Many countries have created their language policies to promote or demote the use of a specific language or set of languages. It is a way to keep one certain language in a country; otherwise, there would be many languages spoken in it. Nevertheless, one can speak their native tongue anywhere, but the way government documents are printed are according to the language the country selected. For example, the United State selected English as their primary language. This means that every governmental document written in the U.S. is written in English. The factor that define language policies in our educational system is the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. According to Menken,
“In the United State, federal education Policy was amended in 1994,
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Gottlieb state, “The common language assessment, Gottlieb proposes, is language-centered assessment geared toward English learners. It is a type of classroom-based assessment aligned well with the instruction students receive. Yet it also ensures the validity, reliability and usefulness of test results through school-, district-, and community-level collaboration and commitment” (2012). On can see, that common language assessments holds its value on gathering accurate data. Data that is reliable and valid because it is aligned with the concepts that the students are going to learn. This is very important because the students should be meeting the state objectives and the assessments are there to help the teacher gather information to make the objectives understandable to the ELL community. This way the students are meeting the objectives; as oppose, to meeting partial of it. As a result, this is the importance of establishing language benchmarks; in addition, this is what gives the teachers the breakdown of the language need to teach the objective. In other words, the benchmarks let the teachers know what is expected from each student and what additional resources is need to help
Much research was completed for the making of this article. It was found that ELL’s need time to develop oral English proficiency, teachers need to use ongoing authentic formative assessments throughout the year due to
Language can bring people together but can also isolate. The United States is known as a melting pot, not only does that refer to culture but also the many different languages. We know of language barriers, but very seldom do we think of the language barriers within our borders. Even with the language barriers it solidifies the need for a national language, the United States of America should allow the freedom to express one’s culture while maintaining English as our national language, therefore offering common ground to its citizens.
English learners have classes like ELD, can seek extra help to ensure their understanding in English curriculums, and take certain tests to help their fluency in English. One of those tests that English Language Learners have to take to build proficiency, is the CELDT Test. While taking other classes like ELD, out of the 224 English language learners at a local elementary school who took the test, 8 students got advanced, 57 students got early advanced, 85 students got intermediate, 56 students got early intermediate, and 18 students got beginning in the 2012-2013 school year. ** Out of the 224 students that took the test, 206 students were fluent or almost fluent in English. According to these stats, ELD classes and the CELDT test, help with making an English learner’s proficiency in English almost as proficient as a native English speaker, making the system seem equal for everybody to succeed. But, what happens to the students when they move on to higher classes or come from another country and do not have the opportunity to take these classes. According to statistics published by http://www.pewhispanic.org/files/2007/06/2007-math-01.png, English language learners had the highest percent of students at below basic in English and math in 4th and 8th grade. Students that do not get to take ELD classes, often have lower test scores because
By the next decade, both the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unlawful to keep students who couldn’t speak English from getting an education. Later, Congress passed the Equal Opportunity Act of 1974, which resulted in the implementation of more bilingual education programs in public schools.
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.
One of the most controversial topics in education today is the use of Provincial Achievement Testing, also know as PAT. PATs’ are used to assess and assist in improving programs, maintain standards and improve student achievement. These tests are standard tests that are at the same academic level for all students and focus on the same curriculum topics. All students write these tests at roughly the same time during the school in the same grade. In most provinces, students write PATs’ in grades three and six in elementary school. These tests feature sections from the core subject areas; math, literacy, science and social studies. Schools with french immersion have tests written in french with a french language sections as well. These tests are used to provide additional information regarding the students’ and school’s achievement. However, some organizations use this to compare schools and districts. Some teachers lack an understanding of these assessments and change their teaching practices to fit this perception. Teachers are focus to much on the basic information being covered by the test, and both all the curriculum that is listed. Teachers need to look at the difference between the assessment of learning over the assessment for learning. The view of assessing of learning has given external testing a lower view by teachers. External testing is used for checking the quality of education. There are three issues regarding assessing student learning with achievement testing, they are: the weak understanding of fair assessment, the perception of external accountability initiatives and the inappropriate assessment of at-risk students.
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.
What is the official language or the United States? 90% of the people would answer English, but guess again. The United States doesn’t have an official language. The subject of English as the official language of the United States has been covered intensively by the world press over the past decade. Declaring it the official language of United States can make an improvement in many areas, and is very relevant for future generations. Even though English-only movement has close connections to restrictionist and anti-immigration organizations. Which suggests that the 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 making it the official language of the United States refers solely to the language of the government, not of the people, private business, classrooms, etc., and in 1990 US census reported that 97.1% of the US population speak English.
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.
If a country doesn’t have an official language is usually due to distinct historical or cultural reasons. As I began reading articles on this topic, I was amazed that the great country I live in doesn’t have an official language. I begin to wonder why this is the case. Many countries have an official language in which all the official business, daily activities and other formal activities are conducted. There are even thirty (30) states that have succeeded through their own statutes to declare English as an official language of their particular state (www.us-english.org).
Wiley, Terrence G. "Language Planning, Language Policy, and the English-Only Movement." Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-first Century. Ed. Edward Finegan and John R. Rickford. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004. 319-38. Print.
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 majority of Americans believe English is the official language of the United States. However, The United States has no official language at all. This mistake is commonly based upon English being the most popular language spoken in North America. Making English official has recently become a popular topic, and more people every day join a curiosity of why it is not the official language. 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.
Even though there are advantages as well as disadvantages, the need for international language for communication, politics, economics and security is necessary and English is the best “language candidate” for that function. English is a language spread all over the world and it is used by millions and millions of speakers. According to my opinion, people should use English as a tool to communicate with all cultures but every country must keep their culture and language is a great part of it. In conclusion, language defines identity of a country and everyone should keep their language and explore others.
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