Bilingual Language Essay

Movements for bilingual education rose in 1974 with the Equal Education Opportunity Act and Bingual Education Act, which ordered federally funded schools to meet special educational needs for students not proficient in English. Unfortunately, dropout rates and lack of English-language proficiency alarmed the states that these bilingual programs were not efficent. Because of this, arguments between English-only advocates and supporters of bilingual educations emerged. Articles such as the New York Times have proclaimed the failures of bilingual education. One cause could be the resistance of immigrants from English language acquisition, who hold tight onto their first language and culture. Despite this, studies show that generations

In the article, Speak Spanish, You’re in America!: El Huracan over language and Culture, Juan Gonzalez, a journalist and broadcaster of the daily show, Democracy Now, describes how bilingualism has impacted the United States’ modern education system. He describes an amendment that would constitute English as the official in the United States, which he believes can be a potential threat to the educational system. Gonzalez suggests that instead of having an amendment that constitutes English as the national language, American schools should implement Spanish to highlight the importance of being bilingualism in the American educational system. A constitutional amendment declaring English as the national language would be damaging to bilingual students because it would limit their capability of communicating in English or their native language, and therefore they have would fall behind in classes and will not succeed in the American educational system. To highlight the importance of bilingualism, even more the educational system should implement a variety of languages.

Proposition 58 would undo almost 20 years of regulations limiting bilingual education. It repeals the English-only immersion requirements, along with the waiver provisions of the 1998 Proposition 227. Currently, under Proposition 227, all education is conducted exclusively in English, with a few exceptions. These exceptions include voluntary education programs, such as dual emersion classes, where students concurrently learn English and a second language. In effect, this proposition would bring back programs where students, that are not fully fluent in English, have education in both English and their native language. I understand the educational value of bilingual classrooms; however, I am concerned that it would cause segregation and significant disadvantages for students.

The greatest concern of mandating “English only” schools in California for example is that 80 percent of the population of students is Latino. Miner further explains, “Good bilingual programs are about more than learning a language, it should be about respect for diversity and multiculturalism (Bilingual Education, 1999).”

To many opponents of the bilingual education program that existed prior to these laws, encouraging bilingualism and biculturalism threatened the very definition of the American culture, which, they believed, promoted the values and language of a common group (Weisman and Hanson,2002). ). These proponents of the initiatives believed that new immigrants must abandon their native languages and cultural practices to fully assimilate into U.S. society. They feared that Spanish-speaking immigrants in particular had been "clinging" to their language and resisting learning English (Mora,2009).

Prior to the passing of California proposition 227, immigrant children, mainly Latinos, were taught in their native language until they could transition into English-only classes. Students with limited-English-proficiency (LEP) would participate in bilingual education over a number of years before making this transition. After proposition 227, the percentage of children in bilingual programs dropped from 29 percent to 11, only those who were able to obtain waivers from school authorities were permitted to stay in bilingual programs (Bali, 2001). Proposition 227 was controversial because its opponents claimed that it was rooted in anti-immigrant sentiments and it was a return to ‘sink or swim’ programs which would

As part of this field experience activity I also reviewed the English Language Proficiency standards and curriculum policies set by my school district. I found that district policies are that as outlined also according to state policy. It is district and state policy that if the district has an enrollment of 20 or more limited English proficient students in any language classification in the same grade, it should offer a bilingual education program for students with limited English proficiency. The district, in which I work for, Eustace ISD, has

On one hand, Dr.Krasner and his companion Lopez debated to keep the bilingual education. Their arguments for the bilingualism made a complete sense to a person like me who is pursuing a higher education in the field of bilingualism. The arguments were that the Proposition 227 is not serving the students properly for many reasons. One of the reasons is one cannot expect non-English native or, LEP (limited English speakers, a term they are mostly referred to by) to acquire the fluency in English in a single year. Beside the LEP students need knowledge, not proficiency; they need to transition smoothly to English, not like the proposition 227 is mandating; after all the bilingualism is for the long term, for LEP

The United States is a country built by immigrants who speak more than one language. Being bilingual has many benefits that vary from traveling with ease all through having a brain that can multitask faster. In the past decade many schools in California, as well as other states, have started a program called the “dual immersion” or something of that nature in which they have a class that is in another language, usually Spanish, and they teach the kids all the required material in that other language. The “Dual Immersion” program is something that should be instated into more schools, specifically in the bay area, because of the diversity seen here.

Throughout the decade, there has been more of an effort, albeit slow-moving, in trying to help out the bilingual student sector of our education system. The most impactful legislation, I believe, that was a vital toward helping this sector, was Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, signed into law on January 2, 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson. As a formal teacher, President Johnson was an avid believer in equal opportunities for those children of low-income families, of which many of the EL students were. Title VII I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 “promot[ed] equal access to the curriculum, training a generation of educators, sniff fostering achievement among students…” Because of this tremendous act, it was a huge stepping stone for young children to learn a second language. It would help them master the English language for high school and gave them an opportunity to go to college. Starting them early, children would be prideful of their culture while encouraging them to learn English. For much of the bilingual movement, bilingualism has been seen as a foreigners not wanting to be American because they wanted to keep up their own, different cultural identity. The original Bilingual Education Act tried to promote linguistic, cultural differences and diversity in the United States, which challenged many popular assimilation theories and the "melting pot" concept of the United States. When it was signed in its final form,

The Detrimental Effect of an Education in a Foreign Language California passed a proposition in 1997 that ended funding for teaching children solely in their native language. Instead of these programs, opulent citizens will provide funding for the English as a Second Language (ESL) program in California's public schools. These ESL classes will have non-native speakers learn subjects in English and their native language simultaneously. Even though the proposition passed, the issue of which plan is more beneficial continues to spark debate. On the one hand, ethnic groups say the law is unjust because their children cannot understand English. They argue that their children need to be taught in their native tongue. Most

In 1967, a senator in Texas named Ralph Yarborough introduced the Bilingual Education Act. Through this act, the federal government was to provide funds to schools to have bilingual educational programs. The act primarily focused on Spanish speaking children, but later was amended to benefit other children as well (Glavin). Several states in the United States opposed bilingual education—and in 2002, Initiative 31 was on the Colorado ballot. Initiative or Amendment 31, required schools to be taught only in English (figure 1). Parents were given the option to request bilingual education, but it would be extremely difficult for it to be accepted, due to schools having the right to deny their request. Instead, non-English speakers would be placed in an English immersion program. In this program, students would be given a year to learn English and later move to a normal classroom (“Amendment 31”). On November 5, 2002, the initiative was rejected by 55 percent (Benz 1). Considering the rejection of the initiative, Colorado began adapting programs to assist English language learners (ELLs). Nonetheless, dual-language education remains highly controversial. While bilingual education has many positive outcomes, we cannot ignore the fact that it is not 100 percent effective. Not every child learns the same; therefore, bilingual education does not provide equal opportunities for everyone. Instead of completely throwing bilingual education out the window, we should turn to alternatives

America makes up one of the most ethnically diverse and culturally varied nations in the world. Millions of ethnicities have become intertwined physically and mentally in this melting pot of a country-in the citizens and in the communities themselves. One could walk in New York City and buy Mexican street tacos, Japanese comic books, a German pastry, and a hot dog all from the same street, maybe even the same vendor. It would be just as eye-opening to then walk into a public school anywhere in America and find that they teach numerous ethnically diverse cultures such as Greek and German languages and Chinese history. The students contribute the most diversified group of them all, their families and heritage coming together from some of the most remote and exotic places on Earth. America, however, has become flawed in our pursuit of a diversified educational program. In not making bilingual teaching a priority in younger grades such as kindergarten and elementary schools, the students will not be provided with the best possible learning environment that could be made available to them.In other terms, the students would be cheated out of a valuable educational prospect. If dual-language education became the main point in the education of America’s young people, students would be more culturally aware, given more opportunities in the workforce, have a stronger academic outcome in their future, and because we hurt our country by not providing bilingual education.

Authorization for elected citizen councils with standing to enforce accountability for entities impacting public/environmental health.

Bilingual Education in the United States can be defined as “a program that seeks to permit non-English speaking children (many from lower-class homes) to use their ‘family language’ as the language of school” (Rodriguez 256). In other words, it is a method of education that suggests that a child whose native language is not English should learn English in institutions while being instructed in classes in his or her home language as well. This form of teaching has been a strong point of controversy in the United States for a very long time, and it is still debated today. On one side, there are brilliant scholars and educators who conclude that implementing a child’s home language in his or her school might ultimately be harmful to the