foreign language in high school have proven to have a

“One of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time”, Federico Fellini once stated that “A different language is a different vision of life” and I, in my turn tend to say that he was perfectly right. A person who speaks more than one language can experience multiple personalities, visions and reflections consisting which language is he speaking. High School students should comprehend the real benefit of speaking a foreign language. Being a multilingual myself and speaking fluently four languages and studying another two, I consider that I am qualified enough to persuade that my argument is strong, plausible and not ultimately-right. In the following paragraphs I am going to address the following three reasons why should other High School students learn at least one foreign language? Firstly, learning a new language enhances performances in the academic domain and makes you smarter. Secondly, knowing a new language is a high estimated and a very valuable characteristic in your professional CV. Thirdly, international travel is more pleasant through knowing a foreign language.

A child 's brain is always growing and absorbing new information. Thus meaning early education is a fundamental part of a child’s development. Experts say that one of the best ways for children to expand their minds and grow their opportunities is to learn a foreign language (Kathleen M. Marcos). While starting school can be intimidating for a child, it can seem even more daunting starting their education in a language different from what is spoken at home. However, the few challenges that come along with this experience are greatly outweighed by the benefits. Most research conclusively shows that there are many ways in which foreign language education aids in different aspects of a child’s life . There are four main areas in which children benefit from: academic, social, cognitive and personal. While it seems that learning a second language creates a well-rounded child who receives a number of benefits, the process does not come without any difficulty. It is speculated by some guardians, although not yet proven through research, that children who start learning in a bilingual home may begin speaking later than their monolingual counterparts (Multilingual Children 's Association). Despite this speculation, experts have shown that learning a foreign language may be challenging for young minds, the benefits are far greater in regards to their futures (Damon Verial).

In recent years, much attention has been drawn to the bilingual education debate. Immigration is booming, and along with it the number of non-English-speaking children entering public schools. According to Thomas and Collier, "Language-minority students are predicted to account for about 40 percent of the school-age population by the 2030’s" (5). Bilingual programs in many areas have sparked a heated controversy, with many people claiming that non-English-speaking children, most notably Hispanics, are being disadvantaged by programs that simply don’t work.