Linguistic Diversity in U.S.Classrooms-Billigual Education

In chapter 7, a brief overview of the history of language diversity in U.S. schools has been demonstrated. It is undeniable that linguists diversity is an educational issue in this country because , according to the demographics, the population of those immigrants who speak a language other than English as their native language has increased tremendously in the past several decades. All the states have felt the impact of this immigration, especially, California, who has the largest enrollment of language-minority students with over one third of all students for whom English is a second language. To help immigrant students or LEP students be able to successfully complete their English acquisition, policy makers, educators, schools and teachers spent decades, trying to create some powerful learning environments, develop an addictive bilingual perspective, consciously foster native language literacy and so forth to dig out what is really needed.

Bilingual education has experienced a big wave from being weakened considerably to be advocated to be a basic human right. Not until 1970’s , the Supreme Court recognized the connection between native language rights and equal educational opportunity, Bilingual education became more like a political issue rather than a simple issue of language. Thus, there were more documents and acts emerged.

What makes it powerful and persuasive is bilingual education works very effectively. By definition, bilingual education program involves the use of two languages of instruction at some point in students’ school career, mainly aiming at developing proficiency and literacy in the English language. Whatever the kind is, Transitioning bilingual education, Developmental or maintenance bilingual education or Two-way bilingual education/immersion, it can not only help students receive their content area instruction in their native language while learning English as a second language but also develop bilingual proficiency , academic achievement, and positive cross-cultural attitude and behaviors among all students. What is more, it lends itself to cooperative learning and peer tutoring.

Even though bilingual education turns out to be very effective and positive for language-minority students, still it has always been controversial for any reasons in many aspects. First of all, its long-term potential for empowering traditionally powerless groups will challenge conventional U.S. educational wisdom that one’s native language and culture needed to forgotten in order to be the “real successful American” . Also, this finding contradicts the administration’s English-only agenda and , thus, could not be published in public but privately. In addition, this achievement conflicts to the conservative agenda, which calls for the return to traditional curriculum and pedagogy. Meanwhile, it threatens to explode the myth of the “basics”, which means only valuing a Eurocentric curriculum and the English language. Last, by the real examples, it has been verified that those who speak English best are not necessarily earning the highest income or have the highest number of managers and professionals among their ranks. Instead, it is Asians or other language-minority made more. Apparently, bilingual education, more or less, threatens the mainstream groups and will probably cause a new social pattern or structure.

Even though I did not have a clear understanding of what bilingual education is before I have read this chapter, I somehow supported the bilingual education program anyway and I am sure I will insist on it after these readings. The main reason is that I feel the abandonment of one’s native language costs a lot, especially psychologically, which is crucial to a language minority student when he or she starts a new life in a new place. So it needs a certain period of adaptation. In stead of encouraging students to accomplish successfully in their content areas, abandonment will negatively affect student’s mentality and attitudes or interests in their subjects learning. Moreover, the calling for return to traditional curriculum and pedagogy might cause the devaluation of language-minority students’ both academically and psychologically. After all, how can you depend on a newly immigrant students having the prior knowledge and background to the academic content area. This is not fair for them. Since many real good examples verify its effectiveness, why do some people or groups hinder its implementation by political means? Otherwise, where is the equality or equity?