...EDPROFST 226: Introduction to Bilingualism and Bilingual Immersion Education Assignment One: In his book, Language, Power and Pedagogy: bilingual children in the crossfire, Cummins (2000) tells a story of a bilingual Mexican mother who was ordered by a judge to stop speaking Spanish to her daughter during a custody dispute with her husband. The judge’s view was that the mother was ‘abusing’ her daughter by speaking Spanish in their home (p.13). Unfortunately the judge is not alone in his opinion in regards to second language acquisition and bilingualism. Nor is the context of America and the minority language of Spanish different from the New Zealand context in the way that minority languages are viewed ‘ongoing bilingualism in a so-called minority, indigenous or community language is still regarded by many as an educational, and wider social impediment” (May, Hill, Tiakiwai, 2004, p.8). Cummins asks some important questions in regards to bilingual education in both homes and schools including, ‘To what extent is it child abuse to send new teachers into classrooms (in multilingual cities such as Toronto, London, or New York) with minimal or no preparation on how to teach academic content to students who are in the process of learning English and whose cultural background differs significantly from that assumed by all of the structures of schooling (e.g. curriculum, assessment, and teacher preparation)?’ (Cummins, 2000, p.14) New Zealand is a rich, diverse multicultural...
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...Eng 9 Bilingual language and education amongst students involves teaching academics and content of two languages in a native and secondary language with varying amounts of each language. Bilingual education is beneficial to student’s cognitive development, educational experience and functions of communication with life obstacles. However few minorities believe that Bilingual education is harmful to the upcoming generation in fear of cultural confusion. The Brain benefits from bilingual education by expanding a child’s cognitive ability to understand store and utilize another language besides their native language. Although kids in bilingual classes are not thinking much about the nature of their brains when they are in school each morning, they’re only aware of the rich and lyrical experience of learning bilingually. Studies have shown that multilingual students are nimbler, quicker, and are able to deal with obligations and resolve conflicts, resulting in an extra stash of mental sharpness of mind. Similar to Rodriguez in the “Hunger of Memory” Rodriguez experience bilingual education first hand. Rodriguez had to learn a language that barely exists in his education pattern without losing his culture, family and most importantly his parents. As a result Rodriguez had to learn how to control what he was taught as oppose to what he’s learn. Rodriguez continues to state that education was a challenging experience at first until he became fully assimilated. Although becoming fully...
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...Bilingual Education Policy It has been 36 years since the implementation of the bilingual education policy yet over the past decades the policy was always questioned on whether it is really helpful or not (Espiritu). The policy was defined operationally as “the separate use of English and Filipino as the media of instruction in specific subject areas” and is working on the assumption that there is a certain degree of mastery of Filipino within the student (Espiritu; Isidro et al. 113). In line with the definition, the main goals of using English and Filipino as media of instruction are (1) to bring quality education, (2) to develop Filipino for exchanging of ideas, (3) to develop English as the international language and (4) to develop competence in both English and Filipino (Espiritu). Operating under these goals and since learning involves the teacher and the student, the implementation of bilingual education policy in the Philippines is beneficial for both the students and the teachers. The bilingual education policy plays three vital roles in student’s personal success. First is that bilingual education policy provides greater job opportunities for students after graduation. Because of the bilingual education policy, students will be more exposed to the use of English and Filipino in daily conversations and soon they will develop communication skills in these languages which they could use as an asset in finding jobs. Furthermore, according to Cloud, Genesee, and Hamayan...
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...Bilingual Education By C. Mori When I started my investigation about bilingual education I never thought the debate about it would be as controversial and passionate as it is. But considering the numbers of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the U.S. public school, approximately 5.5 million, which represent about 11% of total number of students, and the percentage of drop outs, about 30% of ELLs, it is understandable that public opinion puts some pressure on the U.S. public school system to adopt the most efficient and adequate system for this growing minority group. The number of ELLs abandoning school has remained high for a long period of time generating serious doubts about the functionality and effectiveness of bilingual education and other programs. Two have been the main reasons attributed for this desertion from classes: the low socioeconomic level of ELLs and language differences. In this context, dual language, one modality of bilingual education, is showing to be able to make students excel in their academic performance and revert negative statistics Currently, in the United States there are two major approaches about how to teach English to those children whose primary language is different from English. The first approach is by immersing them in English only classes. This program was first implemented in California with proposition 227 in 1998 and continued to other states like Arizona and Massachusetts where bilingual education was...
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...country, not being fluent in English can be a huge barrier to being able to accomplish what one wants, and being successful in the educational system. Therefore, the people who control the education system have set specific standards in order to teach students who are learning the English language. The set standard for students who don't speak English is supposed to help them to learn English and keep up with the subjects that the other students who speak English are learning and are being tested on. The idea of that is great and should promote both content retention, and the development of the English...
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...Bilingual Education vs. ESL Instruction: What's the Difference? When ESL students enter the school system they are given a Home Language Survey which is used to identify the potential students that may be eligible for the ESL program. Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) are used to assess each Limited English Proficient (LEP) student. BICS is the language we need in order to be able to socialize in a social setting. CALP is the language needed for a student to read, listen, speak, write and understand in all subject areas in school. Teachers can also use informal assessments, which can be viewed as ongoing assessments, as a tool to target specific problems of areas, make the necessary adaptions to the student’s lessons, and give them availability to intervene with each student consistently. The primary goal of both English as a second language (ESL) instruction and bilingual education is to teach English each program just go about it in two different manners. English as a second language and bilingual education share the same focus of teaching students English, they are two different programs which some differences in how the class is conducted. English as a second language (ESL) instruction is used primarily in the Tennessee school systems. The ESL program is designed to teach children in English. Most of all their lessons and instructions will be provided primarily in the English Language and each student does...
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...Bilingual Education: Voter Driven Initiatives XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Grand Canyon University: ESL 523N February 27, 2013 Bilingual education is a very important topic in education. Classrooms are filled with diverse populations, including those that are learning English as a second language. Learning a new language and having to adapt to a new culture can prove to be detrimental for a student’s academic progress. English language learners struggle in the classroom and are in need of teachers that will work relentlessly in helping them be academically successful. To regulate bilingual/ESL education, there have been various state and federal decisions made. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed on the heels of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The purpose of ESEA was focused mainly on eradicating poverty, providing equal education services to all students, and implementing high standards for students and teachers. The ESEA also provided funds for state established educational programs and low income students ("Elementary and secondary,"). Although the ESEA benefited many deserving students in bad economic areas, it did not specifically benefit English language learners. Making matters worse, ESEA was reauthorized as The No Child Left Behind in 2002. NCLB required states to align their standards/requirements with the federal NCLB standards/requirements. Although it looked good on paper, requiring schools to meet what is known as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) forced...
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...Bilingual Education is a way to label a huge term used to describe a wide variation of programs used in the United States. These programs are engineered to use full bilingualism, which is the use of two languages to teach academic content in the classroom. There are various different types of bilingual programs that are designed however, but all are geared to have the same exact outcome. The outcome for all of these programs is to use two languages proficiently in the classroom. The true question is whether bilingual programs are more effective in the long run over only English programs in raising students’ academic achievements. There are very many political and economic concerns that revolve around bilingual education in the U.S. Since...
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...Seif C.A.R 2 March 27, 2012 Response to “Why Bilinguals are Smarter” Researchers have discovered people who are bilingual are smarter. The profound effect of bilingualism improves cognitive skills not related to language and helps prevent against dementia in old age. Bilingualism was considered an interference that hindered a child’s academic and intellectual development. The interference happens because the brain activates both languages so they obstruct each other. However, this interference is in fact a blessing in disguise because it actually forces the brain to resolve internal conflicts which gives the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles. Some instances were bilinguals surpass monolinguals in intelligence are at solving certain types of mental puzzles. The article explains a 2004 study conducted by psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle Martin-Rhee were “bilingual and monolingual preschoolers were asked to sort blue circles and red squares presented on a computer screen into two digital bins. In the first task, the children had to sort the shapes by color, placing blue circles in the bin marked with the blue square and red squares in the bin marked with the red circle. Both groups did this with comparable ease. Next, the children were asked to sort by shape, which was more challenging because it required placing the images in a bin marked with a conflicting color. The bilinguals were quicker at performing this task.”(nytimes.com) ...
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...Bilingual Education and the Success of Boston’s Latino Youth The success of Latino students in the Boston Public School system is undoubtedly and inextricably linked to the success of the district, in partnership with state government, combining both proven and innovative strategies in delivering English language instruction to the city’s students. At 43% of total enrollment, Latino students are the largest and fastest-growing demographic in Boston Public Schools (Handy). And while a majority of Latino students speak English proficiently, census records show that in the City of Boston half of all Latinos were born outside of the United States; 30% of Latinos in the Boston Public School system are English Language Learners (Uriarte, Chen, and Kala 9), and, not surprisingly, the majority (57% in 2012) of Boston’s students classified as Limited English Proficient, speak Spanish (Uriarte). Simply put, there is no way to ensure that schools are working to the best capacity for the district’s largest ethnic group without also ensuring that proper systems are in place to educate English Language Learners, who are disproportionately Latino. Unfortunately, this has not always been the easiest of tasks, and a ballot initiative of over a decade ago would come to undermine much of the needed progress in the Boston Public Schools. November 5, 2002 may seem like a distant memory for some, but on that day, the result of that year’s election would come to have a resounding impact on Massachusetts’...
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...communicate in two languages. For others, bilingualism means the ability to communicate in two languages but with the possibility of greater skills in one language. There is a lot of criteria that goes along with bilingualism. For this research paper, the criteria I focused on were: The history of bilingualism laws in the United States, pros/cons of bilingual education in America’s school system, who benefits the most from bilingual education programs; youths in elementary or the youths in high school, bilingualism in the labor market, and bilingualism in the media. In the society that we live in today, Bilingualism has become just as it is important to learn as to learn the language from the country of a person’s ethnical background. Bilingualism has come a far way in the last 20 years to where it is today. Whether we notice it or not bilingualism plays a part in every person’s day to day life. Bilingualism is highly researchable subject is given a lot of political, as well as ethical attention. Twenty years ago in the school system bilingual education programs were almost never heard of much in elementary schools for English speaking students to have to learn another language. Most often the kids who didn’t t know English well would leave the Reed 2 classroom and go to another classroom for language programs such as E.S.L for example. What is the ESL program and does ESL even exists in the American School System today? ESL is a program for non-native English speakers to learn...
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...Bilingual education has been practiced in many forms, in many countries, for thousands of years, It can mean any use of two languages in school – by teachers or students or both – for a variety of social and education purposes. It is a method used to teach language-minority students in public schools. The concept is that teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) partially in their native language will enhance their understanding of the curriculum and help them succeed in an otherwise English-based environment. The best bilingual education programs include all of these characteristics: ESL instruction, sheltered subject matter teaching, and instruction in the first language. Non-English-speaking children initially receive core instruction in...
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...Bilingual Education In 2012, Psychology Today reported that in 2007 the American Community Survey reported approximately 18 percent (ages 5 and up) of the United States population was bilingual. In 2013, the National Center for Education Statistics reported an increase from 1976 to 2012 in minority enrollment in college (Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, American Indian/Alaska native). Bilingual education has been a highly controversial topic in America. Based on the report from the National Center for Education Statistics, you would think that this type of education would be widely supported. Has our nation actually thought about the impact of bilingual education? After all, it could be the reason for the peak in college enrollment of minorities. Bilingual education should continue to be an option in the United States because of the many benefits such as: aiding non-English speakers stay on track, giving natives the opportunity to learn other languages, and helping preserve the cultures of non-natives. Bilingual education is the key to increased high school graduation and college success rates. By offering non-natives the opportunity to learn another language while learning in their native language eliminates the pass or fail, sink or swim aspect of English. When students unfamiliar with the language are put into classes without assistance, both the teacher and student are being cheated. The teacher’s performance will be judged for not being able to teach a non-English...
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...Bilingual Education Introduction Communication is a powerful tool in every setting that involves human interaction. The importance of bilingualism is felt when there are communication barriers orchestrated by multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism. The effect of communication barrier is more profound in the learning environment. This is reflected in the way it incapacitates understanding of the course contents. This paper will talk about bilingual education and the milieu in which it is juxtaposed. Bilingual education The logic behind bilingual education is the use of students’ native language in learning while at the same time learning English. Bilingual students have an added advantage in regard to understanding materials when two different languages are being used in the classroom. The increasing language and cultural diversity have necessitated the need for bilingual education which improve learning (Harris para 13). Such education enables students to diversify their learning since they are not confined within one language. Bilingual education enables inclusiveness in the classroom and total participation from the students/teachers can code switch and code mix to enhance understanding and communication. In the absence of bilingual education, other alternatives are sought in order to accommodate monolingual students and those who cannot understand and speak English fluently. Such options include using two different languages at the same time in class and translating while...
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...Ashraf Shaikh English 711 Essay Assignment #3 Elizabeth Spencer 22nd April 2015 Bilingual Education or Not? The debate on whether United States should adopt the bilingual academic program whereby children speaking other languages are taught in two languages, in English and in a second, native language (Hayakawa, 1991). There have been studies and researches indicating the benefits of the bilingual academic program, particularly to the students – such as high academic scores, mental flexibility, improved personal identity etc. At the same time, there is evidence showing a number of downsides to the programs – such as double expense to the government, politicized aspects etc. The aim of this paper is to examine different aspects of the argument on the subject of bilingual programs in schools, and whether United States should make English as its official language. It also demonstrates the argumentative ability regarding the controversial issue of bilingual academic program in the United States. Honestly, I feel that the need to make English the official language of the country is preposterous. Only, because it practically is the main language of the country just unofficially. From a general point of view, the definition of bilingualism is whereby a person possesses the ability of easily and naturally speaking in two languages, without experiencing any problem whatsoever. However, from the context of United States of America, bilingualism has a controversial definition (Fallows...
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