Arguments For Bilingual Education

As the previous discussion has shown, the notions bilingualism and bilingual education are pretty complex. Summing up, bilingualism exists in different levels, which are defined as termed individual bilingualism and societal bilingualism. These forms are typical either for the whole language minorities (communities) or for an individual. This should be taken into account for bilingual education, which can be described as language possession at the individual level. From the research that has been carried out, it is possible to conclude that this issue is very complex and can be described by various dimensions, such as language ability, achievement, competences, performance, proficiency and skills, as well as the age of language acquisition, the balance of two languages, context of language usage.

Bilinguals in America experience unfair treatment and are looked at differently if English is not their native language. The subject of bilingualism is not a topic many are educated on. Uneducated English speakers use their dominance and popularity of their language to treat Spanish speakers like their language and culture does not belong in our country. Martin Espada and Richard Rodriguez speak of bilingualism in their well published essays, and they write about the struggles that American citizens face when they are bilingual in Spanish and English. This essay will clearly show each writer’s definition and arguments on bilingualism and my argument on the topic.

Bilingual is a person who can use two languages in his daily life, and they can basically speak a foreign language and a native language while listening, speaking, reading and writing. Today, many developing countries are trying bilingual education as a dominant form of education because through experimentation and time accumulation, bilingual education is a great advantage for all students (Thomas, W & Collier, V. 1997). Bilingual education has a high demand among schools, teachers, courses, textbooks, and students. For example, in China, there are many ethnic groups, which are scattered in different regions. The government not only wants each group to retain its original language, but also hopes that they can communicate with each other in Mandarin. The Chinese government has introduced bilingual education into the educational system of ethnic minorities. Although developing countries face several challenges in integrating bilingual education into the regular teaching of school, there are several strategies that might help.

In the history of the United States, we have always embraced the remarkable mix of cultures and languages that come to us from all over the world. One area in which this remains true is education. Bilingual education finds its roots as early as the 17th century, when the first English settlement of Virginia was established, and Polish settlers arrived (Goldenberg, Wagner). “From its colonial beginnings, bilingual education in the United States has existed in one form or another to the present day, with a brief interruption during and right after World War I in the wake of virulent anti-German sentiment and a more general nativist opposition to the use of non-English languages” (Goldenberg, Wagner). The persistence of this method of learning is quite telling as to its effects; if they were not beneficial, the method would no

The continued growth of speakers of languages other than English is reflected in the rapidly increasing students in U.S. schools for whom English is a second language. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics (2005) show that the number of school-age children who spoke a language other than English reached almost 10 million in 2004. Such a dramatic increase continually challenges educators to provide effective language programs with quality instruction for students who are culturally and linguistically diverse. Some educators choose to view these challenges as opportunities by offering a dual bilingual program as an educational option for meeting the needs of monolingual speakers.

Bilingual education policies in the Unites States have been influenced by many factors. These factors range from the different attitudes towards languages in general and the controversy that bilingual education creates among interested parties, to the relation between state and federal level language policies. All of these factors together, along with a number of historical events, have contributed, in one way or another, in shaping the country’s policies of teaching language-minority students (Crawford, 2004; Johnson & Johnson, 2015; Ruiz, 1988).

It is true that in the last 150 years alone, bilingual education has come a long way and has been changed presumably for the better. Though, despite all of the good that has come from this evolution of education, there is still much more to be done. Bilingual education has quite a bit of improvement to be made in order to better benefit ELL students and help guide them through acculturation, rather than force them to assimilate to American society and bear the weight of racism and discriminatory

Educators from several different school districts in Texas, the state with one of the highest Hispanic student enrollments in the country, sought out to provide an answer to this issue. Gallo, Garcia, Pinuelas and Youngs agree that the definition of bilingual education is very similar to Slavin’s. They stated that bilingual education “is a process, one which educates students to be effective in a second language while maintaining and nurturing their first language” (2008). Not only did these researchers seek the problems of bilingual education using 3 separate Texas schools as their basis of the study, but they also came up with a very plausible curriculum that could be implemented in the state to allow bilingual education to be more effective.

In the past, the integrative function of education was most obvious in its emphasis on promoting a common language--English-- and an equal educational opportunity for children of various backgrounds and beliefs. Immigrant children were required to learn and speak English, and in some instances, they were even forbidden to speak their native language on school grounds, so they can easily adapt to a new-born country -- the United States of America(Schaefer, 2013). However, as we advanced in our educational development and knowledge, the bilingual education became a commonplace. More recently, it has been widely promoted for its possible benefits, such as an encouragement of cultural diversity, development of the native language, and the acquisition

Deborah K. Palmer and Ramon Antonio Martinez argue that being bilingual shouldn’t be a disadvantage to how students learn, but it should be promoted in all English Language Arts classroom. In New York and Texas, English is the primary language that is being taught in schools and if a student is not proficient in English, he/she would be placed in an ESL class to improve their English. Since many English classes aren’t implied to incorporate bilingualism in their lesson planning, it shouldn’t mean that it should be ignored. Previous research has shown that students incorporate their bilingual skills in their everyday language practices and skills connecting to the English language arts standards that it might even be used as a resource in class.

With technology and travel, our culturally diverse planet has become a global melting pot and while the division of nations and nationalities still exists, all countries are comprised of individuals from various nationalities. As such, a great benefit of bilingual educations is that they often afford their students ample professional opportunities and tend to open more employment doors. Houston happens to be a perfect example of how and why bilingual education is important because as the 4th most populous city in the United States, it is also one of the most culturally diverse cities in the nation. With that, the need for individuals who speak languages other than English is an important attribute and is indicative as to why an incorporation of bilingual education can be helpful. Mizab and Bahloul note “[t]he 21st century is shaped to keep pace with the requirements of our interrelated world. The role of translators shifted as well from transferring meanings between languages to a more sophisticated cluster of professions: they become ‘language services providers’” (p.190). Though there are many people who “believe” that

Previously, immigrants traveled to America due to the offered freedoms and equality, yet, today, many naturalized citizens suffer with injustices, including educational practices. The use of bilingual education (teaching students in both English and their native language) is growing into a controversial topic. In 1968, the Bilingual Education Act, which recognized and offered education to students lacking English, was passed, yet some question the importance of this program. Bilingual education advances the lives of native speakers, through education benefits, health benefits, and future

In 2005, Rolstad, Mahoney, and Glass, conducted meta-analysis research of bilingual education in Arizona. Before 2000, 63% of ELL students were in an ESL program, 16% in a bilingual education program, and 13% in a transitional bilingual education program. After evaluating multiple studies, the researchers found that English instruction has been effective in Arizona. However, bilingual education has also been effective and most research states it is more effective than English only instruction as students are able to “engage” academic content in both languages. Not only can a bilingual education help ELL students academically, it can also teach students about diversity. Research shows by using the student 's’ native language, it

The tide turned again with the 1994 Clinton Administration reauthorization of the Bilingual Education act, also known as the Improving America’s Schools Act, which promoted bilingual education for the first time not just to help immigrants learn English, but also as way to develop the human capital of the nation and promote American competitiveness in the global economy. The result of this extension was the expansion of developmental bilingual education, which included “two-way” bilingual programs serving both mainstream and language-minority students (Nieto,

A child’s education is a very important matter to consider during their lives. Choosing where to send them to school is often a hard decision due to various options. Bilingual schools are starting to extend through the world. If the child is bilingual and starting school, learning in a bilingual school can reinforce their languages. If the child only speaks one language, giving them a bilingual education can help them to acquire a new language in a period of time. Immersing a child into a two-way bilingual education is not only beneficial to the native speakers, but will also help society as a whole to uncover additional opportunities.