Bilingual Vs. Bilingual Education

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.

As our nation shifts towards a more culturally diverse population both educators and families have to find a common ground to ensure that English Language Learners are academically successful. All stakeholders must carefully consider the social cultural impact on an ELL education. The process of raising bilingual learners take more than a language a school and a language learned at home. The transition must have a purpose and a goal.

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.

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.

It is no secret that the debate over what is the best course of action to educate our non-native English language students across the country is a highly charged topic that runs from the classroom to Capitol Hill. There have been many shifts in direction and focus of educational programs for English Language Learning (ELL) students during the past century in our nation's history. In 1968, with the passage of the Bilingual Education Act (Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) legislation was

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

Diverse cultures within the United States are rapidly developing and growing and the educational sector is the number one target to ensure that English –learners are receiving adequate education. Within the educational sector there are administrators and teachers who are involved in students lives on a daily basis to ensure that education is equal. In order to achieve the vital objective of equality, socio-cultural influences on ELL students, bilingualism and home language use, parental and community resources, and partnerships between families and schools all have to be considered to provide an opportunity for equal education.

Texas and California are two of the biggest states in America. They also comprise two of the most diverse populations in the country as well. According to Robert E. Slavin, bilingual education “refers to programs for students who are acquiring English that teach the students in their first language part of the time while English is being learned” (2012). Bilingual education can also range from education that uses almost English for instruction to instruction that teaches partly in the student’s native language and partly in English. There are many theories as to which method is most effective and which should be used in schools. With so many diverse students becoming a part of schools, one can almost never apply one perfect instructional strategy

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

Texas lawmakers need to examine whether the state's bilingual education programs can be more effective at teaching students English. Bilingual education is instruction in all subjects in the student's native tongue in a separate classroom with other students who

In addition, the attitudes and perceptions of the direct service providers such as, teachers can also present problems. Locating qualified individuals to teach in the schools can be difficult. The situation is so pronounced that some school district along the border recruit prospective teachers from the Midwest. As one El Paso school district administrator noted, “It is often hard to bridge the cultural gap between the imported teachers and low-income children, some of whom may be recent immigrants and migrants” (Suárez‐Orozco & Carhill, 2008). Even though Texas does a better than most border states when it comes to bilingual education and ensuring that all children regardless of statutes goes to school it still has problems, especially when

To begin with, dual-language programs are beneficial because students enrolled in this curriculum excel in the school setting. In particular, dual-language scholars outperform monolinguals in one’s native language. Bilinguals begin to surpass students in English-only programs beginning in the fifth grade (Gándara 2). By high school, dual-language students ultimately dominate monolinguals in reclassification to English-proficiency and English language art scores (Gándara 2). This study reveals that not only are dual language learners perform extremely well on standardized tests, they are rising above those who only have knowledge of their own native language. Another study conducted by Michigan State University in 2013 supports this claim, as

In this literature review I will be discussing studies that are in favor, not in favor, and neutral on bilingual education.

When someone moves to a new country, they leave everything they have ever known, behind. The sense of belonging to their culture and to their native language. Nonetheless they must start a new life and find comfort in this new land. Despite bearing some minor similarities the differences between a bilingual education and regular education are striking.

Bilingual” (qtd in Shi, Steen 63). The objective of the ESL students is to learn how to speak, read, and write in English and know about the system of the school too. That learning will help them with other courses in school. ESL students have come from all over the world in America to study. Statistically, the number of immigrants in the USA is growing quickly. This quote shows us that