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Benefit and unbenefit of bilingual
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Persuasive Essay
Adriana Gerena
Comp I
Desiree Kennedy
2/20/2014
In Miami, an eight year old girl from Barcelona, Spain, started school not knowing a single word of English. For half the day, she received half of her classes in Spanish and the other half in English. In five months, she learned English, and in seven months, she was the most active participating student in her class. Because she was placed in an English Language Learners (ELL) program, learning English was easy for her (HPL, 2013). There are many benefits of bilingual education in public schools for children of all ages, and many schools in the United States are fighting to keep ELL programs in the school systems.
“It costs taxpayers too much money to provide government services in languages other than English” (Teaching Tolerance, 2011). The use of a language other than English can not only make it easier but also more beneficial to serve taxpayers. For example, it is easier, quicker, and more economical for claim representatives who speak and communicate in the client’s native language to collect information. Not only does ELL teach bilingualism or help make a job task easier, but it also has been proven that a person who is bilingual he or she receives a better pay, scores well academically overall in the long term, and moves freely in an English language dominated society (NLCI, 2013).
Studies show that the more schools developed children’s with other language skills, the higher he or she scored academically overall (NABE, 2002). Students that are in ELL score higher on state exams, have better comprehension skills of math, English, writing, and are well above average in overall academics. It defends children’s sense of pride in t...
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... sometimes more languages without any issues to his or her learning. For example, in Switzerland, the home language may be French, Swiss-German, Italian, or Romansh, but most children learn one additional language very early, and by the time they graduate from secondary school, the majority of students are trilingual (CAL, 2014).
As many people from other linguistic background are migrating to the United States, it is important that the school systems keep ELL programs available for the students in the public schools not only so the students can move freely in an English- language dominated society but because those students are the future of this great nation and deserve to have the same opportunities as English language student as well. To conclude ELL programs can be a very vital tool that public school systems can provide for English speaking students.
Due to the rise in immigration and the demographics of classrooms in America are changing. As a result, English Language Learners are becoming more common in schools. English Language Learners make up one of the largest demographics in the American Classroom (Flynn & Hill, 2005). These students have been observed to have a major achievement gap because many of these students are placed in mainstream classrooms with basic literacy skills. Many English Language Learners are born in the United States (Goldenberg, 2008). These students have only attended the school system in America. However, the achievement levels are nowhere near the level of their peers. According to Calderon, Slavin, and Sanchez (2011) “these students, who have been in U.S. schools since kindergarten, are still classified as limited English proficient when they reach middle or high school— suggesting strongly that preschool and elementary programs are not adequately addressing the needs of English learners.” The achievement gap between English Language Learners and native English speaking students is extremely high. English Language Learners tests scores are low. According to the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress, “fourth grade ELLs scored 36 points lower than their peers on the reading section of the test and 25 points below their peers in math. The results in eighth grade were worse with a difference of 42 points in reading and 37 points in math” (Goldenberg, 2008). The gap between ELLs and non-ELLs are three to eighteen points larger then students from low-income households.
Dual language is a form of education in which students are taught to read and write in two languages. The majority of dual language programs in the United States teach in English and Spanish, although there are emerging programs that teach in Mandarin, Japanese and Hindi. The programs start of mostly in kindergarten sand 1st grade and continue throughout primary education, in addition some dual language programs depending on the grade continue through middle and high school. Even Hayward’s own Burbank elementary and Winton middle school are offering dual language programs. Each level of teaching uses a different language ratio in which class is instructed the classes start off with a 90:10 ration and later as years pass the ration becomes a steady 50:50 (Lindholm-Leary, Kathryn J,2001). The goals of dual language immersion programs are to get children to become both bi-literate and bilingual, in other words, they will be able to speak and write fluently in two different languages. Dual language programs are becoming more and more common most of them are in public school but there are some beginning to become present private and charter schools. Dual language education should be introduced in all elementary schools beginning in the Kindergarten to boost achievement for English language learners, benefits it will bring to the community, outstanding brain benefits and lastly cost efficiency in education across the United States.
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.
America’s educational system is home to an increasing number of English language learners. Some research indicates that by the year 2030, over 40% of elementary and secondary students served by schools in the United States will come from homes where a language other than English is spoken (Thomas & Collier, 2001). In an effort to accommodate these students, the United States has adopted policies at both the federal and state levels. Generally, the direction taken to meet the needs of English language learners has depended on the climate of the nation. During times of peace and prosperity, policies reflect the nation’s tolerance of other languages and cultures. However, during times of war or conflict, policies have reflected intolerance or fear of anything deemed “un-American.”
Because America is such a diverse country, public schools are faced with the challenge of providing students from all over the world with a quality education. As Chen points out “public schools have embraced the linguistic challenge presented by immigrant students” (¶1). Then, No Child Left Behind law was approved, and it required every public school should have an English Secondary Language (ESL) program that will provide the “academic support” for English Language Learners (ELLs). ELL parents are happy that their children are getting education help from the school, but it has raised the question of how successful are the ESL programs? Do ESL programs provide enough “academic support” to all ELL students? Do ESL programs have enough tools to help students learn English? Some ELL parents complain that ESL programs do not help their child learn English. A successful ESL program is not based solely on the test scores, but also the ability to connect parents, teachers, and students together to strengthen tools that will help ELL students to learn a new language in reading, writing, and speaking.
No other language group makes up more than 4% of limited English proficient students. What complicates the issue of education for language minority students is their low socioeconomic status. 80% of ELL students are poor, and most attend schools where the majority of students also live in poverty and are English language learners. There is some difference in the level of poverty among language groups. Here, again, Latinos are disproportionately represented: 57% of Spanish-speaking families earn less than $20,000 compared to, for example, only 35% of families where Asian/Pacific Island languages are spoken (McArthur, 1993).
After viewing the panel discussion about how our local school districts have implemented English Language Learning in their school, I am very intrigued. From what I gathered the field of ELL is a growing industry in education, especially in Colorado Springs. We have ELL’s students coming from all over the world. Here in Colorado Springs alone, school districts have to accommodate for over fifty different languages spoken by ELL’s. I can only imagine the challenge that comes with such a diverse group of non- English speakers in our community schools.
Research demonstrates English Language Learners use home language to make connection with English text and their experiences to succeed in school. Although, their home language may not be the principal language of instruction in an English classroom: dual language learners use their home language, English, or both to acquire English vocabulary and oral language in the preschool setting. Their home language is an asset to broaden their knowledge. It should not be discouraged to be used at school and at home. If they lost their home language they lose important family connections, tradition, heritage, which could lead to self-esteem and social emotional problems in their youth. For all these reasons, supporting and encouraging dual language learning in young children makes sense and is crucial to their long-term success (Magruder, et at...
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.
In previous years the debate over bilingual education tended to focus more on the feasibility of educating English language learners in an English-only or dual language environment. However, in more recent years the focus has begun to shift towards how English language learners should be taught and with what tools. With information technology becoming more widespread, of course technology in the classroom is now a topic ripe with possibilities and the term multimedia is now widely heard in schools. Information in printed form has long been the traditional method for introducing concepts and lessons within the school system. However, education is now moving away from books into the world of technology as a way to increase learning activity.
Maintenance or Heritage Language programs serve the purpose of preserving the ethnic identity, culture and language of minority group members. Immigrant communities in particular have a need to maintain communication channels with first generation immigrants and people in their country of origin. Through bilingual education their children can cope with the majority
Children are being raised in a society which is continually becoming more bilingual. Now we debate the question of whether or not schools should make dual-language programs required. There is a constant demand for bilingual people in the workforce. There are over 50.5 million Hispanic people living in America (Lynch, “Should Bilingual” 1). When we hear the phrase “bilingual education” we think of Spanish over every other language. With roughly 6,909 languages in the world, limiting our students to one language is disgraceful (Anderson 3). The long term benefits children will gain by applying bilingual learning will assist them academically and in life. Should bilingual education be included in every U.S. classroom?
Language has pioneered many interracial relationships and historical milestones. Language is a necessity for basic communication and cultural diversity. Being multilingual is a skill proven influential to a successful future. Due to rapid globalization, countries all over the world are stressing the importance of learning a second, or even third, language. With the exception of time and lack of resources, adults have very few widely applicable disadvantages to learning multiple languages. However, language learning as a child presents more complications. Some of those include not having enough funding at the elementary school level to introduce a program for secondary language, academic overload for the youth, stress for both the parent and student parties, and the mixing of languages. Not all of these complications are true in any or all situations, however, and the absence of them provides multitudes of opportunity for future career and academic success. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parents or the education legislation to decide whether they encourage the learning of a secondary language at the young age necessary for retention. “The general consensus is that it takes between five to seven years for an individual to achieve advanced fluency,” therefore the younger a child begins to learn, the more likely they are to benefit to the maximum potential (Robertson). Keeping the language learning in high school or beginning the process earlier is a greatly controversial discussion that is important to address because of the topic’s already lengthy suspension.
In 2009, teachers of a New Jersey school banned foreign languages and stated, “any language other than English will not be tolerated" (Debaron 1). This situation was soon no longer allowed. While over ten percent of the total adolescent education systems contain emergent bilinguals, a whopping sixty percent of those students are educated in only English (Bale). Maria Estela Brisk, a Boston College Education professor, believes, “schools has wasted much energy in the search for a "perfect" model and the best way to learn English” when they could just focus on proving “quality education” to every student in the system (1). Teacher’s main priority should consist of effectively teaching their students to prepare them for the future, but currently there are a lack of certified bilingual education teachers. When students are taught more in different ways, they can educationally benefit their cognitive abilities, involving the brain with “mathematics, problem solving, logic and memory”, can be improved to create an overall better student. Even by learning another language at a earlier age can contribute to __________. Learning another language will be