Barrientos 1

Luis Barrientos
Mrs. Hensel
English IV
13 October 2015
Bilingual Education
Over the years the number of foreigners that come into America increase more and more.
The majority of those foreigners look to either further their own education, or the education of
their children in the American school system. However, very large portions of those people do
not have adequate English skills to successfully advance their education. Different instructional
methods have been introduced to accommodate the increasing number of foreigners in their
education such as complete English immersion courses, and gradual and abrupt assimilation into
the native language and culture.
Opponents of bilingual education argue that students who have experienced education in
their native language and are not strongly encouraged to work in English only lack much needed
skills. This results in, significantly greater risk of repeating grades, failing to finish high school,
and never enrolling in college (McMahon, Lee). Places like California and New Mexico, which
experience their majority of immigration coming from places in Latin America, have to focus
their efforts in trying to accommodate Hispanic students with little to no skills in the English
language. According to immersion supporters, without immersing foreign students in English
only courses and leaving them with rudimentary skills, they will be much more likely to drop out
of school than their counterparts who were able to advance their English skills much more
(McMahon, Lee). However, Spanish-speakers are not the only people who immigrate to
California or New Mexico along with many other states. This makes opponents of bilingual

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education believe that other foreign languages are already left out anyway, so the needs of
hundreds of thousands of non-Spanish speaking students, including the growing number of
children in US schools whose native languages are Chinese, Russian, and French Creole, are
neglected under a bilingual system, as bilingual education has been limited primarily to English
and Spanish (McMahon, Lee). If indeed bilingual education was limited to English and Spanish,
then it would be understandable why Kenneth Noonan president of the California Association of
Bilingual Educators would be troubled by the situation he experienced of a boy from the
Philippines who learned more Spanish than English (McMahon, Lee). Unfortunately what Mr.
Noonan and people who oppose bilingual education fail to mention is that the program is not to
blame for the outcome of the boy from the Philippines. The actual people at fault are the
educators of the school the boy attended since those educators were unable to provide for the
resources that were needed to help the child.
People who support bilingual education understand that even though it is greatly
important to get all students up to the standards they are required for their English skills it is far
more beneficial for the student to be gradually assimilated into the language and culture of the
native school. By teaching a student this way even though in the beginning their test scores may
not be as high as those in immersion programs in the long term the students will do just as good
as them if not better (Driscoll, Geier). Bilingual education will not only focus on their English
skills but on their native language as well. This benefits the student so much since the basis for
bilingual education, builds on a student's skills and knowledge in their native language until
they gain enough proficiency in English to switch into English-only classes. Bilingual education
usually leads to a proficiency in both languages by teaching students this way as their English
skills advance the students will not lose any of their native skills (Driscoll, Geier). Actually, by

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having bilingual courses available for foreign and native students it will give a chance for foreign
students to remember and keep their culture, while at the same time native students will be able
to understand foreign culture better. If foreign students are able to learn in a bilingual
environment they will come to realize that the program, supports not just the student's native
language, but also the heritage that every immigrant brings to this country, which helps create a
rich, multicultural environment. Rather than erasing that culture, bilingual education embraces
it by embracing every foreigners culture than native students can truly understand that there is
more than just the way of life they are accustomed to (Driscoll, Geier). English will soon no
longer be the only language of importance in America with the continuing rise of immigrants.
With the increase of foreign language, jobs will soon want individuals that are able to
communicate with many different types of people and by introducing different languages like
Spanish when native English speakers are young they will have many advantages and have an
easier time finding jobs alongside foreign language speakers (Driscoll, Geier).
However, there are large numbers of people that believe any type of extra help for foreign
students whether it be English immersion, or bilingual education should be stopped and people
with minimal English skills should be left alone to either sink or swim. These people believe that
the programs are far too costly to offer and non-native speakers must learn the language of
instruction as quickly as possible (Ginsburg). Also, by offering bilingual education the process of
students assimilating into the culture of the native school will be slowed down. Limitation would
be places on foreign students if they are allowed to stay in their minority culture which would
ultimately limit their educational experience (Ginsburg). It is clear that these individuals want
nothing to do with the amazing things that foreign cultures have to offer and are perhaps stuck in
an idea of how America should be English only. The only way they have of knowing whether a

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student is assimilating well into the culture of the native school is be their English proficiency
(Ginsburg). Even though this technique may have worked for some foreign students the pure
mentality of taking away any courses that will potentially help more students with poor English
skills is terrible and will only lead to higher numbers of dropouts.
In conclusion, the different methods of educating foreigners have worked, some more
than others. As a result of these methods being utilized many foreigners that looked for
advancing their education in an American school have succeeded. However, with bilingual
education being available, many students have dramatically advanced their English skills so they
no longer are left behind. Even though methods like complete immersion courses and getting rid
of any type of bilingual education have worked for students, gradual assimilation is by far the
best method to teach students. In doing this, they not only learn enough English skills required to
get by in school, but keep those skills throughout their entire lives without losing their own
language or culture.

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Works Cited
Driscoll, Sally, Geier, Denise, B. Americas future depends on Bilingual Education. Points of
View: Bilingual Education. Great Neck Publishing, 2015. Web. 22 September. 2015
Ginsburg, Jill. "Bilingual Education: An Overview." Points Of View: Bilingual Education
(2015): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.
McMahon, Maureen, Lee, M. English Immersion is a Proven Instructional Method. Points of
View: Bilingual Education. Great Neck Publishing, 2015. Web. 22 September. 2015