Blog Entry 5:  March 8, 2018

Response:  Bilingual education

Bi-lingual education has gone through numerous changes over the decades.  What are your thoughts about how bi-lingual education should be implemented in schools today?

Bilingual education was supported by many school districts until 2002, when changes in federal funding and implementation of No Child Left Behind eliminated funding for the program in many schools.  Bilingual education puts some instruction in English and some instruction in the student’s native language.  It helps reduce classroom stress and gives the student more opportunities to learn the material.  Immersion is the other common approach, and in immersion programs students are put directly into a classroom where they speak English only.  The idea is that students who are forced to “sink or swim” will learn English faster.

I think that the humane, people-centered solution is clearly to support bilingual education whenever we can.  There is a fear factor in the classroom when students don’t understand things, and I think it makes sense to remove any obstacles to learning.  A student who has some instruction in her native language will have reference points and familiar feelings for part of the school day.  This gives her a chance to ask questions and access the course material in a different way.  Our concepts of a multicultural classroom are supported by bi-lingual education, and in contrast, immersion seems archaic and punitive. 

Reference:

Koch, J., 2015, Teach, Wadsworth, Belmont, CA.

Send problems/comments/suggestions to: tcHorner@csuchico.edu

All blog entries are the property and personal opinions of Tim Horner, and may be shared with appropriate credit.