Bilingual education
In recent years, bilingual education, a dual-language program designed to provide equal educational opportunities to students of limited English proficiency, has become a controversial topic in the United States. While some people firmly believe that one has the freedom to speak whichever language one chooses, others believe that the use of any language other than English in the United States creates divisiveness (Orozco p.79). However, due to the fact that there are many different nationalities in the United States, bilingual education can facilitate learning for people with different ethnic backgrounds. Bilingual education expedite the process by maintaining the fluency of the native language, improving the academic proficiency of the second language learned, raising sense of confidence and self-esteem, making the transition into a new environment less intimidating, and encouraging the acceptance and tolerance of different cultures; therefore, the advantages of bilingual education outweighs the disadvantages. In the past years, students, especially at the elementary school level, have come from various places in the world to the United States to study. Some people argue that, under such ci
Secondly, students in bilingual programs develop fluency in English more quickly and efficiently than students in English-only classes. Students can better utilize their reading and cognitive skills from their native language while learning the new language (Orozco p.79). In many cases, new foreign students who study in English-only classes do not comprehend anything the teacher teaches. This problem can be solved by incorporating bilingual education in that students have the benefit of understanding the new material being taught through a language they already understand. Therefore, students are able to study subject matter in their first language while their weaker language skills catch up (Leyba p.48). This would prevent foreign students from falling behind in the subjects other than English, such as mathematics and science. Leyba. F. C. (1994) . Schooling and language minority students: a theoretical framework. Los Angeles: California. Baker, C. (1996) . Foundations of bilingual education and bilingalism. Adelaide: Australia. Orozco. L. (1997) . Educating diverse populations. Teshigawara: Chicago. Since foreign students all have different cultural and ethnic background, bilingual education can be implemented to foster stronger relationships between the students' home and school. Since non-English-speaking students come from non-English-speaking homes, the use of the "child's mother tongue by some of the teachers and as a school language is necessary" (Baker p.211) if there is to be a strong, mutually reinforcing relationship between the home and the school. Moreover, language i
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Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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