Thesis On 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.

“Our culture, our traditions, our languages are the foundations upon which we build our identity.” - Unknown. The concept of bilingualism represents several different ideas, two writers share their personal stories about learning being immersed into the English culture and learning the language. They both share their views of what Bilingualism means to them personally and make arguments about the importance of the concept.

In America, there is a predominant growth in multiple ethnicities and cultural backgrounds; leading to the usage of multiple languages in the American culture. There is a growing need for many people to learn and utilize multiple languages within the workplace and within one 's own personal life. The importance of bilingualism and the knowledge of multiple languages is ever increasing, and therefore becoming more important for the younger generations. The push for knowing multiple languages and becoming bilingual has many potential negative and positive effects.

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.

It may be that ideals of strong American nationalism and pride stand in the way of bilingual education. “Opponents of bilingualism, and by extension bilingual education , see the use of multiple languages as a sign that the home country's culture is being diluted by the introduction of foreign languages, viewpoints, and traditions” (Ginsberg 1). According to a video posted by USA Today, even the current US president, Donald Trump, has expressed ideals against Americans conversing in languages other than English (Trump). But the anti-bilingual attitude held by some in America needs to be reevaluated because there are just too many benefits, and not enough evidence of harms, to keep students away from the privilege of knowing more than one

In my opinion bilingualism plays a major role in the educational development of children. This is because research has shown that children who are fluent in their home language are more successful in learning a second language. Furthermore, being bilingual offers greater sensitivity to language, more flexibility in thinking and better ear for listening. It also improves a child’s understanding for the native language. Moreover, knowledge of other languages increases a career of opportunities offering several job options.

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

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.

Bilingual Education involves teaching academic content in two languages, in a native and secondary language with varying amounts of each language used in accordance with the program model. Bilingual Education has been around for some time since the settlement of the Polish settlers during colonization in the 17th century. Although, Bilingual Education has been a great controversy in the United States on whether it should be taught or not, Bilingual Education in schools is necessary for the understanding and convenience of students and staffs.

Two models of dual language that take a front and center in Bilingual education is subtractive and additive. Subtractive is strips the student of cultural capital which could benefit the student in their educational achievement. As opposed to the additive model in the dual language program which seeks to add English to the students already possessed language and maintaining their first language. This method has been known for having a faster academic achieving and cultural awareness. (Ray, 2009)

This model truly views different languages as assets, as it helps speakers of two different languages acquire a new language. It also provides a framework for students to learn from each other, helping students see value in differing cultures and worldviews. Because a two-way dual immersion program is often not feasible due to funding and qualified teachers, I believe maintenance bilingual education is beneficial and more viable option. It allows English learners to improve both of their languages as they are supported academically. In short, two-way dual immersion is an ideal model of bilingual education, but maintenance BE is more practical, and it is still additive bilingualism for

The positives of bilingual education have been recognised on a global scale for years. These benefits include: enabling minority cultures to maintain and develop their traditions, self-esteem and identity; improving intercultural communication between groups within and outside the society; enriching individuals intellectually, educationally and culturally and thus allowing ‘intergenerational communication, providing cognitive advantages, enhancing employment and career prospects and contributing to general wellbeing (Simpson 2009, p.3).’ Thus, in its broadest sense, bicultural education is the teaching of two ways of life (Harris, 1978).

It has been shown that learning a second language from primary school has cognitive and academic benefits. When a child becomes bilingual it helps to develop stronger communication skills in their native language and learn additional new languages at a faster rate. Majority language students who learn score significantly higher on the IOWA, SAT and ACT tests than minority language students. Being a bilingual child enhance ability to adapt to changing situations and engage in high level cognitive thinking. When bilingual child grow they are more employable and they get more carrier opportunities than monolingual person. So there is reason enough to learn second language and to keep learning them as we are able. The bilingualism advantages may not appear in the child’s primary age. But bilingualism’s real benefits could be far more important. A good bilingual primary program is a great way to support the development of children in their native language and also a good start to them toward a future of fully bilingual professional

There are several definitions of bilingual education. So as the teaching strategy, the definition of bilingual education should be taking mother language and foreign language (mainly English due to its wide popularization) as the teaching media and help students master the specialty knowledge (Gu, T., 2010). Using bilingual education can improve students’ knowledge scope, horizons, and their major knowledge bettering the economic globalization. If

Elementary age children are put in a classroom to learn different skills, such as English, mathematics, history, and reading. Is this a time when they should be learning another language as well? Studies have been done on language immersion programs, both for English speakers as well as English learners. Each program is unique, but most consist of a certain amount of time each day being taught different subjects in their native language, and then being taught the remaining time in a different language. The results show that bilingualism has had positive effects on the children.