Bilingual Education vs the Only English - Essay Example

The essay below argues on the monolingual versus bilingual education programs. Bilingual education is themost common practice done in most schools whereby, there is use of two diverse languages in the instructions of a classroom. The system of education is mostly applied in preschool period and in elementary schools in a less extent. Therefore, children receiving a bilingual type of education are able to acquire both languages used in the class easily. Rodriguez is a Mexican American, grew up in Sacramento, California, and graduated in English Literature despite the fact he knew little of the English language when enrolling in school. Rodriguez uses his own personal case to criticize that bilingual education delays the child’s acquisition of English. He argues that only few of the English educators doubt the value of English acquisition and quick acquisition. Some of the successful bilingual programs result to quicker acquisition of English than the “sink or swam” or “submersion’ programs despite the fact that the bilingual program are supplemented with English as the second language (Krashen 356). According to Krishen, children learning English in a submersion program undergo a silent period also known as an active period of acquiring the English language. It is clear that children experience the silent period made of several months before they speak a second language and that time is more of the active acquisition whereby competence in the language is created via input. Krishen states that despite the fact that Rodriguez was in a submersion class, he had other sources of comprehensible input because he got little comprehensible input in his class. Krishen argues that the submersion program for a non English-speaking child is successful if the child is surrounding environment matters a lot. Such students in a single language speaking class learn a lot from their friends speaking English. Speaking English at home does not offer much comprehensible input to the student (Krashen 357). Krashen continues further to argue that Rodriguez could still make it in English language without abandoning mother tongue, Spanish at home. Use of the first language by minority students does not hinder the students from succeeding in school. Therefore, Krishen argues that use of application of Bilingual education is more useful to those children who do not live in English-Speaking neighborhoods and cannot get comprehensible input beyond classroom. Krishen states that Rodriguez success in English did not result because of the amount of comprehensible input from classroom but from playground and the surrounding environment of his home. Rodriguez is against bilingual education in his book called ‘Hunger of Memory’ essay title ‘Aria’. Rodriguez asserts that use of bilingual education program postpones and delays the opportunity for students to apply public language in their societies. Therefore, the program retards the students’ social development and interrupts their chances to achieve both social success and acceptance. He further argues that students should learn and speak a public language. He asserts that bilingual education delays growth of the student’s confidence in speaking a public language. He states that the confidence is a necessary element for a developing young person (Rodriguez 314). Rodriguez asserts that public language learning allows a learner to focus on the full meanings of other people’s words and their utterances instead of focusing on the unfamiliar sound made by other public language speakers. Further, he argues that learning to speak in a public language helps in promoting the sense of full participatory of a citizen. He argues that learning on how to speak the public language by children is beneficial to the parents too because they feel more close to the wider range of the society which they are technically an essential part. Rodriguez claims that learning of public language helps the person or student to builds ones confidence and one acquires a public identity and enables a young person manage to communicate with anyone in the public (Rodriduez 315). Krashen agrees that bilingual education results to faster acquisition of English. Acquisition of English language does not result from repetition of patterns, grammar drill or from listening to incomprehensible noise or input. He asserts that when a student or a second language learner understand a Geography lesson, that is also a language lesson. Subjects taught in first language or mother tongue contribute powerfully to English acquisition though indirectly. Such types of classes result to knowledge that helps in making English input more incomprehensible. According to Krashen, isolation of non-English speaking students in foreign language classrooms makes it difficult for the students to learn English. Krashen argues that use of native language in native language has the capability of facilitating the process of learning English language. As a second language, English is best taught in natural situations using both first languages. The approach of bilingual education program is coordinated with use of the native language of the students. Krashen states that learners learn how to read by making sense out of what they see on the page. In addition, it is much easier to learn how to read in a language learners already understand. He states that once one can read, one can learn and manage to read transfer across different languages. The approach allows students to master material of the academic content and become proficient in two languages, which is an added valuable skill in the current twenty-first century. Rodriguez argues that use of bilingual education programs leads to employment of teachers using ethnicity basis, which leads to increase in racism. Krashen argues that use of bilingual education enables preservation of the primary language’s culture of the immigrant children. Separating birth language from a child leads to loss of cultural diversity of the child. Rodriguez argues that language diversity is what makes future employees fail in the global business world. Krashen asserts that bilingual education program gives both the majority and minority populations a chance to learn (Rodriguez 317). There are several benefits related to bilingual education program is that bilinguals resolve mental competition efficiently. They can keep the two languages separately and maintain their availability and activeness in the minds simultaneously. A monolingual student can learn another language too and manage to communicate with other non English-speaking students. Therefore as much as Rodriguez argues that Bilingual education programs slow down the English learning process, its results are similar to those of submersion class program. Therefore, both programs result to similar results. However, bilingual programs enable a student to learn a second language and retain the first language. In my opinion, Krashen’s argument is very relevant because there are minority students who are proficient in English language just as the English-speaking students. Fist language use in class helps a student to learn a second language quicker than when using a monolingual program. A student is able to transfer understanding from one language to another. However, use of monolingual program delays understanding of the second language and affects proficiency in the first language. It is important that diversity remains to retain diversity in cultures. Bilingual program in education helps in maintaining diversity in the employees of learning institutions because they integrate employees from different ethnicities (Rodriguez 358). From the book “The School of an Indian Girl” by Zitkala-Sa, the character, an Indian girl suffered from discomfort in the surrounding environment, which comprised of other public speaking people. The student suffered humiliation from her fellow students who mocked her because she could not communicate with them for she was an Indian and the only language she was familiar with was her first language. The Native American parents did their level best to maintain both their culture and own language. The character was in a new school where she could not understand English language used in the school’s operations and classroom operations. She got herself in trouble due to language barriers and misunderstandings. She was accused for misconduct in the field just because she could not understand the instructions. Therefore, monolingual education program is quite difficult for the non-English speaking students. Mother tongue means the first language the mother teaches a child. However, according to Amy Tan, mother tongue is not the native language of the mother. A mother can use a second language frequently and if she uses the language as the first language, the child’s mother tongue. Amy describes that her mother was a Chinese but she spoke English language frequently and that made Amy understand English language as her first language. Therefore mother tongue is not related tote first language of the mother but the frequent language a mother uses most while communicating daily. In conclusion, both Krashen and Rodriguez have different views on the issue. However, Krashen’s argument supporting bilingual program in schools is more sensible and beneficial to the minority students. The program is not discriminative because it gives both majority and minority students’ equal chances to learn in the same schools. The program helps to improve socialization amongst the majority and minority students. Therefore, it is significant that a student learns a second language and maintains his or her first language. Work Cited García, Ofelia, and Colin Baker. Bilingual Education: An Introductory Reader. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2007. Print. Krashen, Stephen D. Condemned Without a Trial: Bogus Arguments against Bilingual Education. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 1999. Print Krashen, Stephen D. Sink-or-swim success Stories and Bilingual Education. In Educating English learners: Language Diversity and Education. 5th ed. Ed’ James Crawford. Los Angeles: Bilingual Education Services. 2004. 354-358. Print. La, Belle T. J, and Christopher R. Ward. Multiculturalism and Education: Diversity and Its Impact on Schools and Society. Albany, N.Y: State University of New York, 1994. 26-35. Print. Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez : an Autobiography. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1983. Print. Tan, A. (2003). Mother Tongue. The Three Penny Review. Zitkala-Sa. (1900). The School days of an Indian Girl. Atlantic monthly magazine. Read More