Pro's and Con's of Bilingual Education

Paper Summary:

This paper investigates bilingual educational, and evidence that both supports and undermines specific didactic methods. Problems with bilingual education are also be addressed. Special attention is paid to bilingual immersion as a language acquisition tool, and is compared with other bilingual education methods. Additionally, the discussion addresses key issues regarding the failures and problems in bilingual education in the state of California.

Methods in Bilingual Education
Problems and Failures in Bilingual Education
Conclusions

From the Paper:

"There is significant need for effective methods in the teaching of America's growing number of English learners, students who must learn English as a second language. Estimates cite 4.6 million English learners in American public schools in 2000-2001 (Rodriguez, & Higgins 2005). Immense effort and research has addressed this problem, yet many students still struggle. The current status of English learner debate centers on the positive and negative aspects of bilingual programs versus programs that do not use a student's native language in instruction. To be considered a bilingual program, a method must incorporate both the English language and native language of the student into the school instruction. Bilingual programs come in many forms, with varying levels of native language use and English use. Depending on implementation methods and structure, bilingual programs also have varying levels of success."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barrera, M. (2006, March/April). Roles of definitional and assessment models in the identification of new or second language learners of English for special education. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(2), pp. 142-156.
• Cummins, J., & Swain, M. (1986). Bilingualism in education: Aspects of theory, research, and practice. London: Longman.
• Esch, C. E., Chang-Ross, C. M., Guha, R., Tiffany-Morales, J., & Shields, P. M. (2004). California's teaching force 2004: Key issues and trends. Santa Cruz, CA: The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.
• Greene, J. (1998). A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of bilingual education. Claremont, CA: Tomas Rivera Policy Institute.
• Hadi-Tabassum, S. (2004, December). The balancing act of bilingual immersion. Educational Leadership, 62(4), pp. 50-55.

More papers on Pro's and Con's of Bilingual Education:

• Term Paper # 117367 : "Bilingual Education"
• Essay # 18883 : "Bilingual Education"
• Analytical Essay # 24155 : "Bilingual Education"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: