Bilingual Education In The United States

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

Bilingual education has been a debatable subject since its conception during the case of Lau vs. Nichols, in the early 1970’s. However, in that case, the court only ruling was that the children’s

Bilingual, or multilingual education as it is also known, has always been a controversial subject regarding education. Many individuals overlook the benefits encompassed, and blindly chose to ignore the legitimacy of such educational methods. Nevertheless, it is a known fact that now more than ever, it is of extreme importance that people speak more than one language, especially when regarding jobs. To further emphasize, jobs actively seek out individuals with knowledge of more than one language. Why is it then, that some states have even gone as far as outlawing bilingual education? As people of different cultural backgrounds have made new countries their homes, it became apparent that more focus should be placed on providing them equal education

In the article, Speak Spanish, You’re in America!: El Huracan over language and Culture, Juan Gonzalez, a journalist and broadcaster of the daily show, Democracy Now, describes how bilingualism has impacted the United States’ modern education system. He describes an amendment that would constitute English as the official in the United States, which he believes can be a potential threat to the educational system. Gonzalez suggests that instead of having an amendment that constitutes English as the national language, American schools should implement Spanish to highlight the importance of being bilingualism in the American educational system. A constitutional amendment declaring English as the national language would be damaging to bilingual students because it would limit their capability of communicating in English or their native language, and therefore they have would fall behind in classes and will not succeed in the American educational system. To highlight the importance of bilingualism, even more the educational system should implement a variety of languages.

Speaking two or more languages is like a country having an atomic bomb during a war. The first situation is advantageous to a person and the second situation is advantageous to a country. “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” is a memoir of Richard Rodriguez’s bilingual childhood and it was originally published in Hunger of Memory in 1981. In Rodriguez’s memoir, he discusses why he disagrees with bilingual education. His audience is bilingual or anyone that has an opinion towards bilingual education. The purpose in Rodriguez’s memoir is to inform people of the effects of bilingual education and persuade bilingual educators why bilingual education shouldn’t exist.

In the 1970’s bilingual education in Texas was just beginning to emerge. The topic was contentious, towards the end of the 1970’s however we see a shift in the topic, not advocating for bilingual education as it had at first, but looking at the results of bilingual education and the ways in which it could be improved. I will be analyzing the ways in which bilingual education was approached in this decade, focusing heavily on Texas but occasionally looking at the Southwest. Texas has always set the pattern for the rest of the country in terms of academics, by looking at the emergence of the bilingual education movement it will aid in the understanding of where bilingual education is today. The fight for equal education went through various iterations:

America makes up one of the most ethnically diverse and culturally varied nations in the world. Millions of ethnicities have become intertwined physically and mentally in this melting pot of a country-in the citizens and in the communities themselves. One could walk in New York City and buy Mexican street tacos, Japanese comic books, a German pastry, and a hot dog all from the same street, maybe even the same vendor. It would be just as eye-opening to then walk into a public school anywhere in America and find that they teach numerous ethnically diverse cultures such as Greek and German languages and Chinese history. The students contribute the most diversified group of them all, their families and heritage coming together from some of the most remote and exotic places on Earth. America, however, has become flawed in our pursuit of a diversified educational program. In not making bilingual teaching a priority in younger grades such as kindergarten and elementary schools, the students will not be provided with the best possible learning environment that could be made available to them.In other terms, the students would be cheated out of a valuable educational prospect. If dual-language education became the main point in the education of America’s young people, students would be more culturally aware, given more opportunities in the workforce, have a stronger academic outcome in their future, and because we hurt our country by not providing bilingual education.

In America, many people seem to have had a negative stereotype of what bilinguals and bilingual education is. English-only advocates who claimed that bilingual education “is a divisive force” (Mora, 2006-a) and poses “a threat to the homogeneity of American culture. Bilingual educators are “ethnic militants” and “Hispanic separatists” who were harming language minority students by denying them the chance to learn English” (Mora, 2006-b). On the contrary, bilingual advocates think that being bilingual promotes learning and togetherness in English-language schools. “But sometimes, bilinguality doesn’t really promote learning because it is also possible for a student to develop the required language at a slower pace, in fear of getting confused with both languages” (B. Divina, personal communication, March 5, 2007) This is especially true with languages that have an alphabetic writing system, like Chinese and Japanese.

Consequently, federal policies towards language issues at the mid-20th century saw a shift in the direction of educational initiatives. Specifically, the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 drew attention to the issue of educating “Limited English Proficient” children--immigrants or second-generation children of immigrant parents. In contrast to the permissive attitude of mid-19th century policies, as seen in the maintenance of German in churches and community schools, especially in the Midwest (Schiffman 221), the goal of the Bilingual Education Act (although not overtly stated) was to provide LEP students with sufficient training in their native language in order to speed up their acquisition of English (Beykont 3). Under federal funding, most programs labeled “bilingual” usually serve as transitional, with fluency in English as the goal. In general, considerations for maintenance of the native language are peripheral at best, and in some cases completely overlooked (Schiffman, Bekyont, Portes & Rumbaut).

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.

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.

    Bilingual education is the biggest issue that modern teachers deal with in their classrooms. Some parents and educators feel that it should be a standard part of our curriculum while others believe that non-English speakers should just learn English and immerse themselves in the language and the culture. In fact according to a poll taken in Florida, 98.1% of Hispanic parents want their children to learn English because it is a “universal language”(Mora). English can be used while doing business or just traveling as our economy has become very global. Yet at the same time, they also want their children to maintain their culture and learning using both Spanish and English seems to be the most effective. Bilingualism also supports high achievement academically and enhances areas of knowledge that monolinguals don’t achieve (Mora Modules). The best solution regarding bilingual education would be to implement dual immersion programs where students could maintain their own language while also

I am not bilingual. My entire family has been American for several generations. I have family records of long dead relatives traveling across the Atlantic Ocean on the MayFlower. I might be as American as one can get; however, I am not blind to the struggles of the bilingual community. I see my friends unable able to speak to their relatives and watch as their parent’s culture slowly drift away from them. I can see how upset they are because at an early age they were forced to learn English rather than celebrate their own language. Martin Espada and Richard Rodriguez view this problem quite differently. Espada grew up speaking English while Rodriguez was taught Spanish. Espada sees negativity and hate towards the bilingual community and chooses to oppose the zealotry with his words. Rodriguez on the other hand grew up with Spanish and had to learn that languages don’t decide your place in society. Espada and Rodriguez address these arguments in their essays The New Bathroom Policy at English High School and Hungry of Memory.

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

The first time I heard Spanish, I felt the same butterflies lovesick high schoolers lose their minds over. The first time a korean pop song flowed through my headphones, my heart raced like a cheetah. Every time I hear a new language, I fall in love; not only because of the way native speakers wrap their tongues around the syllables of their heritage, but because of the connections that can be formed through multiple languages. For bilingual American citizens, learning English isn’t always about a love for the language, but the need to communicate efficiently in America. Martín Espada and Richard Rodriguez, two bilingual American citizens, share their viewpoints on the term bilingualism, and its application in America.