Bilingual Education
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Table of Contents
I. Abstract
II. Chapter II Literature Review
A. Background information on bilingual education
B. Two-way bilingual programs
1) Criteria
2) Literature of Review
III. References
Abstract
While the debate on benefits of bilingual education in the United States has continued
and different programs to improve bilingual education have been developed, the two-way
immersion program may be the most effective, in terms of English achievement. The
two-way model promotes achievement both academically and linguistically for both
language majority and minority students in the same classroom. This model has been
Receiving attention among educators and will be the subject of this review of bilingual
education
Chapter II Literature Review
Background
With Hispanics making up more than fifty percent of the language minority
population of the United States (cited in Winster, Diaz, Espinosa, & Rodriguez, 1999),
Spanish remains the most prevalent target language in U.S. bilingual programs {Christian,
1996). There are more than thirty million language minority individuals that reside in
the United States, with an estimated projection of forty million by the end of the century
(Fitzgerald, 1993). Christian (1996) indicates that there is a growing concern for the
target language maintenance and development. With English being as powerful and
dominant as it is, the minority language is fighting for its very survival especially with
adolescent students. The students must negotiate between their bilingual system and
other complex systems such as peer interactions, self-esteem, and the education system
itself as a whole to keep the minority language alive (Soto, 1992).
Societal attitudes towards two languages by native English speakers are attributed to
the lack of progress in Spanish (Graham & Brown, 1996). The debate about the benefits
of bilingual education in the United States has continued for more than twenty years
During this time the focus has been to help those students identified as being L.E.P. or
limited in English proficiency by obtaining the best programs that will help them succeed
in school (Medina & Escamilla, 1994 ). One of the major sources of controversy in the
field of bilingual education is when to move students into English-language instruction
( Gersten & Woodward, 1995 ), and which types of programs with which types of children
are most effective in facilitating English language acquisition and/or native language
maintenance (August & Hakusta, 1997; Garcia et al, 1995; Hakusta & Gould. 1987;...