The Importance of Bilingual Education in America Essay

All languages are important and realizing it will make you become a stronger, more diverse human being. We need take make an effort not only for ourselves but for other citizens living in the United States who don’t speak English; we need to make them feel welcomed into our country. Marjorie Agosín described that,”here in the United States, where I have lived since I was a young girl, the solitude of exile makes me feel that so little is mine, that not even the sky has the same constellations, the trees and the fauna the same names or sounds, or the rubbish the same smell. These are the dilemmas of one who writes in Spanish and lives in translation”(Agosin 599). Agosín has lived in the United States for quite some time now, yet still feels like she is living a life through “translation”. She should not feel this way, Agosin should feel apart of our country and feel as if she is a citizen. It is important for us to take a stand now to make language become apart of the curriculum within our school systems starting in Kindergarten, so that our children have a more diverse life filled with opportunities. One thing we know about the future for sure is that we will still have our knowledge about language, but it is how we use that knowledge that will depict how we will succeed in life and as a

The No Child Left Behind Act requires English language learners (ELL) to be held to the same academic standards as English speaking students. Schools must provide specialized instruction that enable students to receive meaning education. Federal mandates attempt to create educational opportunities that help ELL students in reaching their full potential. To ensure equal access to an education is achieved, states are required to assess students with tools aligned with state content standards. The results from the

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

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.

When these non-English-speaking children arrive at their local school for the first time, they will unfairly be expected to perform at the same level academically as their English-speaking peers, and this will be a big challenge for them because they will have a hard time understanding what their teachers are teaching and what their textbooks are saying. In addition, learning the English language is especially important for young English language learners who have recently immigrated to the United States because they have an additional and serious responsibility beyond just adding a new language; once they do begin to pick up the language, they will more than likely have to take on the role of translator for their parents and will become the sole line of communication between their non-English speaking parents and the school’s teachers, guidance counselors and administrators.

Before outlining the arguments for and against bilingual education, it is first necessary to provide an overview of the controversy over bilingual education, and its emergence as a national debate. This controversy is basically centered on the question: Should the United States government incorporate the teaching of different languages into the public school system or not? Although it is currently permissible to learn secondary languages such as Spanish, French, German and Latin in public middle schools and high schools in the U.S., such classes have traditionally been geared toward broadening the educational experience for native English-speaking students. Therefore, rather than providing assistance to students whose native languages are not English, classes in American public schools are taught in English, despite the fact that increasing numbers of students in some areas of the U.S. do not speak English as their first language. In 1998, for example, (the most recent year for which statistics were available), statistics indicated that there were some

Bilingual is a person who can use two languages in his daily life, and they can basically speak a foreign language and a native language while listening, speaking, reading and writing. Today, many developing countries are trying bilingual education as a dominant form of education because through experimentation and time accumulation, bilingual education is a great advantage for all students (Thomas, W & Collier, V. 1997). Bilingual education has a high demand among schools, teachers, courses, textbooks, and students. For example, in China, there are many ethnic groups, which are scattered in different regions. The government not only wants each group to retain its original language, but also hopes that they can communicate with each other in Mandarin. The Chinese government has introduced bilingual education into the educational system of ethnic minorities. Although developing countries face several challenges in integrating bilingual education into the regular teaching of school, there are several strategies that might help.

A recent study on the implementation and effects of a balanced literacy approach in San Diego City Schools indicates that while all students may benefit from aspects of good instruction, ELL students require additional instructional supports. Instruction for ELLs should include the use of their native language, the use of differentiation to adjust literacy instruction, and a focus on Academic language development with the understanding that “one size does not fit all”(O’Day, 2009). Specifically, ELL students need more explicit language instruction, and teachers must have enough knowledge of second language acquisition to anticipate potential barriers to ELL students’ comprehension. In the same study, researchers found evidence of an overall decrease in the emphasis on biliteracy education. The study revealed that three out of the nine case study schools included in the study had no biliteracy classrooms after 2004-2005, and three of the remaining six schools drastically reduced the number of bilingual classes offered (O’Day, 2009). Teachers from the remaining three schools that continued to offer biliteracy programs reported an increasing focus on early transition and on English (O’Day, 2009). Students who were moved from biliteracy classrooms into mainstream classrooms presented a challenge to teachers. These teachers reported feeling unprepared for the instructional needs of ELLs (O’Day, 2009). Similarly, the study noted that approaches designed for ELL students, such as differentiation, are not effective unless a teacher has a background in second language acquisition, and understands how to tailor texts for literacy instruction. These teachers must be able to understand potential barriers to an ELL’s comprehension of the text as well as be able to analyze and monitor a student’s linguistic needs and progress (O’Day, 2009). Use of

In a globalized world, English is and has been universal language for communications around the world. For that reason, U.S. has never had an urgency to learn and appreciate foreign languages. Most of school systems treat language classes not important as the core curriculum. According to the current positions on bilingual education, schools in the United States teach languages at exactly the wrong time and exclude children from all the benefits that extend beyond pure communication. It’s extremely important to be bilingually educated to adapt into increasingly globalized world. Moreover, even necessary, for those who should reach out and speak at least one other language. Being bilingual comes with various advantages and immeasurable benefits.

In the history of the United States, we have always embraced the remarkable mix of cultures and languages that come to us from all over the world. One area in which this remains true is education. Bilingual education finds its roots as early as the 17th century, when the first English settlement of Virginia was established, and Polish settlers arrived (Goldenberg, Wagner). “From its colonial beginnings, bilingual education in the United States has existed in one form or another to the present day, with a brief interruption during and right after World War I in the wake of virulent anti-German sentiment and a more general nativist opposition to the use of non-English languages” (Goldenberg, Wagner). The persistence of this method of learning is quite telling as to its effects; if they were not beneficial, the method would no

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.

Bilingual Education In this essay, “Bilingual Education is a Hindrance” by Jorge Amselle, on Oct 1996 in Chicago Tribune, the author was success full in making me feel and realize. Amselle reminds us that Hispanic parents who have an intention towards globalization want their children to read and write in English in public schools which have started bilingual education programs which provide a lot of opportunities with new languages as well as by learning their native language to their children. The author explains that(most of the parents like to place their children in bilingual education programs and more likely to be placed in English as a second language program which develops their skills than other languages.) Amselle had used a methodology to demonstrate his views on Bilingual education, he revealed that Bilingual education nourish child’s academic and career opportunity by having proficient knowledge in English.

When completing the reading Chapter 6: Linguistic Diversity in U.S Classrooms the chapter was focused on the impact education can have in students’ learning more specifically language. Despite the hostility, bilingual education has ultimately proved to be an effective program for students. Still, teachers should take on the notion of additive bilingualism which is a situation where a second language is learnt by an individual or a group without detracting from the development of the first language. The reading emphasizes that a second language adds to, rather than replaces the first language. Students should embrace their first language as being bilingual is an advantage. As a pre-service teacher his reading informs me to give students the

National Association for Bilingual Education defines bilingual education is defined as any use of two languages in school by teachers or students or both. Yet, today’s context of bilingual education is more detailed than any use of two languages as bilingual education is now more specific

Communication is a powerful tool in every setting that involves human interaction. The importance of bilingualism is felt when there are communication barriers orchestrated by multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism. The effect of communication barrier is more profound in the learning environment. This is reflected in the way it incapacitates understanding of the course contents.