Dual Language Analysis

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.

The goal of Dual Language Education is that students not only become bilingual and have high reading and writing levels in both languages but also that they discover and appreciate other cultures.

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.

It is common in the United States to see DLL preschoolers who attend English dominant ECE programs tend to quickly show a preference towards English and tend to use their home language less and less (Espinosa, 2015, p. 46). Young language learners often experience first language loss, which is when DLLs become more proficient in the English language while their exposure to their native language takes a back seat. It is imperative that attention must be given to both English language development along-side the native language in order to facilitate the cognitive, social, and linguistic benefits of early bilingualism, while encouraging learning readiness goals (p. 46). Learning a second language during early childhood within the United States should not disable the development of the native

In San Antonio, a number of local school districts are working to convert and improve their bilingual education models into dual language programs in an effort to fully integrate ELs’ home languages into instruction.

“Successful program models for promoting the academic achievement of language minority students are those that enable these students to develop academic skills while learning English. The best program organization is one that is tailored to meet the linguistic, academic, and emotional needs of students; provides language minority students with the instruction necessary to allow them to progress through school at a rate commensurate with their native-English-speaking peers; and makes the best use of district and community resources.” (Colorin Colorado, 2014)

This model supports the use of both the native language and the new language within the daily teaching curriculum (Ray, 2008). The No Child Left Behind Act threatens the Dual Language method and negatively impacts bilingual education because of the high degree of emphasis that is placed on standardized testing. The weight of standardized testing that is felt from the state all the way down to the classroom level has forced curriculum to focus on the passing of these tests. Because bilingual students must take the standardized test in English, this has caused a shift in the landscape of bilingual education. Teachers of bilingual students are abandoning the DL method in favor of a more English only environment as a means to help students pass standardized tests (Ray, 2008). This negates the purpose of bilingual education and decreases the benefits that these students receive while learning in a dual language

When examining the District handbook, it is clear that West Chicago highly values student achievement and seeks to create lifelong learners. The handbook is reviewed every year and the district values and asks for the input of students and parents in order to increase investment. Throughout its history “Providing a foundation for excellence in learning” has been the district’s vision. This, coupled with its mission statement: “To impart the knowledge and skills that will empower all students to pursue their maximum potential to confidently contribute to and benefit from our society locally and globally,” inform their policies and attitude towards all students, especially English Language Learners. In a Frequently Asked Questions portion, the District answers the question of whether students will fall behind due to learning an extra language by explaining that dual language is a form of enriched education and that learning two languages has many cognitive benefits as evidenced by research that has shown how students who participate in Dual Language programs outperform their peers on standardized tests.

"Substantial evidence exists to support dual language (DL) education as a viable and enriching method of supporting high levels of academic achievement for both English language learners (ELLs) and English-speaking students.

The dissertation that met the action research (AR) this student found to examine was “The Biliteracy Achievement of Latino English Learners in Two-Way Immersion Elementary Programs.” This study focused on the “biliteracy achievement of Latino English learners in two program models of two-way immersion to determine if learning two languages sequentially is indeed more effective for English Learners” (Moraga, 2010, p.74). There was several research questions discussed throughout this study. However, the one question this student mostly interesting on was “How are data used at school site level to determine the biliteracy attainment of English learners?” (p. 74). This question was the most relevant to this learner because she wanted to examine

In a one-way dual language program students receive instruction in their first language (Spanish) and that knowledge is bridged to English. Research shows that building skills in the first language will allow students to learn English more quickly and at a higher level. In a developmental program eighty to ninety percent of instruction occurs in the first language in Kindergarten and the ratio of first language to English decreases until it reaches fifty/fifty by fourth grade. The school began rolling this program out on a year by year basis beginning with two of five homerooms in kindergarten only in the first year. It was then moved up to first grade in the second year. The school had several administrative changes during this period and the program was plagued by implementation issues and was struggling for existence.

The continued growth of speakers of languages other than English is reflected in the rapidly increasing students in U.S. schools for whom English is a second language. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics (2005) show that the number of school-age children who spoke a language other than English reached almost 10 million in 2004. Such a dramatic increase continually challenges educators to provide effective language programs with quality instruction for students who are culturally and linguistically diverse. Some educators choose to view these challenges as opportunities by offering a dual bilingual program as an educational option for meeting the needs of monolingual speakers.

Further in my research I came across experts that say transitional bilingual programs are effective socially but not academically. An expert references that in transitional bilingual programs students have made greater gains than in ESL pullout programs, but students have been much more academically successful in enrichment bilingual programs such as immersion, two-way, and developmental or late-exit (Ramirez, Yuen, Ramey, & Pasta, 1991; Thomas & Collier, 1997).

It is true that in the last 150 years alone, bilingual education has come a long way and has been changed presumably for the better. Though, despite all of the good that has come from this evolution of education, there is still much more to be done. Bilingual education has quite a bit of improvement to be made in order to better benefit ELL students and help guide them through acculturation, rather than force them to assimilate to American society and bear the weight of racism and discriminatory

In recent years, the debate over whether bilingual education or immersion programs (such as English for Speakers of Other Languages) better serve the needs of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in the United States has been heating up. The increasing need for such services insights passionate supporters and opposition to rise up against one another in the fight over which is better. Advocates of bilingual education stress the value in helping students retain and even enhance proficiency in their native language, while at the same time gaining proficiency in the English language. Critics of bilingual education, however, contend that such programs only “keep students in