1 A SOLUTION TO THE BILINGUALISM DEBATE

A Solution to the Bilingualism Debate

English 135 DeVry University Online July 25, 2010

A Solution to the Bilingualism Debate

2 A SOLUTION TO THE BILINGUALISM DEBATE

Bilingual education is a lightning-rod of controversy in the United States today. It has been a target of debate ever since the days of Benjamin Franklin and Noah Webster. The real questions are whether the United States has succeeded in creating a culturally inclusive society in all ways possible, and whether bilingualism promotes assimilation into American society, or separatism. New research has shown that bilingual education can succeed in helping students to integrate into mainstream society, through the DualLanguage education model. The debate over bilingual education has existed since the beginning of the U.S. as a nation. During their missions to Native Americans in the American West, Franciscan missionaries first had to learn local indigenous languages before teaching the catechism. The process was laborious, since the missionaries first had to learn the language, then formulate it into an alphabet, then written form, and then translate it into Spanish the last step. Both languages were then used in teaching the material. In the English-speaking colonies of Revolutionary America, ethnic groups established bilingual schools. From the beginning, bilingual education was opposed by both Noah Webster and Benjamin Franklin. Franklin expressed the concern that such an education model would result in new arrivals to the American continent remaining separate from mainstream society, which would logically reduce their ability to participate in all the rights and benefits offered by the new model of liberty. Debate over bilingual education continued throughout the nineteenth century, with significant efforts by some states to offer bilingual education to those communities that requested it. This was most often the case for German-Americans in such states as

3 A SOLUTION TO THE BILINGUALISM DEBATE Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The Bilingual Education Act of 1967 represented a major step forward in bilingual education. In 1974, Chinese-American parents won a Supreme Court case, Lau v. Nichols, which stated that students who could not understand English in American school classrooms were being denied their civil rights. Despite the ruling, bilingual education has never been completely accepted. In 1998, California voters approved Proposition 227, which specifically banned bilingual education in public schools. The Dual Language educational model presents a reasonable solution to the problem. School districts are increasingly using the method, which has been shown to foster the development of fluent bicultural, bilingual, and bi-literate learning. In Dual Language, students receive instruction in both their native language and English, in different subjects, on different days. The model specifies the subjects and time duration for each language. For example, Spanish would be the language of the day on Monday, and Friday, while English would be the language of the day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Spanish would be used to teach science and social studies, while English would be used for language arts and math. Teachers would adhere closely to this schedule, which would challenge students to think and work in both languages. A possible benefit of this education model is cognitive enhancement. Some researchers note that by meeting the challenge of effectively learning, writing and speaking in both languages, the human brain seems to respond by increasing function. The Dual Language model is believed to have originated in 1963, when exiled Cuban communities in Florida established dual language programs in an effort to accommodate temporary residents of the United States. Since their long-term residential

4 A SOLUTION TO THE BILINGUALISM DEBATE status was uncertain, educators wanted to make certain that students retained facility in Spanish, while still gaining the ability to function in what may well have been a temporary home. Since that time, the dual language model has been successfully used in other ethnic communities, using such languages as Navajo, Haitian Creole, Cantonese, and Korean. Recent data indicates that the Dual Language model is being adapted by more schools as each year passes. In 1979, few schools were known to be teaching with the model, while by 2004, Dual Language programs had been established in 26 states. Implementation of the Dual Language educational model does present challenges to educators. Teachers must demonstrate a full commitment to teaching to the balanced schedule required in the language specified. School districts must commit to finding teachers qualified to teach in the language and subject needed. Yet such obstacles would need to be overcome, no matter which program is selected to accommodate the need for English as a second language. Looking toward the future, it is clear that the Dual Language model presents a reasonable and balanced solution to a difficult social debate. Certain participants in the bilingual debate would like to eliminate bilingual education altogether, effectively turning public schools into total immersion English-learning laboratories. Yet, this is not even possible under the law. Due to the Supreme Court ruling in 1974, and other civil rights legislation that has been enacted during the late 20th century, bilingual programs will be required in some form as long as immigration to the United States continues. By setting up a teaching schedule that is divided by subject and duration to help students learn well in both their native language and the culturally dominant language of English,

5 A SOLUTION TO THE BILINGUALISM DEBATE the concerns of all parties concerned can be satisfied. It is the path that should be taken into the future for as long as it is needed.

6 A SOLUTION TO THE BILINGUALISM DEBATE

References

Bilingual Education. Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History Online. Retrieved July 18, 2010, from http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Ar-

Bo/Bilingual-Education.html

Howard, E. R., Sugarman, J., Christian, D., Lindholm-Leary, K. J., & Rogers, D. (2007). Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics Online. Retrieved July 18, 2010 from http://www.cal.org/twi/guidingprinciples.htm