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Adoption Of Bilingual Education In The US

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Historically, education has undergone tremendous changes that have shaped the society. It can be categorized as formal and informal. Formal education is a classroom-based approach of acquiring knowledge while informal education happens outside a classroom setting. Bilingual education has been practiced in the American education system since 1839. Most people associate bilingual education with the lower-class citizens. However, recent studies indicate that changes in people’s attitudes, especially those who speak more than one language, can outperform those who speak a single language. The Equal Educational Opportunities Act (1974) has ensured that everyone situated in the United States (U.S.), irrespective of racial affiliation or nationality, …show more content…

The adoption of bilingual teaching in the U.S. was to assist the learners when transitioning from non-English languages to English (Pliiddermann, 1997). Additive and transitional bilingual courses are the most common programs practiced around the world (Chin, 2015). Additive language education helps students develop and maintain their primary or native language while simultaneously adding a second language (Trujillo, 2007). This means that there is no loss of primary language or culture. Alternatively, transitional bilingual education advocates the use of mother tongue instruction as a means of academic exposure while gradually switching the student to units taught in the English language (Roberts, 1995). The goal of transitional language is to help students become proficient in both written and spoken English as they gain academic skills relevant to social development. Trujillo notes that there is a reliance on linguistic reinforcement in promoting English monolingual common culture …show more content…

According to Parmon (2011), native language forms a strong foundation and guarantees success in education as well as in learning a second language. It is easy to teach students in their native language then to translate to the English. The English language becomes enjoyable when a student learns quickly. Moreover, the instructors will be at ease when expressing themselves to LEP students because they are conversant with aspects that entail smooth learning. Transitional bilingual education acts as a bridge which helps students when moving from their home to English language (Trujillo, 2007). Additive Bilingual education is significant when teaching English to students. It promotes the use of the first language even when a student has become proficient in English. Students will be comfortable and successful in the academic achievement of learning a second language by the end of school years (Chin,

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