It also can make it easier than in the past for a student who switches schools, because now schools broadly have to follow a similar curriculum. The national curriculum was introduced to enable assessment, which also helped to compile league tables. League tables (1988 education act) are another change that has helped the education system. League tables are used to compare the academic achievements of different institutions and parents can use them to decide which school they want their child(ren) to go to. Using league tables is a good thing as if you want your child to go to a good school, you can chose the one most suitable with good education and exam results.
Yeshas V. Sagar Dr. E. Rhee English 711 April 23, 2013 Essay 3 (Final) The Bilingual education controversy in America Bilingual education is a form of education in which students are educated in two (or more) languages. Any educational system that utilizes more than one language is bilingual. People that would support bilingual education may believe that schools in America should encourage and work with the student’s language and culture. People that are not in favor of bilingual education, however, argue that a child’s ability to acquire English quickly is due to his inhibitions. In the essay “A Nation Divided by One Language” by James Crawford and “Viva Bilingualism” by James Fallows, they both claim that it is not necessary to declare English the official language of America.
Studies have shown that beginning a well-planned bilingual education program before a child is five can have multiple benefits including delaying the possible onset of Alzheimer’s and enhanced awareness of and ability to manipulate sounds. A well-planned program for bilingual education can make it easier for these children to function with others outside of those that speak their native language, and also lead to more children of minority ethnic groups in the US enrolling in college. This could further translate to a larger pool of skilled workers in the workforce. And since the minority population of the US is now more than one-third of the total population, with more than 20% speaking a language other than English at home (“State & County QuickFacts”), how we choose to integrate children that speak a language other than English has potentially far-reaching consequences for our society as a whole. There are several types of bilingual education programs.
The effects of bilingualism on language development in children are examined. Theories suggest that bilingual children are able to learn a second language after the first is mastered. One of the reasons behind this is that the child has already developed the nonverbal concept of the word (because the child is already using it in the primary language), so only the verbal concept must be constructed. It has been shown that balanced bilinguals are more cognitively and linguistically flexible. However, unbalanced bilinguals generally show mixed results.
A person that is considered bilingual has the ability to speak, write, listen, and read two languages fluently. Bilingualism falls into categories because each bilingual individual obtain language fluencies in various ways. Simultaneous bilinguals learn their two languages at the same time from childhood and their family. Sequential bilinguals learn their second language later on in life. This could be due to an individual moving to a new country or picking up a language class at school.
The lowest percentage of Mexican Americans speaks English only. The bilingual and English speaking would be considered the sub-languages of this group (Schaefer, 2006). Politically speaking one of the most talked about topics would be the allowance of bilingual education. Some believe that it should be allowed while others feel that it should not so that the children will learn the English language and have a better opportunity to advance in the United States. When bilingual education first came around Mexican Americans took advantage of the education in both public and private schools.
English language learners (ELLs) are not segregated from their peers. (Thomas & Collier, 1997) and ( Lindholm-Leary, 2000) • Another form of Bilingual Education is a type of Dual Language program that has students study in two different ways: • 1) A variety of academic subjects are taught in the students' second language, with specially trained bilingual teachers who can understand students when they ask questions in their native language, but always answer in the second language. • 2) Native language literacy classes improve students' writing and higher-order language skills in their
On the opposing side, Professors that work at a University have bilingual students and this presents the opportunity for him to not only learn a new language just for his foreign students but also will benefit the professor as well because he learned a new tongue that will open up other better opportunities for himself. First, having a professor who is bilingual benefits the students to better understand the class so they know what the professor is talking about and in doing so they will be in sync with the other peers of the class.“ Besides that, a student who is exposed to multiple languages will be able to develop a better sense of appreciating various cultures and understanding societies.” For example, if he embraces the Spanish tongue, he will be intrigued
If students would start to learn a foreign language in elementary school they will be so little that they will not realize that they actually have to do work, and it is also easier for children at a low age to learn to speak different languages. I believe that students should be required to take a second language all throughout elementary school, junior high school, and high school because their job opportunity will be greater, it exposes young people to new cultures, and it enhances the academic skills of students. Pursuing this further, I believe that if one is fluent in more than just one language, one has a greater opportunity to be chosen as an employer of a successful company. It is definitely a plus if one knows a foreign language. Companies do not just look at the grades one had, graduating from college, they also look at other skills like their ability to communicate with others and if one is fluent in more than one language.
Nowadays there is a considerable debate whether children should go to schools for education or can have home education instead. People are starting to consider thinking which way would be more suitable for their kids and for themselves as well. They are assessing the positives and negatives of each option and then choosing the one that is best fitting their needs and life style. Although that most of parents that started home education for their children have found out that it is not easy to transfer school facilities to home, but it has become a very accepted alternative way for going to schools . The number of children being educated at home is considerably increasing though there are no accurate prevalence estimates as mentioned by Petrie, Windrass & Thomas, 1999.