Essay On Bilingual Education

In order to understand Bilingual education it must first be defined, as the compilation of multicultural views through which diversity is enriched and bilingualism becomes an ability to communicate with two or more languages with similar degree of proficiency language (Gallo, Pinuelas and Youngs 2008). Other perspectives state that the process of bilingual education is a process which educates students to be effective in a second language while maintaining and nurturing their first (Necochea and Cline 2000). In this process of educating students in a bilingual education many students do not completely acquire both languages. We would also have to consider the meaning of language acquisition, the process where children acquire their first language. Some children may attain one or more first languages depending on their environment children grow up in for example if a child grows up in an environment of only English they will only acquire that language, but a child that is exposed to both Vietnamese and English and are heard equally will acquire both languages. Other considerable research found that “young children do not learn another language effortlessly” that they do not learn faster with more exposure to the new language, that their oral fluency outstrips their academic competence, and that they require many years of grade level academic ability in the new language”(Berman, 1997.p17). It is important to understand the effectiveness of bilingual education in schools setting to better sever students in acquiring both languages and to smoothly transition to all English instruction.

Since the passage of the Bilingual Education Act in 1968, it has been an extremely controversial and continuous topic among educators about the...

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...at needed to become fluent in both languages is the six years which can positively affect the children in acquiring both languages. It can also vary on the effectiveness of the bilingual education program that is offered in many schools. In the research there were no significant findings that stated that bilingual education was ineffective, there was more evidence that showed that learning a primary language first and then transitioning to a second language had benefits because it has a positive effect in eventually becoming bilingual. There are still some implications that can be addressed about the effectiveness of bilingual education. Is there evidence that shows that these students have completely acquired both languages? How effective are bilingual programs in having students successfully transition to general English classes in middle school and high school.