Analysis Of Bilingual Education By James Rodriguez

Rodriguez gave many reasons why one would not be a supporter of bilingual education. By giving these examples from his life. What he lived and went through, finding himself and his voice.

Although bilingual education has some merit, avoiding the implementation of the more popular language of a community is detrimental to the incorporation of mostly you people in society and hinders their ability to develop a keen sense of identity. For example, "language gets learned as it gets used (7).” In other words, one masters the language as he speaks it. Speaking and language skills tend to sharpen if they are used regularly. Rodriguez argues that learning both languages and using them rather than leaving one begins to lead to a better sense of identity and freedom. But according to Rodriguez it makes one become insecure, growing up

“Aria,” by Richard Rodriguez took his life as an example of on how the bilingual system takes effect on people just like him. He puts his life as an example to show that if the bilingual system actually works, by walking us through his life experiences growing up from an immigrant, family not knowing English, but later developing the language and noticing that he gained something valuable, he also lost something important in return. Rodriguez believes that the bilingual educational system takes “a degree of individuality” from children,(19) also explaining why his tone changes towards the end of the article. The way Rodriguez used his personal life as a personal credibility for the bilingual education, although he does not provide logical appeals which show facts that the majority think what he believes, he uses his personal life as piece of research.

I taught for 25 years at an inner city school. My students were all second language learners, and often their parents were totally illiterate. I entered this career not as a teacher, but as a social worker turned teacher. The Los Angeles Unified School District was in dire need of bilingual educators, so they offered a district intern program where I took college courses while I worked in the classroom.

This book was considered as the most debated U.S. Latino texts. In the book, Rodriguez used his personal experience in discussing social and political issues. Though it is autobiographical in nature, it is a collection of personal experiences that shaped Rodriguez’s understanding of culture, education, and the formal education system in America. Rodriguez tackled the educational system wherein he discussed the change of language in the beginning of a child’s education- Spanish to English. In his book, he provides a thoughtful critique of contemporary education and its shortfalls. He opposed bilingual education and affirmative action. He shared his views on the inequality of educational system and the specific educational needs of minorities in the United States. He used his upbringing and self exploration as a Mexican American, and his extensive schooling to examine contemporary education.

Rodriguez argues in his essay, whether bilingual education is appropriate for school. Rodriguez states that “It is not possible for a child, any child, ever to use his family’s

Rodriguez builds a formidable case against bilingual education with his bilingual childhood experiences. Rodriguez grew up speaking Spanish, but then learned how to speak English later in life so he knows what effects bilingual education has on bilingual kids who grew up speaking a private language at homes. When Rodriguez first came to the United States in Sacramento, California he understood “about fifty stray English words” (Richard Rodriguez “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”). He was a Mexican immigrant whose family only knew how to speak Spanish. The neighbors of Rodriguez’s family didn’t like them, so when they were out walking they would tell Rodriguez’s parents “Keep your brats away from my sidewalk!” (Rodriguez 571). Rodriguez loses the “special feeling of closeness at home” when he learned English (Rodriguez 577). Personal experiences are what makes him a credible author. Rodriguez used strong ethos and pathos appeals, but he didn’t use strong logos appeals. He didn’t use facts or reasoning in his memoir to prove his points against bilingual education.

Growing up with immigrant parents, I understood how it felt like to go home and ask your parents for help on the homework but they could not help me because of the language barrier. I had to stay after school to do my homeworks just in case I needed help because I knew my parents would not be able to help me. Rodriguez faced similar problem. For example, Rodriguez 's father tried helping him one night with a math homework but he couldn 't because the instructions were in English, “I was oddly annoyed when I was unable to get parental help with a homework assignment. The night my father tried to help me with an arithmetic exercise, he kept reading the instructions, each time more deliberately, until I pried the textbook out of his hands, saying, "I 'll try to figure it out some more by myself” (pg 563). This shows the language barrier between Rodriguez and his parents. He was frustrated that he wasn 't able to get help from his parents. He wanted his parents to be just like his

Bilingual education offers a completely different world for students of different ethnic background and thus creates a comfort zone limiting the risk-taking factor necessary for the maturation of a child to an adult. Rodriguez argues supporters of bilingualism fail to realize "while one suffers a

Spanish speakers benefit learning English, universally used in the United States. I have always accepted other’s life decisions. Bilingualism to me relates to both Espada and Rodriguez’s opinions. Espada believes non-English speakers should fight for the right to preserve their language and identity. Rodriguez believes language and culture diminishes the less that language is spoken. I believe in United States English should be spoken in formal settings (schools, businesses, etc.), while other languages could be spoken in appropriate situations (non-business). Espada grew up with English as his first language and later learned Spanish. Rodriguez grew up with a choice to no longer resist English or to not fit in with American society. Their differences reflect on their opinions today.

Around 1959, bilingual education took flight in the United States. Starting in Miami and quickly making its way San Francisco, bilingual education soon led to the Bilingual Education Act, which promoted “No Child Left Behind”. Only twenty years later, the act acquired the attention of high schools around the country. Nonetheless, bilingual education is not always taken to be the cure-all for acclimating immigrants to the United States. In his article “Aria: A Memoir of Bilingual Childhood”, Richard Rodriguez argues that students should not take part in bilingual education by explaining how it takes away individuality and a sense of family through the use of ethos, diction, and imagery; Rodriguez also uses parallelism and ethos to point out how a bilingual childhood can help students feel connected to society.

Richard Rodriguez talks about bilingual education and says how it is impossible for a child to speak his family’s language in school. His reasoning later

Bilingual education is an academic approach followed by some instructors, which is using the native language for new English learners for instructions. Within the international context, bilingual education has become a necessity due to the high number of immigration, colonialism and the great number of local languages (Yushau & Bokhari, 2005). This approach in instruction has reflected back positively or negatively in many dimensions such as social, psychological, and pedagogical. However, bilingual instruction is an effective way of teaching English as a second language, in case of well implementation it can be seen as an educational advantage. This literature covers a wide variety of opinions that revolves around a topic that researchers find it controversial, this review will highlight the major question and findings which emerge in

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

For this investigative assignment, I interviewed three of my closest friends about their perspectives on bilingual education in the United States. One of my friends, who I will call “A,” said that bilingual education is important for students because it helps them broaden their perspectives on the world. Students are exposed to learn different cultures and respect them, promoting multiculturalism in our country. “A” said that if students were only exposed to English-only classroom setting, they would most likely be ignorant of other cultures. She also told me about her experience when she was in an ESL program during her middle school year. She described the program as useless because she and her classmates learned broken English from each other. She somehow managed to get out of the program and put herself into the mainstream English class. My other friend, who I will call “B,” stated that bilingual education is helpful in developing a wider cultural perspective and cultivating a person suitable for the globalized world. As a foreign-born American and working as an international student coordinator, she emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and respecting different cultures. She believes that bilingual education can help students to achieve better knowledge on growing multiculturalism in our country. My last interviewee, who I will call “C,” also believes that bilingual education is important to cultivate young minds by helping them to respect not only their own but