Bilingualism

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In Focus : Bilingualism

Bilingual Education simply put is education in two languages . But this is not as easy or as simple as it sounds . Bilingual education has been a disputed by many all over the world , it has been and continuous to be a constant point of argument in debates and speeches . Political educational and social differences arise whenever bilingual education or bilingualism is mentioned . Both proponents and oppositionist of Bilingual Education will present legitimate arguments when it comes to proving their points , yet one thing

is clear , it is the children , in the long run that suffers from this constant battle with regards to their education and the implemented education system of the country they are residing in

In the United States , Bilingual Education was introduced in the US primarily to aid non-English speaking students , generally the Spanish-speaking learners , who were falling behind in their academics and dropping out of school at alarming rates , and with the growing number of immigrants coming in to the country and their children going into the school system , the government can no longer ignore this predicament . It was then that The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 was passed , providing federal funding to encourage local school districts to try approaches in integrating primary language instruction in the schools . With the prompting of the federal government , most states followed suite and enacted bilingual laws of their own and legalizing the use of foreign language in the classroom . Not long after , the Supreme Court acknowledged that leaving LEP students to "sink or swim in English-only classrooms made "a mockery of public education " which according to existing laws must be made equally available to all students , English speaking or not . The court 's verdict in the milestone Lau v . Nichols case required schools to take "affirmative steps " to prevail over speech barriers hampering the children 's right to public education . Congress , on its hand , immediately sanctioned this principle in the Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1974 . Although , of the Bilingual Education Act or victory of the Lau v Nichols case afforded the education system a particular method in implementing this act , it only dictates that educational programs be executed to offer equal opportunities for LEP students , including research based programs designed by professionals to aid them , adequate resources in the form of personnel and materials , and reviews and evaluation of standards and procedures of the programs that was put into effect and the obligation to modify and improve any program that fails in its function (History of Bilingual Education . Both the bilingual and English-only programs thrived after this law 's passage

But in 1998 , California residents rejected bilingual education approving a mandate for English-only instruction known as Proposition 227 . Throughout the campaign , evidence that favors bilingual education has been belittled or ignored , while negative portrayals are accepted without question . What 's driving this strange debate in which normal standards of proof no longer apply (Crawford ) A voting population agreed to this mandate . Resulting...