A Change in immigration
Immigration has made and remade this country.
Until the early decades of the 20th century, immigrants were usually Europeans. Today, most immigrants are from Asia, Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean. These immigrants are harder to integrate than earlier immigrants were because there are fewer pressures on them to assimilate and learn English. Instead, bilingual education, multiculturalism, and ethnic clustering slow up the workings of the so called "melting pot". Poor people who receive welfare benefits have fewer incentives to master English and adjust to the demands of American society. In rejecting the melting pot concept, multiculturalists want to preserve immigrant culture and languages rather than absorb American culture.
In the past, the children of immigrants were educated in English only, which assimilated them in one generation. Nowadays, with bilingual education being imposed on millions of students, the assimilation process is longer and less successful.
In recent years, the population of the United States has been experiencing significant demographic, linguistic, and cultural changes. With the surge of immigration, more and more bilingual children will enter schools. Today, one in five children in the United States lives in an immigrant family.
Until the early decades of the 20th century, immigrants were usually Europeans. Today, most immigrants are from Asia, Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean. These immigrants are harder to integrate than earlier immigrants were because there are fewer pressures on them to assimilate and learn English. Instead, bilingual education, multiculturalism, and ethnic clustering slow up the workings of the so called "melting pot". Poor people who receive welfare benefits have fewer incentives to master English and adjust to the demands of American society. In rejecting the melting pot concept, multiculturalists want to preserve immigrant culture and languages rather than absorb American culture.
In the past, the children of immigrants were educated in English only, which assimilated them in one generation. Nowadays, with bilingual education being imposed on millions of students, the assimilation process is longer and less successful.
In recent years, the population of the United States has been experiencing significant demographic, linguistic, and cultural changes. With the surge of immigration, more and more bilingual children will enter schools. Today, one in five children in the United States lives in an immigrant family.
PUblic schools enrollment
Identifying students for Bilingual Education begins upon enrollment into the public school.
When a student enrolls in school, the parents are asked to complete a Home Language Survey. If a language other than English is written anywhere on the survey, the students English language skills will be assessed. If the student does not score fluent, he or she will be “reclassified” as LEP (or more recently, English Language Learner, ELL). Any student that has been identified as LEP is eligible for bilingual or ESL services. At the secondary level, bilingual is typically not offered and therefore students are eligible for ESL service. Native language proficiency for transfer of knowledge and skills is assumed.
When a student enrolls in school, the parents are asked to complete a Home Language Survey. If a language other than English is written anywhere on the survey, the students English language skills will be assessed. If the student does not score fluent, he or she will be “reclassified” as LEP (or more recently, English Language Learner, ELL). Any student that has been identified as LEP is eligible for bilingual or ESL services. At the secondary level, bilingual is typically not offered and therefore students are eligible for ESL service. Native language proficiency for transfer of knowledge and skills is assumed.
"No Child Left Behind" creates obstacles for English Language Learners.
ELLs have historically been overreferred to special education due to inappropriate assessments and assignment to lower-performing instructional settings.
When it comes to the No Child Left Behind Act, the federal education policy is leaving behind a large demographic: the Limited English Proficient (LEP) subgroup. According to current mandates, English language learners are required to take state academic assessment exams before they are proficient. These tests create anxiety and fear among English language learners, and cannot accurately gauge the progress these students are making in school. It is time to give these students a genuine opportunity to excel, and to find other ways to measure their learning while they transition into English.
When it comes to the No Child Left Behind Act, the federal education policy is leaving behind a large demographic: the Limited English Proficient (LEP) subgroup. According to current mandates, English language learners are required to take state academic assessment exams before they are proficient. These tests create anxiety and fear among English language learners, and cannot accurately gauge the progress these students are making in school. It is time to give these students a genuine opportunity to excel, and to find other ways to measure their learning while they transition into English.
various programs for bilingual education
Dual Language Program (Two-Way Bilingual/Enrichment Program) requires highly trained teachers that are proficient in the target languages. Unlike transitional bilingual education, which views native language instruction as a means to learn English, dual language programs aim to produce students who are fluent in both languages. The teachers that teach the English component are not necessarily hard to find, but they must be trained in language acquisition techniques and certified by the state to support ELL students. Materials for this program must be made available in both languages.
English as a Second Language (ESL) Program is an intensive program of English instruction in all subjects with a focus on language arts - listening, speaking, reading, and writing- by teachers certified in ESL methodology. This program is offered to students whose native language is other than English and who need to develop their English language skills in order to ensure academic success.
Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE)
Instruction in content areas uses student's native language. English is taught using English as Second language (ESL) methods. The amount of time used for instruction in the native language and English in the TBE Full or Part Time programs varies according to the student's English language proficiency and grades.
The goal of this transitional bilingual education model is to develop academic skills in the student's native language and English while the student attains English proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing throughout the content areas.
Transitional Program of Instruction (TPI)
Instruction in content areas uses English and the student's native whenever possible when teachers aides or volunteers who speak the student's native language are available. English is taught using ESL methods through a pull-out program or push-in program or in a self-contained setting. Students from different language groups may participate together in the same ESL class according to their age and English language level.
The goal of this transitional bilingual model is to develop academic skills in English while the student attains English proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
English as a Second Language (ESL) Program is an intensive program of English instruction in all subjects with a focus on language arts - listening, speaking, reading, and writing- by teachers certified in ESL methodology. This program is offered to students whose native language is other than English and who need to develop their English language skills in order to ensure academic success.
Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE)
Instruction in content areas uses student's native language. English is taught using English as Second language (ESL) methods. The amount of time used for instruction in the native language and English in the TBE Full or Part Time programs varies according to the student's English language proficiency and grades.
The goal of this transitional bilingual education model is to develop academic skills in the student's native language and English while the student attains English proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing throughout the content areas.
Transitional Program of Instruction (TPI)
Instruction in content areas uses English and the student's native whenever possible when teachers aides or volunteers who speak the student's native language are available. English is taught using ESL methods through a pull-out program or push-in program or in a self-contained setting. Students from different language groups may participate together in the same ESL class according to their age and English language level.
The goal of this transitional bilingual model is to develop academic skills in English while the student attains English proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Reasonable accommodations
Some teachers were allowed to read the directions or questions aloud in English; others were allowed to translate them. Some teachers permitted students to use English or bilingual dictionaries. However, most teachers reported that these accommodations were of little benefit. Even when students had a dictionary, few actually used them. Many didn't know how; others were embarrassed to use them in front of their peers. Even in those instances in which translation was permitted, few students requested it.
References:
Ginn, Janel D. (2008). Bilingual Education. Detroit, New York, San Francisco, New Haven Conn., Waterville, Maine, London: Thomson Gale & Greenhaven Press.
Chaudhry, K. (2010). Bilingual Education: Past, Present, Future. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 5(1). Retrieved from http://cnx.org/content/m33197/latest
Ginn, Janel D. (2008). Bilingual Education. Detroit, New York, San Francisco, New Haven Conn., Waterville, Maine, London: Thomson Gale & Greenhaven Press.
Chaudhry, K. (2010). Bilingual Education: Past, Present, Future. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 5(1). Retrieved from http://cnx.org/content/m33197/latest