Bilingual Education Argument Essay
In 1900, an estimated six percent of elementary school children received bilingual education, which is double the current level. In 1968 the Bilingual Education Act was passed, which did not require bilingual education, but used students’ native languages in the curriculum to one degree or another. With the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, bilingual education was left far behind, and was no longer a part of the national framework for elementary schools (“Bilingual Education”). Now, bilingual education in the United States is currently only taught at the secondary school level. With more than 81 million immigrants and their children, about 26 percent of the total American population as of 2014, living in the United States,
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The United States also needs to make a decision about whether they want “semilingualism” or “balanced bilingualism.” The United States’ current bilingual education programs are more of a semilingualism approach, where one language is considerably better than the other. In contrast, other nations such as countries in Europe have a balanced approach, where two or more languages are used at the same level. The semilingualism approach usually involves one class a day to learn the second language, whereas the balanced bilingualism approach would involve the second language being taught in other subjects as well. With the way many American schools are set up, secondary languages are only taught for about an hour each day for one semester a year, which is not enough instruction time to become bilingual. “Learning should be integrated rather than compartmentalized and there needs to be more interaction between subject areas” (“eds.b.ebscohost.com”). There should not be a block of time each day for secondary language instruction alone. Instead, the secondary language should be integrated into other subjects as well to achieve balanced bilingualism.
After deciding between semilingualism and balanced bilingualism, schools in the United States need to focus on the costs of new programs and address the need for additional training
The United States also needs to make a decision about whether they want “semilingualism” or “balanced bilingualism.” The United States’ current bilingual education programs are more of a semilingualism approach, where one language is considerably better than the other. In contrast, other nations such as countries in Europe have a balanced approach, where two or more languages are used at the same level. The semilingualism approach usually involves one class a day to learn the second language, whereas the balanced bilingualism approach would involve the second language being taught in other subjects as well. With the way many American schools are set up, secondary languages are only taught for about an hour each day for one semester a year, which is not enough instruction time to become bilingual. “Learning should be integrated rather than compartmentalized and there needs to be more interaction between subject areas” (“eds.b.ebscohost.com”). There should not be a block of time each day for secondary language instruction alone. Instead, the secondary language should be integrated into other subjects as well to achieve balanced bilingualism.
After deciding between semilingualism and balanced bilingualism, schools in the United States need to focus on the costs of new programs and address the need for additional training