Angelica Colontonio

Anna Oliveri
Jessica Persky
Julia Dobel
Alba DeLeon

-Roles? Who is on the Bilingual Education side? English Only? Moderator?

Moderator: Angelica; Bilingual: Julia and Alba; English: Anna and Jess

--Research Bilingual Education and English Only. Identify 3 pros for each, and 3 cons for each.
PROS of Bilingual Education:
❖ Keeping the language can help students later be employed as a bilingual worker. Jobs can
be found in schools, hospitals, TV broadcasting systems and are in heavy demand.
❖ Cultural diversity in the classroom can expose other students to the ELL students native
language and expand the horizons of students from different backgrounds.
❖ There is no reason to dismay and discard another language, since the United States does
not have a language and we are a melting pot, as long as the student also learns English,
there is no reason to push aside gaining knowledge and expanding a student’s horizons.

CONS of Bilingual Education:

❖ Students are not as exposed to English as much as they could be with English-only
education.
❖ Word and phrases could be inconsistent in the two languages - thus confusing the
students.
❖ Prevents student involvement in local culture by remaining focused on primary language.

PROS of English Education:

● One language that everyone can speak and understand
● English only encourages problem-solving growth
● Helps students develop strong listening skills
CONS of English Education:
● Learning the grammar when speaking english as a second language is extremely difficult
● English is the hardest language to learn.
● Students may feel uncomfortable in the environment, distracting them from education

--Identify 3 key points you will discuss in your opening for Bilingual Education. Briefly
describe why you believe the key points are relevant/appropriate for the debate. Do the
same for English only.
Bilingual Education Opening:
 ★ Having two bilingual presenters, that team makes a heavy statement into why it is so
important to keep both languages for future employment opportunities and cultural
diversity in the classroom.
★ It is a way for children to immerse themselves in a new language while also staying tied
to their roots. The connection is vital for children to feel comfortable in an entirely new
environment, language, and culture.
★ Education is not just about the learning itself, it is also about how they feel when they
learn. That feeling of comfort is important to making education successful, especially for
children.

--Create 3 questions the English Only side will ask the Bilingual Education side during the cross
examination. Also vice versa.
❖ What are the benefits that students will have in the future if schools had bilingual
education?
❖ How would schools implement bilingual education in the classroom?
❖ Do you think it will be hard for students with lower reading levels to learn 2 languages at
the same time, and how would you help lower level students become proficient in both
languages?
❖ Why do you think there should only be english spoken in the classroom, and do you think
that having a separate spanish/italian/french/german/etc class is enough for students to
learn a second language?
❖ What are the benefits of having an english-only curriculum?
❖ How would you fully assess the needs or skills of a student that doesn’t speak english?
--Identify 3 key points you will address in your closing statements for both English Only and
Bilingual Education.

English only
● How do you think you can improve English only education?
● English is a universal language and most countries teach English in schools.
● English is the language we all communicate on a day to day basis so it is important for all
students to have the same level playing field of English.

Bilingual
❖ Connect our personal stories from elementary school to the main points we brought up:
cultural diversity in the classroom (or lack thereof), building an environment of
inclusivity (how we experienced that), and ease of learning the new language with old
one still present.
❖ Having Bilingual education in the classroom makes all students feel inclusive, and it
wont make students feel ashamed of their culture.
❖ Even if the education is not completely bilingual education, at least teachers and students
would be more open-minded to students speaking their own language in the classroom to
help students make connections between their knowledge and what is being taught in the
class.