Advantages and Disadvantages of Bilingual & English-only Education

Bilingual:
Advantages Disadvantages
Minority language-speakers can
maintain their first languages and
cultures and learn English.
Bilingual education is very costly.
The United States would benefit from
educating its students in bilingual
classrooms.
Bilingual education allows minority
language-speakers to resist assimilation
and avoid learning the dominant
language.
A 1998 study by Lopez and Mora
showed that differences in earnings
between former ESL and bilingual
students is small and not even
statistically significant
Immigrants are kept linguistically
isolated from the rest of American
society.

English-Only Education:
Advantages Disadvantages
Costs less money It is more difficult for students to
become familiar with how the classroom
works
Easier to maintain in a school. Teachers
do not need to be bilingual, and the
school doesnt have to purchase
instructional material
Students will not feel comfortable in
their classroom or among their peers if
they cannot understand them
(confidence issue)
Helps students to become fully
immersed in the English language
The student could lose his/her own
native language and culture by learning
in only English

In Vista, California, Breeze Hill Elementary School has implemented a very
successful bilingual education program. It began in 1999 and from that time to
around 2005, 75 percent of Spanish-speaking English learners have enrolled in
bilingual instruction. The program uses a 70:30 model, which means that student in
Kindergarten receive 70 percent of their instruction in Spanish, and 30 percent in
English. The amount of Spanish used in the classroom decreases as the students
move up into higher grades. This program was so successful that parents wanted to
be assured that their children would continue in this program even after moving to
another attendance area. I think it is effective because it facilitates students as they
attempt to learn the English language.

In order to accommodate ELL students in a class debate, the teacher should
give each of the students a specific task to do. By knowing what job they are going
to be doing, the students have the opportunity to prepare for their presentation by
either creating questions or writing down important points that they want to get
across. The teacher should also take the time to explain each of the jobs in the
debate, and the vocabulary of the debate.