Bilingual Education Essay

A deeper sense of xenophobia has descended on the States recently. The sleepy rural town of Pahrump, NV, reflected this passion when it passed an ordinance that made English the official verbiage and made it illegal to display foreign wilts without an successive Ameri toilet flag (Curtis, 2006). In an act of civil disobedience, two Pahrump residents placed a Polish flag and an Italian flag (in reference to their own ancestry) on their front porch (Curtis, 2006). Vandals drenched the Italian flag with nut overnight (the Italian flag looks similar to the Mexican flag).A majority of the voting citizens of Pahrump would eventu anyy dollar volume the polarizing ordinance. This incident reflects a salient truth some monolingual Americans feel uncomfortable with the influx of Spanish-speaking peoples because of the perceived lack of socialisation by Latinos. This xenophobic atmosphere has trickled onto the realm of study a purport for the excrement of multilingual fostering in public schools has gained to a greater extent than attention recently. Prop angiotensin-converting enzyments argue that exploitation inhering languages in the classroom impedes national unity (Brisk, 1998).Others feel that multilingual education impedes learning. This research penning examines a possible cause of the anti- multilingualistist movement. It also examines some arguments and counter arguments of multilingual education. Although by definition bilingual education white-hotthorn embroil English and any foreign language, this paper focuses on the Spanish-speaking population because of the detection umpteen take hold about the Latino connection that it resists conforming to American culture. Such sentiments have contributed to the anti-bilingual education movement that has descended in many parts of America.This is unfortunate because bilingual education architectural plans actually promote engrossment into mainstream American society. bilingual nurture 3 T he bilingual education debate, as mentioned in the introductory paragraph, has garnished more dialogue lately because of a nonher hot button final result in-migration. Newscasts often flash images of illegal aliens cut across our borders. Many talk shows often feature lively debates concerning effects of the undocumented workforce. The immigration debate in the long run sparked a massive protest in 20006 with the Day Without an Immigrant boycott that would affect American schools and businesses (Lendon, 2006).The field of bilingual education has inevitably entered the debate. Editorial writers often slip in their stances on bilingual education when discussing immigration issues. Pugnacious talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh often host acidic debates on bilingualism in the United States. This issue will certainly not evaporate any time soon. What many opponents of bilingual education fail to mention is that on that point is an elephant in the room xenophobia. Many monolingual citizens guardianship that American culture as they know it is morphing into something foreign.Considering Americas rich, colorful immigrant history, this fear baffles the mind. Why would the posterity of Poles, Germans, Czechs, Italians, and other European immigrants express such concerns? Critics of Americas evolving culture should focus on the similarities surrounded by the immigrants of their ancestors and the plight of forthwiths average immigrant. Many of Americas ancestors landed on our shores at the turn of the 20th century (Calderon, Slavin, 2001). Their European ancestors, like todays immigrants, had the same dreams that many of todays immigrants have to escape the abyss of poverty or war.Although many immigrants faced linguistic and hea so obstacles, many witnessed their children succeed in school and acquire economic security. According to Calderon and Slaven Bilingual Education 4 (2001), School is the ladder by which children of immigrants climb out of poverty and into mainstream society (p. 8). The goal of the immigrants of yesteryear was clear to assimilate by doer of a quality education. If education is a major ingredient for soaking up of immigrants into mainstream society, then society should embrace bilingual education. A starting point is literacy, since reading cuts across all academic subjects.An effective strategy involves using a childs congenital language in literacy instruction. We generally acquire reading skills by reading (Smith, 1994). By providing a child with reading real in his/her primary language, we provide the student with a healthier, stronger academic base from which to build on. Once a child acquires these basic skills such as identifying phonic blends in his/her mother tongue, the student digests the given topic easier. Equipped with reading and content knowledge skills, the transition into literacy in a second language then becomes smoother for the English language learner.Truly, a childs essential language is the best initial metier of instruction (Brisk,1998). I did not realize how important using a childs native language was until I seed an obstacle with a native Spanish speaker some(prenominal) years ago. Using only English, I was trying to teach a student fresh from Mexico the image of active and linking verbs. I soon realized that she had never learned these basics about her own native language, let alone grammar of the English language. I soon resorted to educational activity her grammar in Spanish.After she mastered the subject, I transitioned what she learned into the initial English lesson that I had tried teaching her earlier. This experience lends credence to the point that scholars assume children still have a lot to learn about their Bilingual Education 5 native tongue upon entering American schools (Brisk, 1998). despite the fact that research supports using native languages as a tool for literacy, many continue their resistance to bilingual education they argue for an all-English atmosphere in schools. An corroborative but serious consequence of this approach is thepsychological effect it may have on many Latinos. Many agree that language is a key component of every culture (Blanc, 2000). By deter Spanish from the classroom, the limited English proficient (LEP) student may feel that his or her native language or culture has less value than the mainstream culture. This may produce a sense of inferiority in the mind of many Hispanics and may cause strife among different ethnicities. Ironically, this moves many Latinos away from the assimilation ideal, which opponents of bilingual education do not want.In addition to affecting the morale of the LEP community, eliminating bilingual education programs may increase the already sky- last Hispanic high school drop-out rate. Lack of academic success is one reason Hispanic youths quit school (Lockwood, 1996). By removing their limited access to research-based programs such as bilingual education, t hey may suffer even less academic success. Eventually, this may produce a Hispanic community full of low-skilled, poorly educated people. In other words, it may produce a subclass.Again, this moves Hispanics away from the assimilation goal cherished by many Americans. Regardless of the benefits of bilingual education, anti-bilingual sentiments continue percolating. most resort to using other Latinos as a means for obtaining their anti-bilingual agenda. Some cite Richard Rodriguezs In Hunger of warehousing the Bilingual Education 6 Education of Richard Rodriguez as a case against bilingual education (Krashen, 2007). Rodriguez, a Mexican immigrant, enjoyed great academic success and assimilated into American society despite the lack of bilingual education.Some average Hispanics parallel Rodriquezs anti-bilingual education stances. Forty-three-year-old waitress Ana Julia Duncan, daughter of Mexican nationals, standard minimal bilingual services in the third grade (personal communica tion). Despite this fact, academically she performed moderately well (personal communication). Because of her success in school, Duncan feels that bilingualism has little value I didnt speak English when I started school. I did OK. Why cant anybody else do OK? Unfortunately, her way of thinking strikes a familiar chord with other Latinos in her same situation.The Rodriquez and Duncan stories seem to act as support for the elimination of bilingual education. However, neither person move the average, modern English language learner. In Rodriquezs case, he grew up in a predominately white similarity (Kreshen, 2007). As a result, he was exposed to the English language a lot more than the average Spanish speaker. Since a childs socio-cultural environment plays a major usage in his or her intellectual development (Gregory, 2004), Rodriguezs success should not surprise many. His peers, in essence, acted as quasi-tutors.Duncans situation parallels Rodriguezs upbringing she too grew up i n a mainly white neighborhood (personal communication). Therefore she too received informal training or input from her peers. A majority of Hispanic LEP students, by contrast, live in predominately Spanish-speaking neighborhoods and lack the advantages Rodriguez and Duncan had as children (Kreshen, 2007). Bilingual Education 7 Despite the flaws in using Rodriguez and Duncan as microcosms in the bilingual education debate, some nevertheless insist in a total immersion approach in our schools.Although total immersion has no credible reinforcement evidence (Crawford, 2007), from a personal point of view, it does have a tinge of value. I had virtually no English-speaking skills as a very young child. My parents were Mexican nationals my father worked at the post mapping while my mother stayed at home with the children. Thus, I had virtually no exposure to English. Upon entering my predominantly white kindergarten class in 1970, I realized that I was basically on my own since there we re no other Latino children in that particular class.However, this sink or swim situation had a benefit. Within a year, I spoke conversational English. By the commencement ceremony grade, I became fairly bland in English and would earn average grades. In my opinion, total immersion did play a role in my acquiring salient English skills. Unfortunately, by the time I reached the second grade, I tangle as if I lost a part of my identity I lost a level-headed deal of my native language. I forgot some major Spanish vocabulary words, I started having trouble pronouncing many polysyllabic words, and I had developed a slight gringo accent.Mexican children noticed this and would often make playing period of my awkward Spanish. To make things worse, my English skills still needed improvement. The presence of bilingual education may have prevented some of my linguistic obstacles by helping me maintain a healthy language base in both English and Spanish. Luckily, some of my instructors no ticed my problem and placed me in a bilingual program along with three other students. One was in the same situation as myself the Bilingual Education 8other two were predominately proficient in Spanish who lacked major English skills. The bilingual teacher helped us maintain our strengths and helped correct our weaknesses by using our native language as a medium for instruction. By the end of the school year, I felt more confident. This research paper starts out with an narration that depicts a rural Nevada town struggling with xenophobia it had voted in an English-only ordinance. Then, a connection between xenophobia in America and the anti-bilingual education movement is unveiled.Despite the fact that some school districts have pupils from as many as 130 different countries (Crawford, 2004), this paper focuses on the Spanish speaking English language learner because of a major criticism the Hispanic community endures that it resists assimilation into the mainstream American cult ure. A solution for the this problem is the elimination of bilingual education programs in public schools. Proponents claim this would strengthen national unity. However, as this research paper demonstrates, purging such programs would actually gear the Hispanic English language learner away from assimilation, not towards it.If many opponents of bilingualism have their way, American schools will eventually have a monolithic, cookie-cutter approach to teaching its student population. In the United States, a country made from a rich tapestry of immigrants, this scenario would be very un-American. Bilingual Education 9 References Blanc, M. H. A. , & Hamers, J. (2000). Bilinguality and Bilingualism. England Cambridge University Press. synopsis This book is a very elevated, academic pick of work. It provides the reader with a guideline to language behavior, tools to measure levels of bilingualism, and addresses bilingual development.Other areas the book concentrates on include the cog nitive development of the bilingual mind, and the cognitive consequences of the bilingual behavior. Brisk, M. E. (1998) Bilingual Education From Compensatory to Quality Education. Mahway, New tee shirt Cambridge University Press. Summary This book examines the traditional debates about bilingual education. It also examines influences, both internal and external, on the bilingual students education. The author presents strategies for implementing quality bilingual services. Calderon, M. , & Slavin, R. (2001).Effective Programs for Latino Students. Mahway, New Jersey Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Summary This book highlights programs that have worked well for the Hispanic population. It also addresses the unacceptable high drop-out rate of Latino high school students. The book goes a step further by unveiling the needs of higher-education for Hispanics, an area that has received relatively little attention. The authors also explain why many Latinos are at risk in America. Curtis, Lyne tte. (2006, Nov. 15). Pahrump Targets Illegal Immigrants. The Las Vegas Review Journal.Curtis, Lynette. (2006, Nov. 23). Backlash Pahrump flag ban wont fly. The Las Vegas Review Journal. Lockwood, A. T. Caring, Community, and Personalization Strategies to Combat the Hispanic Dropout Problem. (1996). Advances in Hispanic Education, 1. Washington, DC U. S. Department of Education. Summary This book focuses on the dangerously real issue of the Latino dropout issue. T Gregory, E. , Long, S. , & Volk. (2004). Many Pathways to Literacy Young Children Learning with Siblings, Grandparents, Peers, and Communities. New York Routledge Falmer.Summary This book looks at literacy, including bilingual literacy, using a sociocultural approach. It taps into the family structure in various ethnic groups. The book addresses bilingual education in the home and highlights the benefits of this strategy. The authors unveil the importance of using cultural norms as a means to teach literacy (such as story -telling). Another aspect of this piece is its assessment of childrens everyday life experience and how that impacts learning. On a personal note, this book didnt really catch my eye at first because it didnt focus on Hispanics specifically.I am happy that I finally opened it up because I was able to see some parallels between the Hispanic experiences and other ethnic groups. Krashen, Stephen. ( 1997). Why Bilingual Education? Eric Digest. Retrieved April 4, 2006 from http//www. ericdigests. org/1997-3/bilingual. html. Lendon, Brad. (2006, May 1). US prepares for A Day Without an Immigrant. Retrieved on April 4, 2007, from http//www. cnn. com/2006/US/04/28/boycott/ Smith, F. (1994). instinct reading A psycholinguistic analysis of reading and learning to read (5th ed. ). Hillsdale, NJ L. Erlbaum. .