What I Learned In A Bilingual Class

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.

I taught for 25 years at an inner city school. My students were all second language learners, and often their parents were totally illiterate. I entered this career not as a teacher, but as a social worker turned teacher. The Los Angeles Unified School District was in dire need of bilingual educators, so they offered a district intern program where I took college courses while I worked in the classroom.

I stare mesmerized at the Fourth of July fireworks exploding colorfully overhead and struggle to form an intelligible sound. Gurgling and sputtering, I finally spit out the French word “violet” as if by magic. My first word.

When I went into Elementary school my English was very limited. I was put into a Bilingual class where I would be pulled out from my Grammar and Math class so that I could learn English. The class was like a basic online class. I learned how to say my name, age, and other introductory phrases. In school I was taught how to use words; I was not taught how to speak the English language. After school, I would watch Yugioh and Pokemon with my cousin and brother. My friends from school would use common English idioms, and I would take time to understand what they meant. I did not know the difference between a literal and metaphorical phrase. When I watched Pokemon, I would try my hardest to remember the jokes, puns, idioms, and metaphors they used

The linguistic and cultural clashes that children encounter, and how they negotiate between their ethnic and American “mainstream” cultures, and how these clashes and problems influence their relationship with their parents and their ethnic identities as a whole and how they were dealt with differently as we look at two stories dealing with two girls who are both coming of age in different society from where they originally came from. Jairy’s Jargon a story written by Carmen-Gloria Ballista, is a story that encounters the life of a young girl coming of age in Puerto Rico, except she’s originally from New York. Milly Cepeda’s story, Mari y Lissy, is a story about twin sisters who differ in personality and are often at odds with each

It was a bilingual kindergarten class. It goes from 4 to7 years old. There are 16 children in the classroom. The teacher explain that for the reading lesson they will be siting in pairs. Low reading level to high reading level

I grew up studying in a private school where the only Spanish speaking class was the Spanish class, the rest were in English. Even in the hallways we needed to speak in English or they will charge us. I studied there from first to twelve grades. No being a teacher I work in a dual immersion public school where my first graders receive 90% Spanish instruction and 10% English instruction. I do feel it is very important now a day for students to be able and know more than one language. It worked for me years ago, that is why I got a job in the United States, I am able to do my master in a complete English language without struggling. The way I have seen bilingual education has changed over the years and more with the information learned this week. My school ELL teachers always emphasize to my parents to keep focusing on the child’s native language in order to become proficient with other languages. Based on her arguments and on Dr. Stritikus ( Laureate Education, n.d) it is really important to consider the students’ language in order for them to have success. As a Spanish classroom teacher I have native English speakers who are learning Spanish and as recent as this school year I had a student that stop taking books from the library because he wanted them in English. This made me reflect on my goals a teacher towards him and think deeply if I was being

learning a word of English, and without prior access to educational programs outside of school which can hinder their learning. Also, minorities tend to be more segregated and put into groups of their own race. There are many ways to help, like offering courses for ELL (English language learners) and bilingual students to keep their native language and culture alive. Also, according to National Center for Education Statistics, “In 2013, about 4.6 million public school students participated in English language learner (ELL) programs. Hispanic students made up the majority of this group (78 percent)” (NCES). Moreover students are away from home and may feel like outcasts, which could lead to them having bad grades and feelings of isolation. Teachers

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

My education life started since I was 6 months old. Both of my parents speak Spanish fluently, but don't talk to much in English. My first 6 years, most of the time I heard and learn spanish at home and at my school. However, I graduate from kinder, reading and writing, at the age of 5. My elementary school was a bilingual school where I started learning both languages, English and Spanish, at the same. At first it was hard to me because I never heard a word in english before, so my mom bought me little Winnie the Pooh books in English so I could start reading and comprehend better in English. In those books there is one that is my favorite, not because of the context, but of why I have it. This book it was given by my English teacher in 1st

Total communication (TC) in itself is a philosophy created in order to more properly educate deaf children and provide them with the communication that they desperately need, combining oralism teachings and signs that somewhat resemble the English language and grammar. If TC was implemented properly, deaf children who learn under the TC philosophy would not end up bilingual and therefore not be bicultural in regards to the deaf and hearing cultures. Those who are taught language through the TC philosophy are not considered bilingual and or bicultural because rather than being somewhat fluent in English and ASL, students are lacking in fluency in both languages. Oralism, which is the “hearing” way for a deaf child to learn English, has been

Being bilingual enables some students to improve their knowledge by taking courses in universities abroad, where the major subject of their graduation degrees has already reached the “state-of-the-art”, or for those looking for specific undergraduation or graduation courses that are not normally offered in their countries of origin. It is very common to see people around us, friends, family and colleagues looking for courses abroad not only to upgrade their knowledge, but to improve their qualification records.

According to Martinez-Wenzy, Perez & Gandara (2012), two major research by the National Literacy Panel (NLP) and the Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence (CREDE) on effective approaches in the education of ELLs, found that Reading, spelling and writing instruction in the home language facilitates achievement in English. The same authors also found, that ELL students who receive instruction in their Native language outperform their peers in English-only programs (as cited in Martinez-Wenzy, Perez & Gandara, 2012, pg. 10). Two-Way Immersion (TWI) programs, although originally developed to help English-speaking students learn a second language, aim to provide the necessary support for both English speakers and minority-language speakers to become bilingual, biliterate, and biculturate. Ideally, a TWI classroom is composed of 50% Native English speakers and 50% speakers of a minority language (ex. Spanish, or Vietnamese), were both groups learn reading, writing, and content area in both languages, beginning with instruction in the minority language (90/10 model where 90% of instruction is in the minority language and 10% in English), and eventually introducing English until instruction in both languages is equal (50/50 model). Although there are variations to this model, most programs aim for a 50/50 model either gradually, or from the start of the program. Lindholm-Leary and Hernandez (2011) point out

For this investigative assignment, I interviewed three of my closest friends about their perspectives on bilingual education in the United States. One of my friends, who I will call “A,” said that bilingual education is important for students because it helps them broaden their perspectives on the world. Students are exposed to learn different cultures and respect them, promoting multiculturalism in our country. “A” said that if students were only exposed to English-only classroom setting, they would most likely be ignorant of other cultures. She also told me about her experience when she was in an ESL program during her middle school year. She described the program as useless because she and her classmates learned broken English from each other. She somehow managed to get out of the program and put herself into the mainstream English class. My other friend, who I will call “B,” stated that bilingual education is helpful in developing a wider cultural perspective and cultivating a person suitable for the globalized world. As a foreign-born American and working as an international student coordinator, she emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and respecting different cultures. She believes that bilingual education can help students to achieve better knowledge on growing multiculturalism in our country. My last interviewee, who I will call “C,” also believes that bilingual education is important to cultivate young minds by helping them to respect not only their own but

I have grown up in an all English speaking family. My best friend is bilingual with the two languages of Romanian and English. I would go to her house and her family, who is now like mine, would speak Romanian. To an extent, I had felt like they were talking about me. I now know they weren’t but at the time I had no idea. Now, since I have been apart of her family for the last two years and been to events where they all speak Romanian certain words that I hear a lot in her household I now know. Because of my own experience with bilingualism, I could understand the irritability when others would hear others speaking a different language, the fear, the state of being uncomfortable because they didn’t understand. For my own sake I had then realized that it was just the language they were comfortable speaking and my friend had translated what they were saying. Her family was not talking down on me. This encounter had changed my outlook.