Bilingual Education Essay, Research Paper

Bilingual Education

The amount of non-English-speaking minorities in the United States is continuously increasing. Be that as it may, there are people in today s society that feel that English should be the only language spoken. It is for that reason bilingual education may be eliminated from many public schools. Low academic outcomes from students also contribute to possible abolition of bilingual education. If schools don t obtain better methods to ease the transition from one language to another, bilingual education will be faulty and seen as useless. In turn, many students will be denied the chance for an equal education.

American students have learned the language easily because it has been incorporated into everyday events from an extremely early age. An adolescent has had at least 5 years to learn English vocabulary, and continues learning through high school. Many bilingual programs have students on slower learning tracks where they barley learn English and from which they may never emerge. However, society wants bilingual students to learn English and learn it quickly. By eliminating bilingual education, society is telling the student to learn English, but not giving him a place to learn it. The student is not given an adequate chance, which results in bilingual persons having poor reading, writing and speaking skills. Bilingual students can keep up academically with their English-speaking peers if they are taught at least partly in their native languages while learning English.

There are many ways that bilingual education can be improved. By hiring bilingual teachers that communicate clearly when giving directions and accurately describing tasks will help ease the transition from a native language to English. If new information was introduced by using strategies such as thoroughly explaining, outlining, and demonstrating, comprehension of instructional tasks may be maintained. Promoting student involvement, communicating expectations of students’, and explaining success in completing instructional tasks would give students motivation so they feel at ease. A new language is difficult; approaching bilingual students with methods such as these could improve their learning.

An effective way to have positive student outcome is to value and respect students’ languages and cultures. This value and respect needs to go further than the food and holiday celebrations that may be the only recognition of cultures in many schools. Teachers should involve themselves by learning about students’ experiences in native countries and communities in the United States, while encouraging and supporting the development of the English language. These actions and attitudes show a student she is valued and respected; this, in turn, supports a more comfortable atmosphere for her. Furthermore, it builds self-esteem and improves academic achievement by incorporating the students’ cultures into classroom instruction. Building lessons from things in students’ experience and backgrounds promote more active engagement and increased learning.

The will always be a need for bilingual education. There are many ways in which schools, teachers, parents as well as the student herself can improve. Answers to all of the questions posed by bilingual educators may not be available, but ideas about features of effective bilingual schooling are available. People involved in schooling need to work together to set realistic goals and strategies to promote success of bilingual education.