Essay on Bilingual Education in the United States

Teachers are forcing kids away from taking specific classes due to bias opinions, which is why for many schools in the United States language is not looked at as a priority. Picture growing up in a small town, in Maine, which in the data table from Shin and Kominski’s report showed to be a state with the least amount of citizens that spoke a language other than English as their primary language, shows that for some people language is hard to see has being important. In High School some have found a passion in language but don’t receive the proper curriculum that would allow them to succeed. Instead of introducing language in High School, our school systems should focus on adding it into the curriculum that is taught in elementary school and middle school. By starting when you are young, the time you are graduating high school you can speak at least one other language and classify yourself as bilingual. Dianne Steinbach explained it as, “Something that many of us took for granted when we were younger people is now disappearing” (First Speakers:Restoring). Since there is such a large increase in language diversity

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.

When I first started school, I remember how difficult it was for me to make the transition from Spanish to English. My Mom left me at the door of the school in the morning, but since I was placed in an English-only classroom, the next time I opened my mouth to speak to anyone was when she picked me up again that afternoon. I didn't know what anyone was saying around me, and to make matters worse, my teacher didn't speak a single word of Spanish. That day, like every other day, I came home crying because I felt like an outsider. That year was very difficult for me because I ended up in the back corner of the classroom not participating. As a result, I had to take several years of summer school in order to catch up, something that

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.

​The United States is a nation filled with a multitude of different cultures which come alongside with a variety of languages. These languages are what help society to communicate with one another and to expand their horizon of thinking. As the United States progresses so does the culture. The culture of the United States is no longer what it once was. A nation of a predominately Caucasian race, who only speaks one language, is now a thing of the past. The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (English Language Learners) states that from the 1997-1998 school year to the 2008-2009 school year, the number of English Language Learners in public schools increased from 3.5 million to 5.3 million which comes to be a 51 percent increase. They also reported that the overall student population grew to a 7.2 percent increase during this time. A huge generation of a multicultural society is rapidly growing and it is our responsibility as a nation to educate this new generation to its fullest potential. We as a nation can wither choose to ignore the reality of this new generation by forcing one language on students classified as English Language Learners, or we can choose to cultivate the knowledge of language so that this new generation may prosper in more ways than one. We do not want to become a society that promotes, as R.A. Berman summarizes in his statement from his article The Real

The 1970’s was a time for movements, change, education, and the development of freedom. The book ‘Brown not White” really shows and defines this time period, and inspires everyone to try and understand what our past had entailed. The book was a true inspiration to all Americans, and in my opinion a proper tribute to all Mexican Americans.

The United States is a diverse country of many cultures and languages. As diverse as the U.S. is, it is also the land were all dreams become a reality where everything is possible. That is why in recent years, bilingual education or dual-language education, has become a topic of interest and debate among the public. Some may think that bilingual education is waste of time, effort and money. However, these critics do not see the true benefits of a bilingual education. We need to focus on the positive aspects of a bilingual education and how it has benefited not only immigrant students but also American students among other matters.

The United States is a melting pot of all different groups of people, cultures, beliefs, yearnings, hopes, and languages. The Census Bureau released data from the 2013 American Community Survey, that showed the number of people who speak a language other than English at home reached an all-time high of 61.8 million, 20%, up 2.2 million since 2010. The largest languages in the United States were Spanish with 38.4 million, Chinese with 3 million, Tagalog with 1.6 million, Vietnamese with 1.4 million, French with 1.3 million and Korean and Arabic with 1.1 million each (Owen); however, 75% of Americans have no second language, according to a Yougov survey, and nearly 56% of americans feel it’s unnecessary to know a second language unless it’s basic knowledge for vacations, if it’s a major world language, or because they think most people around the world can speak english. Learning a foreign language is much more than just that, and although it’s highly unlikely, learning a foreign language should be mandatory in the united states. We are constantly putting pressure on immigrants who can’t speak english to learn english, however, we never turn the page and force ourselves to adapt to their language as well.

Asylees are foreigners that have been admitted to the United States and are unable or unwilling to return to their home country due to persecution or fear of persecution. They need protection from persecution based on their race, religion, membership in a social group, political opinion, or national origin. They are capable of applying when they are in the United States or at a point of entry.

Most countries in today’s world have adopted English as their secondary language. The language itself dominates every other language spoken. The United States is one of few countries to not have an official language. In America today, roughly 75 percent of the population speak English. The English language should be adopted as the United States official language as it is its founding language, plays a role in the safety of the citizens, and will aid in the progression of the economy.

The Acts have vastly improved bilingual education over the years. The current programs available to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students are numerous and are found throughout the U.S. The fact that educating CLD students has historically been a hot button issue so much that it is part of the political arena. Bilingual education has become a controversial issue tied up with immigration policies, government funding, and political parties. Therefore, there have been great changes made overtime to how the program is administered, and what types of certifications the educators require. The State of Texas has issued a Texas Education Code that includes laws and codes passed by the state legislature. These include adaptations for special learning populations of English language learners. The state mandated these policies found in the Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 89 was enacted to ensure that every student in the state of Texas that is classified as culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) will be a part of programs that provide native and second language instruction. Policies and laws such as these were not available to protect culturally and linguistically diverse student populations in the past. Krashen states, the “sink or swim” technique was not a successful teaching practice with immigrants and American Indians; this caused low academic achievement and increased dropout rates.” The more recent policies are based on studies that while students learn the

Over the years, bilingual education has involved teaching children academics in two different languages so they may become competent learners and be successful at acquiring English. Before 1968, bilingual education was not a required course in American schools, but instead as a voluntary program. This changed in 1981 when a lawsuit was brought against the state of Texas that resulted in the requirement of bilingual education programs in elementary schools as English as a second language (ESL) program, bilingual programs in post-elementary grades through eighth grade, and ESL programs in high school. This type of education has been a hot topic for the state governments of the United States, debating whether to keep in the curriculum of schools. Many asking themselves, why should we to provide bilingual education for these students? What will students gain from this type of education? Studies have shown there are benefits that range from cognitive ability, educational advancement, to employment opportunities with a bilingual education, while the critics label it as a “failed experiment” that costed a whole lot of money and years to maintain a basic foundation in the second language. Although the cost is hefty for this exploration of a new language and is time consuming, the cognitive abilities, educational advancement, and employment opportunities greatly outweigh these opposing factors.

Historically, the United States began as a nation that valued language diversity due to the fact that in the 1789 Constitution, no official language was designated. As the years progressed, English became the popular language and was a way to keep power in the dominant English speaking white population, while keeping power away from the non-English speaking minority groups. However, now that times are changing and the Spanish population is rising, Spanish and being bilingual are becoming more valued.

Too many times growing up has the phrase been said, “Speak English! This is America”. If the United States has always been the home to hundreds of immigrants, with different nationalities, can we say English is the only language to talk in America? Absolutely not. For many years, the United States has preferred monolingualism, the knowledge of one language however from hospitals to courts, the assistance to interpret different languages is now offered. Schools have now begun to implement programs that consist of teaching in two different languages, known as dual language classrooms. All coming together to push forward the rewarding benefit of knowing more than one language, of being bilingual. Just like manners, the knowledge of a second language must be taught at an early age by our first teachers, our parents.

     Bilingual education in our schools is crucial: but still there is talk about banning the use of foreign language in the instruction of our young children. We have to work to change that kind of attitude. We have