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Drawbacks of bilingual education
Bilingual education in america
Bilingual education in america
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“English Only; Sink or Swim” The first day of school was the most unforgettable day of my life; I was only twelve years old. Nobody spoke my language and for some reason I thought that even my name had changed; I remember not knowing what to say when I was asked my name. What would I have done if I was not offered the program that I needed in order to be successful in this wonderful country? How can people now say, fight and vote for an all English country? While some people strongly believe in the freedom of speaking whichever language one chooses, others believe that the use of any language other than English causes controversy. “Bilingual education has been practiced in many forms, in many countries, for years”. In today's society, …show more content…
S. Supreme Court ruled that using only English to teach Spanish speaking students violated their civil rights. This decision paved the way for bilingual instruction for Spanish speaking children. The bilingual education program benefits families who have a limited English vocabulary. In Bilingual Education programs, the children use the knowledge they attain in the classes instructed in their first language to better comprehend the English language. In today’s period of demographic transformation in United States, bilingual education means something more specific. It relates to the methods used in the classroom that will teach the English language …show more content…
These supporters fear that any government recognition of minority languages "sends the wrong message" to immigrants, encouraging them to believe they can live in the U.S.A. without learning English or conforming to "American" ways; complaints that have made bilingual education an object of political argumentation. In states like; California, Arizona, and Massachusetts have voted for all-English instruction for most children until they become proficient in the English language. These limitations on bilingual education have dismantled effective programs and made it harder for educators to serve the English language learners students more effectively. Teaching English is the main goal of every bilingual program in the United States and the success of bilingual education in obtaining these goals has been supported by researchers. The “English-only, sink or swim" system was a failure for immigrant children, that leads to low academic achievement and high dropout rates. The English language was not "in danger" then or now. In two or three generations immigrants will most likely have lost their native
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
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...
In the article, “Public and Private Language”, Richard Rodriguez argues that bilingual education delays learning a “public language” and developing a public identity”. I can relate to Richard’s story because my family and me moved to America when I was young and we also had the same struggle learning a new language. I agreed with Rodriguez when he expressed that he didn’t feel like a true American until he mastered the English language because English is the first and main language in America.
The Civil Rights era fostered a rejuvenation of the movement toward bilingual education. Amid with the desire of the nation to eliminate discrimination, the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 came into being. Certainly this act was at least in part the result of a growing num...
From the time the Pilgrims landed in this great nation at Plymouth Rock, immigrants have been culturally diverse and have spoken many languages. When the Pilgrims arrived in the New World, they did not know how to communicate with the natives. Through intense study the natives learned the Pilgrims’ language. Even with the common language they were still a melting pot of different culture. Some would say that America has gotten over the language/ cultural barriers and now almost everyone speaks the common language of English, but there are still many immigrants who do not know English. Bilingual education is put into public schools for this reason, so that immigrant children can be assimilated to English gradually. The national language should be English instead of the official language because America has prided herself in being very diverse. If we take away the diversity, then we take away the core values that America has always had since her founding.
Even though opposition party of English-only movement assert that it has close connections to restrictionist, anti-immigration organizations, which suggests that the English-only movement has a wider, more far-reaching, and more negative agenda than simply advocating an official English language policy, English should be the official language of United States, because in 1990 US census reported that 97.1 % of the US population speak English. In addition, English will allow people to communicate with each other, discuss their points of view, and encourage trust, while reducing racial hostility and discrimination. Another example is that 87% of American voters want English to become the official language, because it keeps everyone learning the same language. People can still learn other languages if they want, and it will also encourage immigrants to develop the English ability necessary in this country for economic and democratic
The United States is made up of many different ethic groups. These groups vary from Latinos, Asian American, African American, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, and etc. These ethnic groups come into America speaking many different languages. However, many people are still surprised to learn that the United States has no official language. Many assume that English is the official language of the United States. But despite efforts over the years, the United States has no official language. Because the United States has no official language, it is suffering with large costs. These large costs will lead us on a road to wasteful government expenses, language battles that fuel ethnic resentment, and in the long run serious ethnic and linguistic separatist movements. An official English legislation is the answer to the problem.
James Fallows, a proponents of having bilingualism in the U.S. Fallows claim that there is no need to declare English as the official language in the U.S. “because it already is that” (263). Fallows argues that English is already the most powerful language in this world, and obviously the immigrants knew that fact. Therefore, bilingual services will not reduce the incentive of immigrants to learn English. However, his argument is not fully correct. From 2000 to 2010, over 9 million immigrants came to America (Camarota). Because of this huge population of immigrants, most of the immigrants merely formed communities within their own ethnic or linguistic groups. In their communities, they can live well by speaking their native languages. Furthermore, when they are facing public problems, they have...
In recent years, large numbers of immigrants have migrated into the USA from Mexico, Philippine, Vietnam, China, and other counties. As of 2009, immigrants comprised 12.5% (38.5 million) of the total U.S. population (Batalova and Aaron par. 7). In 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau found that 50.4% of children younger than the age of one were Hispanic, black, Asian American, or belonging to other minority groups (Morello and Ted par. 2), and more than 60 million people who are 5 years old and older spoke a language other than English at home (Camille 3). Faced with the cultural diversity brought by immigrants, many nativists worry that the United States will lose the English language as an important core of a common cultural unity. With the help of organizations such as U.S. English and ProEnglish, the English-only movement is experiencing its second resurgence since the 1980’s.
middle of paper ... ... Our government already works in an English-speaking capacity, and of all the languages we have put forward for our country in the past, English makes the most sense overall. While providing the necessary instruction and help for non-English speaking citizens and/or immigrants, we will still be preserving the cultural heritage of early America. Works Cited Perea, Juan.
The technique relies on a holistic approach that adopts instructions that allow students to actively participate in the learning process. This is easier for children that feel that the society appreciates their diversity through bilingualism and biliteracy. The society and parents need to encourage children to take up bilingual classes because they offer a lot of benefit to the society through favoring critical thinking, rationality, and sensitivity to other cultures, empathy, and detached or balanced awareness. However, Sonia Nieto mirrors a society that is made to fake being American and become ashamed of their family. It helps appreciate that it is not by choice that anyone speaks any other language as the first language and that the society and community influence the language of choice. Therefore, bilingualism cannot be detached from any community that freely promotes and accommodate the language spoken by the other community. Children and community members learn each other’s language without disregarding each other favoring effective learning that influences bilingualism and biliteracy in the long
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.
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.
English becoming the official Language of the United States is not just a controversial topic, it is necessary to keep America alive. American history and tradition is falling, and the ground on which she was founded is slowly fading. Americans must wake up to the importance of preserving the history of their culture. America is considered to be the greatest country in the world by even some who are not Americans. The “American Dream” is something people fantasize over all around the world. In order to keep the desire to be American, one must truly understand what it takes to be American. English is essential in living the American life. English should be the official language of the United States to give the people what they want, to recognize the historic role, and to limit controversy.
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 ethnics. 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 is teaching 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 equally help foreigners