Argumentative Essay On Bilingual Education

905 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Benefits of bilingualism in society

Person Worth Two
“School-age children who speak a language other than English at home are one of the fastest-growing populations. Their numbers doubled between 1980 and 2009, and they now make up twenty-one percent of school-age kids.” (Bale 1) According to Bale, bilingual education was accepted as worldwide policy in 1974, when the Equal Educational Opportunity Act was passed as a law to guarantee that children whose first language was not English had the same learning opportunity. The big question is whether or not bilingual education is beneficial for students. Bilingual Education benefits students in many ways. Sit makes them bi-cultural, they are able to enhance their cognitive development, and qualified for a vast number of career opportunities.
Being bilingual is not only about knowing two different languages; it is about becoming bi-cultural. Parents think that it will be hard for their child to learn two different languages at a young age, but the mind is best able to take in a new language between birth and the age of seven. According to Bale, being bi-cultural shows that one is able to better understand their own culture by understanding the values of another. Students are aware of the cultural differences and are able to take part in the life of two or more cultures. When students switch off with both languages, the student is experiencing culturalism. Whenever students visits other countries and their language isn’t English the time there can be more enjoyable. While Rossel states that “people argue that someone who is bi-cultural might have identity issues throughout their life.” (Rossell 1) But he argues that giving the child the challenge to figure out how to handle themselves in two different cultures improves t...

... middle of paper ...

...nities especially at tourist attractions that require employees to speak two languages. Being bilingual can not only help you find a job where you live but you can relocate to another state and be more likely to land a position in your desired career field.
A lot of people think that being bilingual is inefficient for students who are barely starting to learn. They are wrong, because being bilingual increases your brain cells to work quicker, as well as becoming more aware of different cultures surroundings. When bilingual students graduate from school, they will have more opportunities in their career field. Being bilingual gives students an advantage because they can be involved in two diverse communities without feeling neglected. Speaking two languages is beneficial in today’s world especially when you live in the United States, since it is a diverse country.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Richard Rodriguez 'A Memoir Of A Bilingual Childhood'

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    Opinion Editorial By Hassan Abdi In the article written by Richard Rodriguez, Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood, he conveys an opinion that Bilingual education doesn’t work. He conveys it through his personal experience. Published by the Phi Beta Kappa to the American Society in 1981, the audience and his message are a broad and important now as it was thirty five years ago. As the amount of children that don’t speak English as their first language continue to rise, bilingual education has become a polarizing topic like most things, and for me, I am neutral on the topic. A form of bilingual education has failed me, but, for most students it benefits in the long term, and it 's not right to dispel one side of the topic to push your own

    Read More

  • Hunger of Memory

    582 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bilingual education offers a completely different world for students of different ethnic background and thus creates a comfort zone limiting the risk-taking factor necessary for the maturation of a child to an adult. Rodriguez argues supporters of bilingualism fail to realize "while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality" (Rodriguez 26). He explains that the imperative "radical self-reformation" required by education is lost by offering bilingual education and such a program suggests a place where the need for a sense of public identity disappears. A bilingual program gives a student the opportunity to be separated from real life and institutes a life that leaves out an essential understanding of the world. Bilingual students do not know the complexities of their world, including emotion, ethics, and logic, because the bilingual program secludes the eager minds to a much simpler, more naïve idea of how the society works, leaving out the confidence of belonging in public. This situation not only limits the education experience for non-English speaking students, but also hinders the further education of English speaking students by erecting a communicat...

    Read More

  • The Legal and Historical Rationale of Bilingual Education

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    The legal and historical rationale of Bilingual Education has been around for quite some time and appears to a continuous issue with educators and political figures. Numerous articles have been written in favor and against Bilingual Education. The articles I read and summarized relate to some of the issues that have evolved from various proponents and opponents of how education should be presented to ELs in the United States. Summaries and a brief timeline of legislation up to the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) follow.

    Read More

  • Why I Am Proud To Be Bilingual

    618 Words  | 2 Pages

    I can communicate with my family and friends that only speak one language. I can enjoy the marvelous stories that my grandparents and uncles tell me. I can also play with my cousins that live in El Salvador and Mexico. I am very proud of being bilingual because I represent the most important minorities in this great country, and I also represent other

    Read More

  • Immigration By Richard T. Schaefer Summary

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    When I immigrated to the United States I couldn’t speak any English, so the Department of Education staff sent me to a school which only for the immigrant student and taught student with bilingual education. I only needed to stay in this school for one year because they only introducing student the fundamental English skill and the American culture. After one year, I would transfer to the local high school to continue my high school education but there was no more bilingual education. I believe that bilingual education school is good way for the immigrants to break the language barriers. I still remember that the first school day in the United States I was very afraid and nervous because I didn’t know any English and the American culture. However, when I arrived to the school I found out that there were a lot of student who came from the same country as I was, and some of the instructors could speak Chinese too. I started to not afraid of school and feel excited about my new school life. After I studied in this school for one year, I transfer to a local high school which didn’t have bilingual education, but I didn’t afraid my new school life because I already know how to communicate with other students. A program of bilingual education is a very good program that help immigrants student break the language barriers. As Richard wrote “A major study analyzed more than three decades of research, combining 17 different studies, and found that bilingual education programs produce higher levels of student achievement in reading” (Schaefer, 2015, p.96). However, “Attacks on bilingualism in voting and education have taken several forms and have even broadened to question the appropriateness of U.S. residents using any language other than English” (Schaefer, 2015, p.96). There are a lot of people come to the United States from many countries, and a

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Bilingual Education

    501 Words  | 2 Pages

    American Bilingual Learning American children are competing with a lot of different countries in academics and according to quartz “might help employers choose easier because they look for language and speech”. This can also help with learning other languages because of similar sounds and mouth shapes. America these days has failed to keep their bilingualism like the rest of the world in fact, there is only about 260 bilingual schools in the country! America needs to reclaim their use for bilingualism Helping Graduates With Getting Jobs Being bilingual helps increase your chances of being hired, as Transparent Language states that there is not many open slots for jobs out there. With that being said “employers are looking for additional

    Read More

  • The Responsibility of Bilingual Education

    498 Words  | 1 Pages

    Bilingual education in public schools has been the topic of much discussion over the last several years. This discussion has been prompted due to the ever increasing numbers of Spanish-speaking persons emigrating to the United States, especially in those states that border Mexico--California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. What the debate seems always to overlook is our country’s other non-English speaking members. This country is now and has always been the “Melting Pot” for the world with persons emigrating to this country from most every country in the world; however, we commonly gear the focus of bilingual education toward our Spanish-speaking citizens.

    Read More

  • Bilingual Education

    1698 Words  | 4 Pages

    When visiting just about any school across America, students who attend come from all over the globe. This raises the question across America about bilingual education. This can create many challenges in and out of the classroom. The classroom should be a safe place for all students regardless of what native language they speak. In the essay Lost in translation written by Eva Hoffman, describes a foreign student who tries hard to fit in. Instead, Eva begins to feel angry, hurt and confused because people laugh at her. In Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education by Elizabeth R. Howard, Julie Sugarman, Donna Christian Center for Applied Linguistics Kathryn J. Lindholm-Leary San José State University David Rogers Dual Language Education of New Mexico. Guiding principles gives great ideas to educators to stop kids from making other students feel the way that Eva felt. After reading several articles about bilingual education, it is evident that all children in school should learn English but never lose their native language. When all the students speak one language, students will be less likely to make fun of each other. A good educator should learn enough foreign languages to aid them in effective communication in their classroom although; if an educator does not speak a foreign language, they should recruit within the classroom students to be peer mentors. However, a teacher should be willing to listen and encourage the students. Above all a good educator should be a good role model to their students by respecting their heritage and their language.

    Read More

  • A Language Barrier

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    From my experience, bilingual education was a disadvantage during my childhood. At the age of twelve, I was introduced into a bilingual classroom for the first time. The crowded classroom was a combination of seventh and eighth grade Spanish-speaking students, who ranged from the ages of twelve to fifteen. The idea of bilingual education was to help students who weren’t fluent in the English language. The main focus of bilingual education was to teach English and, at the same time, teach a very basic knowledge of the core curriculum subjects: Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. Unfortunately, bilingual education had academic, psychological, and social disadvantages for me.

    Read More

  • Benefits of Raising a Bilingual Child

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    Language is an important part of our lives. I remember when I arrived to USA I could speak a little English. I went to school to improve my language, reading and writing skills; even now I am learning my second language, without English I cannot survive in this new environment. Now I am raising my own kids and I want them to have this important skill, this privilege of knowing a second language, language of their parents and grandparents. By looking at studies of bilingual children, research shows how important it is for a child to learn a second language. Raising a bilingual child is a benefit because it improves social skills, academic proficiency, introduces child to a different culture, and prepares for the future.

    Read More

  • Bilingual Education Essay

    1431 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...thousands of years. Generally, bilingual education can mean any use of two languages in school, by teachers, students, or both – for a variety of social and pedagogical purposes. It also refers to the different approaches in the classroom that use the native languages of English language learners (ELLs) for instruction. These approaches include teaching English, fostering academic achievement, acculturating immigrants to a new society, and preserving a minority group’s linguistic and cultural heritage. Building on, rather than just discarding the students’ native-language skills, create a stronger foundation for success in English and academics. Also, if students learn languages at a younger age, it will be easier to remember and learn them, rather than if they were older. It helps to learn another language for students, and can later be useful in the future.

    Read More

  • Essay On Being Bilingual

    1555 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... how to speak fluently in two languages is because they think it will confuse their child and mess them up with their first language, which is wrong. Children can benefit from being bilingual when it comes to schooling, because knowing more than one language can help that child figure things out easier and simpler than a monolingual would know how to do. Jobs also have a big effect on bilingual people, they can attract business, and many companies need people who are bilingual. Music is also factors because many people listen to it daily learn many things about themselves and who they are. People usually do not think music can be such an effect on people’s lives and their culture but it does and there is proof of it. Overall, teaching a child to be fluent in more than on language will have many positive effects on him/her and will benefit from them completely.

    Read More

  • Negative Effects Of Bilingualism

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    BILINGUALISM have both Positive and Negative effects on the Child’s linguistic, Cognitive and Educational Development.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Bilingual Education in Malaysia.

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    Earlier this year, Singapore’s former Prime Minister, Lee Guan Yew told the press (SinChew Daily, 2013) that he would like to urge all the parents in Singapore to let their children to receive bilingual education as soon as possible as it deliver more pros than cons for the development of the children. Traditionally, bilingual education was perceived by experts as “damaging” to children early language development as it may cause them to confuse between two languages and affect their learning (Chitester, D.J., 2007), but as more recent researchers begin to uncover the advantages of bilingual education (Cognitive Development Lab, 2013 & National Association for Bilingual Education, n.d.), people around the globe are now accepting and encouraging their children to receive bilingual education, picking up additional languages like: Spanish or Mandarin. The bilingual education indeed offers several priceless advantages to everyone like helping in the development of brain, providing wider job opportunities and making more new friend.

    Read More

  • Benefit Of Bilingual Education Essay

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    America, a country built on immigration dating back to the early 1600s Mayflower voyage, continues to thrive as a melting pot full of various cultures and ethnicities. In the past, many immigrants came to America due to the offered freedoms and equality, yet today, many naturalized citizens suffer with injustices, including with educational practices. The use of bilingual education, which teaches students in both English and their native language, has become a controversial topic. In 1968, the Bilingual Education Act, which recognized and offered education to students who were lacking English, was passed, yet the topic still seems questionable to some. Bilingual education provides a variety of beneficial attributes to help foreigners by improving their lives as native speakers, with education benefits, health benefits, and future opportunities.

    Read More

More about Argumentative Essay On Bilingual Education

Open Document