Bilingual Analysis

The problem with both bilingual education and English-as-a-second language instruction in the United States lies in our unwillingness to treat English for non-speakers as an academic subject (Haas, 2007). While the bilingual programs in California are thought to be mostly for people who speak Spanish, there are also Asian students that need to be taught proper English before continuing their education. As one anonymous teacher points out: "I have had 32 different languages spoken in my classroom over a 25-year period. Eighty-four languages are spoken in our district."(Anon 1998 & Haas 2007). Which for most teachers mean that it is both educationally and economically impossible to teach every student in their own native language.

Many parents want their children to be enrolled in bilingual education programs so that they may receive the knowledge of the English language while at the same time keep their current and be active with their cultural heritage. Bilingual education is another avenue that needs to be explored by more school districts across the nation because children should learn that there are other forms of communication. High schools require their students to take a foreign language before graduating, so why is this form of bilingual education accepted; yet an elementary bilingual program is under constant criticism? Bilingual people are rewarded in today's society by the higher wages and better positions. The scorn of the bilingual education programs that

Since the beginning of colonization, individuals have immigrated for a better future allowing their offsprings an experience of a new culture. Bilingual programs have offered students the knowledge of another culture and allowing students and individuals to come as a whole and becoming a family. This programs have allowed students to not forget their cultures but instead it has helped students get rich in knowledge of their own culture, and the new and unknown one too. Making this society diverse.

The greatest concern of mandating “English only” schools in California for example is that 80 percent of the population of students is Latino. Miner further explains, “Good bilingual programs are about more than learning a language, it should be about respect for diversity and multiculturalism (Bilingual Education, 1999).”

Throughout the decade, there has been more of an effort, albeit slow-moving, in trying to help out the bilingual student sector of our education system. The most impactful legislation, I believe, that was a vital toward helping this sector, was Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, signed into law on January 2, 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson. As a formal teacher, President Johnson was an avid believer in equal opportunities for those children of low-income families, of which many of the EL students were. Title VII I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 “promot[ed] equal access to the curriculum, training a generation of educators, sniff fostering achievement among students…” Because of this tremendous act, it was a huge stepping stone for young children to learn a second language. It would help them master the English language for high school and gave them an opportunity to go to college. Starting them early, children would be prideful of their culture while encouraging them to learn English. For much of the bilingual movement, bilingualism has been seen as a foreigners not wanting to be American because they wanted to keep up their own, different cultural identity. The original Bilingual Education Act tried to promote linguistic, cultural differences and diversity in the United States, which challenged many popular assimilation theories and the "melting pot" concept of the United States. When it was signed in its final form,

Compared to other Countries, America stands less developed in bilingual abilities due to language requirements taught within our school systems curriculum. Being bilingual is an important skill to have in America, with multiple different prominent languages spoken within our country other than English, we are constantly surrounded by language. The problem that our country is dealing with now, is that we started with the idea that anyone that moved to America should adapt to our languages, instead of us Americans, taking the initiative to learn a new languages. In a report by Hyon Shin and Robert Kominski, showed the number of citizens in America that spoke a language other than English. The “data on speakers of languages other than English

Bilingualism has shown to strengthen cognitive ability. Bilingualism maintain cultures and self-esteem and build strong communities of families that can effectively contribute back to society. Unfortunately, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 states that it was established to “help ensure that English language learners and immigrant students attain English proficiency and achieve academically” which has a tendency to be interpreted as programs that look more like English Immersion or assimilation which is something that has been proven not to be academically successful. The goal of our current educational policies toward education do not utilize such terms or seem to support cultural maintenance or

Before outlining the arguments for and against bilingual education, it is first necessary to provide an overview of the controversy over bilingual education, and its emergence as a national debate. This controversy is basically centered on the question: Should the United States government incorporate the teaching of different languages into the public school system or not? Although it is currently permissible to learn secondary languages such as Spanish, French, German and Latin in public middle schools and high schools in the U.S., such classes have traditionally been geared toward broadening the educational experience for native English-speaking students. Therefore, rather than providing assistance to students whose native languages are not English, classes in American public schools are taught in English, despite the fact that increasing numbers of students in some areas of the U.S. do not speak English as their first language. In 1998, for example, (the most recent year for which statistics were available), statistics indicated that there were some

The United States is a country built by immigrants who speak more than one language. Being bilingual has many benefits that vary from traveling with ease all through having a brain that can multitask faster. In the past decade many schools in California, as well as other states, have started a program called the “dual immersion” or something of that nature in which they have a class that is in another language, usually Spanish, and they teach the kids all the required material in that other language. The “Dual Immersion” program is something that should be instated into more schools, specifically in the bay area, because of the diversity seen here.

More young americans nowadays are being raised in homes speaking non-English, but these students are falling behind in schools where there is not a bilingual program available. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in schools without a bilingual education program, 71% of English speakers are at or above the basic requirements for fourth grade reading while merely 30% of non-English speakers reach this level. 35% of English and 8% of non-English speakers reach proficient reading levels while only 9% of English and 1% of non-English speakers perform at advanced levels. It’s evident that the availability of a bilingual program is crucial to the success of an individual who needs the resources that can be given to them through the use of bilingual education. The percentages of the non-English speaking students previously mentioned could undoubtedly be comparable to those percentages of the English speaking students if the education they were being provided with was cohesive to their comfortability, and the material being taught was in a language they could better understand.

There are many aspects of the United States’ education system that many people would agree need change or in the minimal improvement. One topic under the education system that has had much controversy since it was first introduced is Bilingual Education. Bilingual Education is the teaching or practice programs of two languages to teach content ranging from kindergarten to high school. Bilingual Education programs vary in levels and languages. Some programs are designed to assimilate non-english speakers into the English language, others are meant develop knowledge of a completely different foreign language. Equally the goal proficiency of the language varies drastically. Some programs are meant to teach students the basic understandings of the language in oder to write and speak it adequately and others are meant to allow the student to reach a fluency level. One of the most popular type of program would be a Spanish and English program since Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States. The most common type if bilingual program is intended to transition native Spanish speakers into the English language; this is way of helping kids assimilate into the American culture. However, the use of two languages established in the education system has been a controversial idea since first introduced. It receives differing support and has not been able to achieve a conclusive establishment in the public school system. The

These authors provide clear stances on bilingualism. I feel as if it's a great opportunity if you have the time to learn about another culture and language. The way I view bilingualism in the public and educational system is that everyone should have the choice to learn a different language. One piece of

The issue of bilingual education is a very controversial issue and many people have different views concerning this subject. "Bilingual education began in 1968 as a small, $7.5 million federal program to help Mexican-American students, half of whom could not speak English well when they entered first grade" (Chavez 23). In addition, it began 23 years ago as a historic order for busing students to schools to achieve racial integration. One would believe that the supporters of bilingual education are Latino's but in actuality they are black and white professionals who know the advantages of their children being bilingual. It has been proven that students who are enrolled in

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

I truly and honestly believe that bilingual education is something that should be strengthened. It is important for people who want to be able to converse with other people in social networks, and most importantly in the work place. Not only does it strengthen our bond between different countries, but it also helps us understand different cultures and help us to learn to respect them properly.