Bilingual And Bicultural Education Book Review

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.

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.

It's a regular Tuesday morning, just like any other. A Hispanic mother is called to the school for a meeting for a consultation about her son’s performance. While in the meeting, the principal tells her that her child is in the 2nd grade, but is very behind. He adds the fact that her child does not understand the language the teacher speaks, and consequently, is not learning. The mother feels helpless since she cannot help him by reason of not understanding the language either. Hence, this is the difficult reality for numerous Hispanic families.

Deaf children are entitled to know that they are heirs to an amazing culture, not a pitiful defect. In order to follow through on that obligation, one of the best things I feel we can do is try to educate other hearing people about the realities of American Sign Language and Deaf culture. Language is one of the most critical aspects of most cultures, and one which sets deafness aside from other defects such as blindness, physical disability, or illness. Sign language is not universal, nor does it always correspond to the spoken language in the same country. For example American Sign Language is native to the United States and Canada. Deaf Canadians might use English, French, or both as a written language. But deaf people in Great Britain, while they may write in English, use a completely different sign language. (nad.org)

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.

Before this surge, deaf education in American schools, for well over 200 years, had gone by the hearing world's dogma: oral communication, based on print-centered literacy, had always been strongly insisted upon, and manual, visual communication discouraged (if it was allowed at all). The reasoning was that if deaf people were to function and communicate, they must do so as if they can hear; if they can't get along in the hearing world, they can't get along at all, and knowing the dominant (hearing) culture's language, doing well with its literacy, is the key to "getting along."

Many people still debate the benefits of bilingual education. Even if the program were supported, there would be no way to insure that it has successfully achieved its goal. “The problem with this method (bilingual education) is that there is no objective way to measure whether a child has learned enough English to be placed in class where academic instruction is entirely in English. As a result, some children have been kept in native language classes for six years” (Hayakawa 577). Not only is there no way to measure if a student is ready to be out of the program, those students who were stuck in the program for several years infers the feeling of being out-casted. Children complain of systematically being segregated from their English-speaking peers being put in to the bilingual

Bilingual Education where Supporters feel that students miss a great deal by not being taught in their family’s language. That children that retain their family’s language will retain a sense of individuality. Their ethnic heritage & cultural ties. Helping Students acquire the skills of a classroom crucial for public success. Rodriguez also discusses the use of teaching and using a single language.

Although it is possible for deaf children to attend public schools and succeed, research suggests that it is best for them to have their own environment, says Meagan McDonough. It is already hard enough for a hearing student to find his/her place in the classroom, but when you add being deaf to the list, a major challenge presents itself. This deaf student must work extra hard to keep up and be able to read the lips of his/her teachers and fellow peers, and learn to communicate. Even though accommodations are made and sometimes interpreters are given, it is hard for the student to feel welcome. If this student were to attend a deaf school, he/she would not have to work so hard and would find it much easier to communicate and socialize - both of which are major focuses in a high school student’s life. In Meagan McDonough's article "Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children in Public Schools", she states that public schools might not be best for deaf students, but if they start out in a deaf school and eventually integrate into a hearing school, they will be better off and be able to keep up. I agree with her in that it is good for a child to at least start his/her education in a deaf school so that the base of their foundation is laid by something they can understand. If later they feel comfortable trying out a public school, they may do so and will find it easier to be and feel included. However, if ASL was to be offered in all public schools and colleges, it would give hearing students the chance to be able to communicate and be more comfortable with deaf

According to Richardson (2004), approximately 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents. Unfortunately, without developing linguistic skills early on in life, the deaf are more likely use English as a second language. “Deaf individuals tend to have low-status jobs, limited education, high employment and face cultural and linguistics

The two articles acknowledge ECEs about the importance of that critical period for children to learn their first language. Also how their language skills relate to other skills that is needed for them later in life. Now knowing this information I can plan activities and understand how to help children with hearing loss later on when I’m in the work field. Sign language is also very important for children that are deaf. I would put posters that teach sign language in the class room for the children to see. As well as encourage them to communicate with others in any ways that they can. Therefore, these two articles show educators the information that is very useful, so they are relevant to

In the United States of America we have become a large melting pot of ethnic and cultural peoples. Along with these peoples have come many different languages and alphabets. However the US has been seen as a mostly English speaking country. Yet many of this country's newcomers do not speak English. Adults and children alike come into the US speaking and writing only their

English is an interesting language ,English is comprised of many different words from different languages all mashed up and mixed together. English is a very hard language to learn, especially if you can’t hear it. How easy would it be to confuse a “B” with a “P” they sound similar and when trying to lip read how can you tell the difference? I feel that young Deaf/hard of hearing students should be taught by a Deaf teacher or a child of a Deaf adult (C.O.D.A) teacher is important because ASL is the first step to learning English and becoming bilingual. According to the article Why Schools for Deaf Children Should Hire Deaf Teachers: A Preschool Issue By Courtney Shantie and Robert Hoffmeister, the authors state “This paper will focus on the theories and facts behind why bilingual education for Deaf children is the best option” (Shantie and Hoffmeister, 2003). I feel that the topic of if Deaf/hard of hearing students being taught by Deaf/C.O.D.A teachers is very important because it is the best way to help students succeed.

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

Deaf children that are placed in a regular school setting often are accompanied by another individual known as an interpreter. The role of the interpreter breaks the language barrier between the “hearing” teacher and the “non-hearing” student. An interpreter’s role in the classroom is to