What is bilingual education and how long students stay in the program?
Bilingual Education is a program used to help limited English proficient (LEP) children keep up with all their required academic competencies, such as math, history and science, while they are learning English through ESL (English as a Second Language) classes. Many LEP students learn to speak conversational English within the first 2 years, but research consistently shows that it takes 4 to 7 years before most students are able to use English to learn academic subjects and perform on a par with native English-speaking peers. A recent national research (Collier & Thomas 1996) shows that late-exit quality bilingual programs actually create the best results, with students in 2-way bilingual programs ( bilingual students and native-English speakers learning in 2 languages in the same classroom) out-performing their mainstream peers. Despite what the research is showing, most bilingual education programs transition their students into the mainstream within the first 3 years.
What was the early history of bilingual education in this country?
Bilingual Education has been used to teach immigrants at various times throughout our history, especially during the first wave of European immigration during the 19th century. In the public schools of many states between 1839 and 1880 - including Ohio, Louisiana, and New Mexico - German, French, and Spanish were used for instruction. Between 1880 and 1917, German-English bilingual schools, in which both languages were used for instruction, operated in Ohio, Minnesota, and Maryland. At the turn of the century, bilingual education began to decline as the result of the rise of nativism and the Americanization movement which called for total assimilation as a goal for all immigrants. Aside for some parochial schools, bilingual education was almost completely eradicated after the first World War as anti-German attitudes and xenophobia began to take hold.
What is the legal basis for bilingual education?
The legal basis for bilingual education is Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin. Under this principle, the Supreme Court ruled in the 1974 case of Lau vs. Nichols that school districts must have affirmative programs to ensure that limited English proficient students have equal access to the standard curriculum. The mode of instruction must be both "comprehensible" and "meaningful".
Our grandparents did not have bilingual education, Why do we need it now?
In the past, without bilingual education, most immigrants did not even finish high school. Immigrants at that time could survive working in low-skilled manufacturing jobs without a high school diploma and without much English-speaking skills. However, the job market has changed today- 3 out of every 4 jobs require some post-secondary training. Quality bilingual education programs would help students to finish high school and go on to post-secondary educational training.
Since students need to know English in order to be successful in American schools, why teach in other languages?
Bilingual program students continue learning academic subjects like math and science in the language in which they are able to learn most effectively, while learning English. There is always an ESL component to each bilingual program. Uninterrupted development of children's cognitive, academic and linguistic skills is critical in the academic success of limited English proficient students. Moreover, isn't it better to build on the assets that the students bring with them- their knowledge, languages and cultures- rather than discouraging the development of those valuable resources.
Is bilingual education cost effective?
Average per pupil expenditure for bilingual education students in Massachusetts is approximately $1.13 to every $1.00 spent on mainstream students (1993 figures). There is no reliable national data that would document the additional costs incurred for bilingual education programs. However, bilingual programs have been proven to be cost effective for the following reasons: 1) LEP students who chose bilingual education programs are less likely to be placed into expensive special education programs as those who chose to stay in the sink or swim English-only programs. 2) With the additional support, bilingual education students are less likely to drop out of high school than their language minority peers in English-only programs. 3) Bilingual education helps to nurture and support the continual development of valuable bilingual/bicultural skills that are needed in our global economy.
What is Title VII, the Bilingual Education Act?
Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, passed in 1968, was the first bilingual education law passed in Congress ( sponsored by Senator Yarborough of Texas) . It was initially conceived as an anti-poverty program for Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans, to promote better educational and economic opportunities. The final version of the bill was expanded to include other language groups. It offered grants to school districts for " new and imaginative elementary and secondary school programs" to meet the needs of limited English proficient children. Current Title VII funding supports professional development, instructional programs, research, evaluation and other supportive services for local programs serving LEP students. Title VII currently allocates up to 25% of its budget to support alternative English-only programs, mostly in districts where bilingual education is now impractical. At the state level. Massachusetts has the nation's first bilingual education law, Chapter 71A, which passed in 1971.
Does bilingual education encourage the segregation of children?
Bilingual education does not necessarily contribute to the segregation of bilingual children from the rest of the school. In most cases, children are already spending time at different parts of the day with mainstream students during gym, art or physical education classes. In a Transitional Bilingual Education program, LEP students often begin to take some academic classes once their English language proficiency level are reached to the point where they can comprehend English instructions in math, computer science or other science courses where a lower level of English proficiency is required, while remaining in a TBE program for ESL and other language-rich courses such as history and social studies. Many bilingual education advocates further recommend that the whole school should be integrated to the extend possible so that resources are shared, that mainstream and bilingual teachers collaborate in the classroom, that peer learning and dual language learning opportunities are encouraged by the pairing of mainstream and bilingual education classes at certain parts of the day.