Is bilingual education an effective way for our students to be learning in our schools today? This is a question that has been asked in this country for many years. It has been an issue of controversy for many years. Many people believe that Bilingual Education is a modern day issue that has recently been a focus point in our country. Bilingual Education and all of its components has been a part of our education system for over 100 years and since then the battle of how to teach it and what the effects are on a child and the politics of it started. One of the biggest discussions has been ‘what is the effect of each style of teaching, which is best suited for a child to learn English fluently. Another topic that has had a big influence on Bilingual Education is the Politics surrounding all aspects of it. These Politics have played a role in how the standards and guidelines are set up for Bilingual Education in the schools.
Also there are the different types of methods when teaching Bilingual Education in our school system and which works the best for the school, the teacher and the students. Finally there are several different benefits of having a bilingual background that has helped people of Bilingual backgrounds grow both with education and professionalism. As the example shows there are many topics that go into play with Bilingual Education and the argument of, ‘will Bilingual Education ever be effective’ will continue as long as our country continues to expand, encourage the changing of demographics and welcome people from different parts of the world. The melting pot that is the United States continues to grow with people who bring the languages of their native countries with them. The effect of transition on a child who is surrounded in a bilingual environment can be very challenging depending on the method practice in the classroom.
The Essay on The Advantages of Bilingual Education in School
Language may only means on communicating for some people, but in the true sense it is the basis exposing individuals to diverse cultures and tradition. Languages are not only a method of expressing opinions but also a source of information about otherwise unknown societies and cultures. Bilingual languages provide individuals with diversified communication skills thereby enhancing their abilities ...
There are three different methods that are currently used in our schools today. One method utilized in our schools is English-only immersion. English-only Immersion is a sink or swim style of learning that can actually hold a child back in their learning. The next style is quick-exit bilingual education that helps a child flow from their native language to English. This is a transitional style of learning where the student starts off at an all Spanish environment and transitions to an all English environment. Finally there is the late-exit bilingual education which helps the student develop English from a learning and social environment. With these three different styles of learning there has been a lot of debate over what style is the most efficient method and the most accurate way to teach Bilingual Education in today’s classroom environment. Politics of bilingual education in schools is proving that no child will be slowed down or held back in the process of learning English. This idea, which has led to many different types of facts and fallacies, continues to be discussed.
There is a large belief in the educational world that bilingual education has been a recently new issue due to all of the media coverage surrounds the immigration issues in this country. In reality, bilingual education is not new; it has been around since the early twentieth century when immigrants first started to migrate to this country from Italy, Ireland, Germany and other European countries. In 1911, for example a federal commission accused groups of immigrants of failing to learn English when they arrived here from their home countries. (Crawford, 2008).
The Review on First Language and Learning English
Language is the most dynamic form of symbolism that cultures possesses. Language is the medium in which people interact and communicate for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and feelings. Language acquisition has been one of the most intriguing aspects of human nature and had been the focus of different disciplines. For the most part, language acquisition had been theorized and conceptualized in ...
There has also been a way of thinking that the English language is being threatened by more languages that are being brought to the United States. There is one thing that is rarely talked about is that English was not “threatened” then or now in any generation since this country began.
In two or three generations of immigrants and indigenous minorities learned English and often lost their native languages. (NABE.2008) One of the biggest political stance taken was when congress passed the, “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” which lead educational leaders to stress on high standards for all students, combined with enforceable requirements to meet those high standards. (Crawford.2008) But this has not happened the way that it was set forth because the system can’t distinguish between schools who are neglecting E.L.L.’s ( English Language Learner) and those that are making improvements. (Crawford.2008) So, as you can see politics will always have a play on Bilingual Education because there hasn’t been one standard teaching styles which is causing the educational system to constantly coming up with ways to come up with a national standard.
The different teaching standards leave a different effect on each student in our current educational system. With the Immersion style of teaching the student is put through an environment that is a sink or swim learning style which causes the student to learn at the levels of the classmates. This style makes the child learn with minimal use of their native language that makes the student dependent on a language that they are trying to learn. The Immersion style has shown that it is not effective to help students learn English effectively. The Quick Exit is a good learning style because it helps the student transition easily with the use of their native language. The main emphasis of quick exit bilingual education programs is to enable limited English proficient students to become competent in all areas of English through the development of literacy and academic skills in their native language. (filebox.vt.edu)
The Essay on International students in English speaking universities
Introduction With the brisk pace of economic globalization, higher education is becoming more internationalized as well. An increasing number of students choose to receive higher education abroad in countries like the US, the UK and Australia, where there are many world-class universities that are expected to provide high-quality education for both domestic and overseas students. However, due to ...
One of the most effective ways to teach English is Late-Exit Bilingual Education because Late-Exit Bilingual programs provide students with instruction in their native language to facilitate understanding but with the goal of eventually being put into the mainstreaming with other students who are in English speaking classrooms. This has shown that learning in the Late Exit programs also helps the student be proficient in other subjects such as math and science. With these styles being taught in our class rooms each style will continue to have challenges and accomplishments in the class room that will lead to different standards.
Coming from immigrant parents, I know the difficulty students go through when they do not know the language. Bilingual education is absolutely beneficial because it gives the student an additional advantage in different areas. The child increases their vocabulary, but increases their awareness of language. Students who are bilingual do not have difficulty learning nor processes information, although linguist have noticed that there is reaching language milestones when the child is in a bilingual environment. Being bilingual opens doors that are not open to monolingual speakers. Speaking two languages is equivalent as having two people who speak one language.
When the employer is in need of two languages in the work place, the employer prefers to pay one salary for the same work rather than two salaries. This will allow the employer open to a whole new demographic. Thus, the bilingual employee will be preferred over two monolingual employees. The employer is saving money and is now given the opportunity to offer the bilingual employees a bilingual bonus. With this country growing more and more diverse, it is important to look at becoming bilingual and learning other languages as part of our basic education not only does this benefit the individual but will also add to the growing financial avenues.
“Our Nation has gotten by for more than 200 years with out adopting an official language, so why start now”. (Crawford.2006) As our history has shown our country has always had a second, third language tied into our culture. Although bilingual education is an effective way of learning, the transition on a child from a bilingual setting to all English environments can be a challenging process for various reasons. First, the politics of having bilingual education in schools is proving that no child should get held up in the process of learning English to become their first language. With the passage of the “No Child Left Behind Act) the government has taken a step to have every child get an education no matter what language they speak. Additionally the benefits of having a second language has proven to be beneficial to our society as it opens up an additional avenues of advancement in a professional career as well as in a educational career. But most importantly, many children are not able to learn as quickly in the transition because of the type of teaching style that they receive early on in their development.
The Essay on Bilingual Education 10
Imagine being an immigrant from a country where the Spanish language is practically ubiquitous. Now imagine trying to learn in an American school using a foreign language and being expected to move into the mainstream with the other children. For most English-proficient people, this scenario may be hard to visualize. However, this is an all too common situation for many children whose families ...
References
Rethinking Schools Online (2007), Retrieved 12/2/08, What Now for Bilingual Education, http://www.rethinkingschools.org/index.shtml
National Association of Bilingual Education, (2008) Retrieved 12/02/2008, Research, Web site: http://www.nabe.org/education/index.html
James Crawford Language Policy Website and Emporium(2008), Retrieved 12/2/2008, Homepage, http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCrawford/
James Crawford Language Policy Website and Emporium (2008), Testimony before the House Subcommittee on Education Reform, 26 July 2006 Retrieved 12/2/2008, Homepage, http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCrawford/
Claiborne H. Marshall Web Site, Retrieved 12/8/2008
Web Site: http://www.filebox.vt.edu/c/cmarshal/index.htm
Axia College Material
Appendix G
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