Research Proposal on "Students Should Be Bilingual"

Research Proposal 7 pages (2201 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Students Should Be Bilingual

Evolution has made the world what it is today, and, most of the development is owed to the fact that people have received better education with the passing of time. In the present, students everywhere learn a multitude of objects in while attending an educational institution. Globalization makes it possible for nations to interact, and, thus, languages interact also. As immigrants come to a new country, they are required to learn the respective country's language in order for them to fit in. However, students coming to a new country need to attend special schools where their maternal language is taught.

The issue with bilingual education is that it has received both positive and negative feed-back over time. The reasons for why some support the topic and some don't are divisive. Those that support it do so for several reasons, but one of the main reasons is that they wish for students to be acquainted with other languages which eventually lead them into learning about foreign traditions and cultures also.

People that are against bilingual education are generally those that consider the act as being ineffective. They consider that by the establishment of schools intended only for pupils of a certain nationality, a separation will be made between those pupils and resident pupils.

The U.S. school system is the most notable battleground between bilingual education supporters and those that oppose the exploit. The United States of America is one of the freest countries in the world, and, its residents are known as the being some of the main supporters of free-speech. Across time, immigrants coming to America have tried everything in order to fit in, including learning English and ignoring the importance of their maternal language. The U.S. is a country in which the number of minorities has experienced a remarkable growth over the years. With the fact that minorities inhabit the U.S. In large numbers, the establishing of a more advanced bilingual educational system is mandatory.

Immigrants coming to the U.S. prior to the 19th century have not expressed their need of a bilingual school system. However, as it had been difficult for the new-comers to properly fit in the American society, actions needed to be taken so that they would be assisted. The first institutions in the U.S. To teach in a different language than English had been mainly church-related. They had not been authentic bilingual, as they only focused on teaching maternal languages as primary, while English had been taught as a subject.

Across the 19th century, bilingual education has encountered strong resistance, and the schools in the U.S. only taught English. The act has also had some promoters, as in the case of William Harris, the school superintendent of the St. Louis district. Harris established the first kindergarten in which the only language taught had been German. (Cerda, Natalie & Hernandez, Christina) However, people lost interest and bilingual education was absent from public schools at the end of the 19th century.

The coming of the 20th century would make a difference in the issue of bilingual education. New waves of immigrants entered the U.S. during the start of the century and they demanded special bilingual learning. Because Germans lived in the country in large numbers, most of the German children went to school to receive education in both English and German.

World Wars I and II took place and the anti-immigrant sentiments got more obvious than ever. Again, schools started to teach only in English, with any other language being interdicted in public schools.

In the second half of the 20th century things were looking brighter for bilingual education. "The first modern Bilingual Education program was developed for Spanish-speaking Cubans and Anglos at Coral Way Elementary School in Dade County, Miami, Florida." (Cerda & Hernandez) Children that came from a certain minority suffered from the lack of bilingual education. Hispanics and Afro-Americans had been the two major minority groups to be affected.

More and more schools started to adopt bilingual education methods by providing appropriate teaching for individuals that could not understand English. At the end of the 20th century bilingual education supporters had succeeded in accomplishing most of their goals. However, due to the lack of serious backing from politician figures, the phenomenon still didn't received enough attention.

The events from the 11 of September, 2001, increased anti-immigrant sentiments among Americans. Americans in the present are inclined to reject any kind of action that would support the presence of immigrants within the U.S. borders.

Bilingual education has constantly evolved ever since the entering the first immigrant in the U.S. However, in spite of its evolution, it hasn't achieved recognition across the country, and the media continues to criticize the performance.

One of the main reasons for why immigrant children should be taught in their maternal language is that this makes it easier for them to actually learn English. Since a child does not know how to read or write in the language that he speaks, it is even more difficult for the respective individual to learn how to read and write in English. By first learning to read in their maternal language, children can than read in any language. The fact that English is taught as a second language does not mean that children only learn the language superficially. English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes teach matters in English while children are continuously being instructed in their maternal language.

A student attending proper bilingual courses should enjoy ESL instruction and normal subjects taught in both English and his maternal language. Gradually, after having learned more English, children would be taken to classes in which subjects like math and sciences would be taught. After passing all the stages needed for them to learn proper English, students would be put into normal classes with English students. Bilingual education ultimately serves as a connection between non-English speakers and American English-speaking residents. (Krashen, Stephen)

Those that contest the need of bilingual education most frequently reason their opinion through the fact that there are numerous famous persons that have succeeded by going to schools that only taught English. If a non-English speaking child manages to do well in an English speaking society, it is because of several intervening factors. Most probably, the respective child has grown up in an English-speaking community. Also, his abilities to learn might be above the ordinary, but still, such cases are particular. Some students that come to the U.S. might already be acquainted with the English language, as it is learned in various countries around the globe.

There are cases in which the maternal language of students coming into the U.S. does not use the Roman alphabet. However, studies have shown that students that speak such languages so through the same difficulties of learning English as those that speak languages that use the Roman alphabet. (Krashen)

The main advocates of bilingual education are Spanish, as Hispanics are the largest minority present in the U.S. Bilingual education apparently teaches bilingual students how to value their cultures and traditions, and, it also boosts their confidence in themselves.

According to Richard Rothstein, those that are against bilingual education relate to the "sink or swim" theory. The respective theory referred to the early immigrants that came into the U.S. By boat. Bilingual education contestants claim that when immigrants are put to test by only learning English in schools they "swim." (Rothstein) Unfortunately, by directly learning English, students are being prevented from learning everything that there is to know about the customs of their ethnicity.

The intentions of those aiming to support bilingual learning programs are good. However, in the recent years some of the members in the Hispanic community in the U.S. have expressed their disapproval concerning bilingual education. It seems that they reject the thought of being forced to integrate in the American community. American bilingual education supporters motivate that their programs are intended for people to fit in the American society better and to find jobs more easily. However, several bilingual students have proved the opposite. Instead, they've abandoned school because of the fact that they couldn't keep up with learning both English and Spanish. (Rothstein)

Bilingual education contestants argue that the act is immoral because of its character that leads to separation between ethnicities. Americans believe that bilingual education is not necessary for the fact that immigrants coming to the U.S. initially leave their country without expecting to keep their national identity abroad.

According to Linda Chavez and James Lyons, bilingual education is not efficient for Hispanics. Mothers that have their children as students in bilingual education programs claim that the children are strongly affected by this method of learning. Actually, the students are being confused by being forced to learn the two languages. Curiously, in some districts, students are being sent to bilingual classes if their last name is Spanish. Even if the respective students did not know Spanish, teachers taught it as if it was the primary language. (Chavez & Lyons)

There have also… READ MORE

How to Reference "Students Should Be Bilingual" Research Proposal in a Bibliography

Related Research Proposals:

Bilingual Education the Benefits and Challenges Essay

Bilingual Education

The benefits and challenges of bilingual education for schoolchildren

Bilingual education is an increasingly contentious topic in the United States and indeed around the world, yet much of… read more

Essay 9 pages (2522 words) Sources: 8 Style: MLA Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

Bilingual Bicultural Education Term Paper

Bilingual and Bicultural

Current Policies and Practices: Educating Bilingual and Bicultural Students

Educators and educational institutions must work to adapt educational policies and practices to include collaborative and interactive procedures… read more

Term Paper 12 pages (3221 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

Bilingual Programs in Elementary Classrooms Term Paper

Bilingual Programs in Elementary School

Type of Bilingual Program in the Classroom

The type of program used in the classroom is an approach known as a bilingual withdrawal program, or… read more

Term Paper 10 pages (2980 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

Bilingual/Bilingue Research Paper Bilingual/Bilingue by Rhina Espaillat Essay

BILINGUAL/BILINGUE Research Paper

Bilingual/Bilingue by Rhina Espaillat is a depiction of a girl
growing up in a Spanish speaking household in the United States. Through
excellent language choices and the… read more

Essay 6 pages (2231 words) Sources: 6 Style: MLA Topic: Language / Linguistics

---

Bilingual Education in Elementary Schools Essay

Bilingual Education

Como Se Dice en

In the 21st century the world will come closer and closer together as trade among country increases and we are drawn together as a… read more

Essay 4 pages (1254 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>