Arguments Against Bilingual Education

In the past decades many immigrant families, families who don't utilize English as their main language, arrived and settled in the United States. The years between 1990 and 2000 school aged children in the United States were ruling in another language other than English doubled. They make up almost 10% of school aged children. 329 distinct languages may have been spoken of the homes of these children 77% speak Spanish in their home and are considered bilingual. Increasing numbers of bilingual children learners have had an impact on public elementary, secondary education, preschool education, and federally funded programs like Head Start. The years 2004 to 2005 Head Start children nationwide were from mainly Spanish speaking homes. 13% of these

children during the enrollment period were children with disabilities. Educating these children is currently a noteworthy test all through the United States. "Education and language researchers have emphasized the urgency of addressing the needs of young bilingual learners, in particular those from Spanish-speaking backgrounds. One area that has received increased attention by both researchers and practitioners concerns these students’ language and literacy acquisition given the higher risk of reading problems associated with lack of proficiency in English." (McMillen, Kaufman, & Klein, 1997; National Center for Education Statistics, 2003). Rinaldi, Claudia, and Mariela Péez. "Preschool Matters: Predicting Reading Difficulties for Spanish-Speaking Bilingual Students in First Grade." Web. 23 Sept. 2015. Literacy Related skills are in three categories are identified important during early school years (a) phonological skills, phonological awareness, and phonological processing; (b) early literacy skills, word acknowledgment, written work and spelling; and (c) oral language abilities, vocabulary, listening comprehensions, and sentence recall. Language use at home, parents’ education years, and family income showed that all children were exposed to Spanish in their home and were mostly from low socioeconomic backgrounds. 32% of fathers were not present. Participating families 62% of mothers reported using on Spanish at home, 20% said they used mostly Spanish, 14% said they used Spanish and English equally, and 4% said mostly speaking English. One mother only said she used only English in the home. 48% of fathers reported only speaking Spanish at home, 27% said they used mostly Spanish, 14% said they spoke Spanish and English equally. 7% said mostly speaking English, and 4% said they only use English at home. Average years of education for mothers was slightly greater than the fathers. “First, an active screening and assessment process should be implemented early in the school years to identify children who might be at risk for reading difficulties based on their first- and second-language abilities. Second, attention to prereadiness skills with a special focus on vocabulary instruction during early childhood seems of particularly importance for this population of Spanish-speaking child Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal 6(1), 71-86, 2008 84 Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal 6(1), 71-86, 2008 dren, as noted by the current study and previous research (August et al., 2003; August & Shanahan, 2006). Third, language programs for Spanish-speaking bilingual students should provide opportunity for maintenance and development of Spanish language and literacy skills where possible. As the predictive model in this study suggests, Spanish vocabulary and word reading skills can contribute to students’ word reading abilities in English.” Rinaldi, Claudia, and Mariela Péez. "Preschool Matters: Predicting Reading Difficulties for Spanish-Speaking Bilingual Students in First Grade." Web. 23 Sept. 2015. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.deltacollege.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ec7b94d3-6b62-49b4-b5cc-fd3be8444317@sessionmgr112&vid=2&hid=114 Knowledge that children get through their first language helps make the English they read and hear more understandable. Literacy developed in the primary language transfers to the second language. We learn to read by reading that is by making sense of what you’re reading on the page. It’s easier to learn to read in a language we understand. Once we can read in one language, we can read in general. The children who arrive with a good education in their main language have already gained two out of the three objectives of a good bilingual education program, literacy and subject matter knowledge.

These children success is good evidence for bilingual education. “Many parents are not committed to having the schools maintain the mother tongue if it is at the expense of gaining a sound education and the English-language skills needed for obtaining jobs or pursuing higher education.” When asked about if people support bilingual education, 60 to 99 percent of respondent’s teachers and parents say they support it. “In a series of studies, Shin (Shin, 1994; Shin & Gribbons, 1996) examined attitudes toward the principles underlying bilingual education. Shin found that many respondents agree with the idea that the first language can be helpful in providing background knowledge, most agree that literacy transfers across languages, and most support the principles underlying continuing bilingual education (economic and cognitive advantages).” People that are opposed to bilingual education is most likely more less than the results say, people who say they are opposed are actually only opposed to certain practices such as inappropriate placement of children or are opposed to regulations connected such as forcing teachers to acquire another language to keep their

jobs. Despite what is showed to the public eye via national media, research between 1984 and 1994 has revealed much support with 87% of academic publications, newspaper and magazine publication opinion articles showed to be more anti-bilingual, that’s 45% supporting bilingual education. “A book flood in both languages is clearly called for. Good bilingual programs have brought students to the 50th percentile on standardized tests of English reading by grade five (Burnham-Massey & Pina, 1990). But with a good supply of books in both first and second languages, students can go far beyond the 50th percentile. It is possible that we might then have the Lake Wobegon effect, where all of the children are above average, and we can finally do away with the tests (and put the money saved too much better use).”