Monolingual vs. Bilingual Education and Public Schools
The United States is currently experiencing large influxes of immigrants in the public education system. Since the majority of these immigrant children speak a language other than English, schools are faced with the burden of educating them in content, language, and culture, with few effective resources. The Supreme Court places immigrant children in the public education system with their ruling that all persons, regardless of documentation, have the right to free, public education (Nelson, 2013, 157). Coupled with No Child Left Behind legislation’s expectations for all learners to be held accountable to high academic standards, this nation’s education system faces a dilemma (Nelson, 2013, …show more content…
Newcomers are expected to use English only and assimilate themselves to American cultural values. Under this type of program, English is used for 100% of instruction, there is no special help with English instruction, a lack of qualified teachers of the language, and is implemented throughout all K-12 grade levels (Garcia, 2009, 186). On the other hand, Two-Way Bilingual Education, or Dual Immersion, is an alternative method that is rarely utilized in the United States. This method of bilingual education is based on a 90:10 model, where 90% of instruction occurs in a child’s native language and the other 10% occurs in the target language in early grades (Garcia, 2009, 186). As the child moves through the grade levels, the program shifts to a 50:50 model, with instruction occurring in both the native and target languages equally (Garcia, 2009, 186). Emergent bilinguals and native-English speakers are taught literacy and academic subjects in two languages, peer tutoring is available, and teachers are certified in bilingual education (Garcia, 2009, 186). It is important for schools to take a hard look at the advantages of each approach for the education of their …show more content…
Therefore, a submersion approach is the most appropriate way to address immigrants in public schools. Students are able to acculturate themselves, or take on the cultural ways of the majority, most effectively by immersing themselves in American schools and adjusting to their new lives in the United States (Moule, 2012, 158). “Americanization” is the best hope for immigrant children to attain better jobs, higher education, and other opportunities within society and the economy (Moule, 2012,
The United States is currently experiencing large influxes of immigrants in the public education system. Since the majority of these immigrant children speak a language other than English, schools are faced with the burden of educating them in content, language, and culture, with few effective resources. The Supreme Court places immigrant children in the public education system with their ruling that all persons, regardless of documentation, have the right to free, public education (Nelson, 2013, 157). Coupled with No Child Left Behind legislation’s expectations for all learners to be held accountable to high academic standards, this nation’s education system faces a dilemma (Nelson, 2013, …show more content…
Newcomers are expected to use English only and assimilate themselves to American cultural values. Under this type of program, English is used for 100% of instruction, there is no special help with English instruction, a lack of qualified teachers of the language, and is implemented throughout all K-12 grade levels (Garcia, 2009, 186). On the other hand, Two-Way Bilingual Education, or Dual Immersion, is an alternative method that is rarely utilized in the United States. This method of bilingual education is based on a 90:10 model, where 90% of instruction occurs in a child’s native language and the other 10% occurs in the target language in early grades (Garcia, 2009, 186). As the child moves through the grade levels, the program shifts to a 50:50 model, with instruction occurring in both the native and target languages equally (Garcia, 2009, 186). Emergent bilinguals and native-English speakers are taught literacy and academic subjects in two languages, peer tutoring is available, and teachers are certified in bilingual education (Garcia, 2009, 186). It is important for schools to take a hard look at the advantages of each approach for the education of their …show more content…
Therefore, a submersion approach is the most appropriate way to address immigrants in public schools. Students are able to acculturate themselves, or take on the cultural ways of the majority, most effectively by immersing themselves in American schools and adjusting to their new lives in the United States (Moule, 2012, 158). “Americanization” is the best hope for immigrant children to attain better jobs, higher education, and other opportunities within society and the economy (Moule, 2012,