The Proposition 227 requires that all public school instruction be conducted in English. However, in “The Political Paradox of Bilingual Education”, Crawford argues against Proposition 227 and provides an overview of the political and educational discourse on immigrant children’s language rights. He starts with questions such as “Was the proposition intended primarily to assimilate limited-English-proficient (LEP) children more efficiently? To teach them English as rapidly as possible? To encourage bilingualism and biliteracy? The bill’s legislative history provides no definitive answer (Crawford). According to Crawford, proposition 227 enforce bilingual regulations and the research findings are less encouraging. He explains that the regulations on bilingual provide inequalities to limited-English-proficient student. Hence they are failing to be successful in academic performance and achievement. Crawford supports his argument with examples that in San Francisco, LEP students were only instructed in English and since some students failed to understand the language, they resulted in poor academic performance (Crawford). Thus, Crawford points out how politics…
society. The devaluing of the Spanish language is a loss cultural identity that weakens Latino connections with others in the Latino community once the English language is acquired. Latino students coming to the U.S. are forced to learn in English which hurts their chances of success. In the U.S. the special-education classrooms have become a dumping ground for students whose first language is not English and mistaking their lack of English-language proficiency for learning disabilities. Occurrences greatly stigmatize and disadvantage these students. If a teacher wants to improve the learning environment within the classroom he or she can incorporate speaking English and Spanish during lessons and discussion in class. But if the teacher does not speak Spanish he or she can make arrangement for an interpreter to come in and teach lessons for all students in the class (Spradlin, Parsons, 2008, pp. 120-…
The issue of English language learners (ELL) and their rights to an education has been a major topic of debate for many years. Should ELL students be taught in their first language? Will they learn English, or should they be put into English speaking classes? That has been the topic of discussion amongst educators. Which method is better for the student? The arguments continue and many states and school districts have made a decision on what to do. One state in particular had a serious ELL problem, so California took action. In 1998, California implemented a program called Proposition 227.…
The population of English Language Learners has made a tremendous growth in American, over the past few years the English Language Learners has grown more the twenty percent and is predictable to increase more with time. With the population growing in our educational system modifications had to be made. The laws specifies that all children who are disabled, don’t speak English, or disadvantaged still have an equal right to an education. For the reason of English Language Learner comprehensive span the United States wanted something that could adjust and help as a wide range obligation and or standard required to applied in the educational system, so with the No Child Left behind act allowed it to be done. Since the states have to follow and stand by assessment guidelines as well as academic standards with the No Child Left Behind act people ask exactly how the non- English students would fit into this law. Assessment must also be given with unlimited probability that a student will pass in the regular education curriculums, even though they definitely let each state establish their own specific procedures that met with these…
The Bilingual Education Act (BEA), Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1968, was the main bit of United States government enactment that perceived the requirements of Limited English Speaking Ability (LESA) understudies. The bill was presented in 1967 by Texas congressperson Ralph Yarborough and was marked by President Lyndon B. Johnson on January 2, 1968. It was the main government enactment marked into law in the 1968 logbook year. The bill was passed as Title VII, a change to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). While many states, for example, California and Texas as of now had neighborhood and state approaches to help dialect minority understudies, the BEA built up the principal government strategy supporting…
Many counties already require students to take a second language. The program is called the Two-Way Immersion (TWI) Program. Over 100 people attended the meeting to learn more about the program. All the school board members had positive comments, while two community members who spoke against the program received very little to no applause. The meeting was put together by members of our community to help Whites and Hispanics communicate better. The members believe that a Spanish-English program would help our community. Being bilingual would open doors and minds to appreciate different languages and…
Immigrant students face the challenge of English learning to participate fully in an English speaking world. They face the pressure of academic subjects before they become fully proficient in English. The U.S. Supreme Court in Lau v. Nichols (1974) and the civil rights act of (1964) addressed this problem and defining the school's obligation to take affirmative steps to overcome immigrant students language barriers and provide access to education. Immigrant students need to develop the linguistic, cultural and cognitive skills necessary to succeed in the United…
Menken, K. (2006, Summer). Teaching to the test: How No Child Left Behind impacts language policy, curriculum, and instruction for English language learners. Bilingual Research Journal 30(2), 521-546.…
When it comes to the academic benefits of bilingual education amid students, it has been pointed out that grade three students who were taken through bilingual education from their kindergarten level of education did not perform in the same way Spanish-speaking students who started in English-only programs did in their class tests (Carlson &Meltzof, 2008). Spanish speaking children performed exceptionally better. However, as the same students advanced in their studies to the fifth grade, students who were subjected to bilingual education were more likely to read to the same standards or even better compared to their peers who went through English-only programs (Soderman, 2010). Bilingual education enabled individuals to read and write better in the additional languages they…
Bilingual education and economic inequality are just two of the many issues Texans deal with in today’s society. In “What is Bilingual Education,” Stephen Krashen defines bilingual education as “any use of two languages in school – by teachers or students or both – for a variety of social and pedagogical (educational) purposes” (1). Bilingual education confrontations in Texas are due to the overwhelming amount and diversity of immigrants in the past fifteen years. While good for population growth, bilingual issues are putting stress on our education system. It seems society will always be adjusting to incoming students with language barriers, yet instead of helping them in the best possible way, we continue to debate on how people feel. (Krashen 2)…
According to Garcia, Jensen, and Scribner (2009) the term “English language learners (ELLs)” is used to refer to students who are not yet proficient enough in English in order to properly benefit from the instruction provided exclusively in this language. Garcia (2012) notes that research has categorized ELLs into three cohorts. Garcia (2012) exemplifies these three groups by indicating that in California, the long-term ELLs are the largest cohort that makes up about two-thirds of the ELL population in that state. The rest of the ELLs include recent immigrants who possess either low or high previous academic background (Freeman, Freeman & Mercuri, 2002). The report developed by the Grantmakers for Education (2010) states that even though many immigrant children are ELLs, most of the ELLs were born in the United States. Grantmakers for Education (2010) report that over 75% of ELLs enrolled in elementary grades are second generation or probably third generation Americans. This report also indicates that about 95% of immigrant children were born in the country. According to Garcia (2012) each of the three cohorts of ELLs identifies possess a unique set of academic and linguistic requirements. Distinguishing between U.S.-born ELLs and their immigrant counterparts is essential to meet the specific needs of each group through the use of different…
Hispanic students who come from a different country lack speaking the English language fluently, so it limits understanding and comprehending certain requirement. “More…
Revolutionary leaders knew that encouraging the growth of the multilingual population in the United States was vital to maintaining distance from Great Britain. The Founding Fathers sought to respect the minority groups that helped free the nation from the British crown, therefore avoiding instituting an official national language from the Constitution. In fact, around this time many documents were printed in German and French to stimulate political participation among multilingual citizens. But when the political arena of the 1980s fostered bilingual legislation (for example, introducing bilingual schooling and bilingual voting forms), this respect for foreign languages nearly vanished as many citizens took up arms against American-English being challenged.…
Spanish is spoken by a diverse range of cultures—however, these cultures come together, united by their shared values, to create what we know as the Latino community. Though learning the language is principal in a Spanish class, learning about the culture of that language is almost equally as important. If you do not understand a culture, you can never fully understand its language. Therefore, knowing the significance and effectiveness of bilingual education and the fundamental characteristics of the Latino community is a perfect way to begin a journey into the depths of the Spanish language and the culture surrounding it.…
The Great Society also spawned well-known legislation in the areas of education and healthcare. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965) provided significant federal aid to public education, and secured Head Start, originally a summer program, as a permanent component. Since education was a state and local matter, the federal government previously had refrained from assisting public schools for fear of violating the principle of “separation of powers.”…