A majority of the United States’ population has a different native language than English. Kathleen Escamilla, an Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Arizona, states that sixty-one percent of those people share a common native language: Spanish. Because of the rising numbers of students not being fluent in English the United States began to incorporate bilingual education programs into schools so that these students could be taught English. Bilingual education programs “involve placing English as a second language (ESL) students in classrooms where instruction is given in both English and the students’ native language” according to Lee and McMahon. Since the emergence of the programs, several laws and amendments passed through Congress to make bilingual education programs more efficient. Some of the most influential laws passed include: Title VII Bilingual Education Act and Proposition 227. The Title VII Bilingual Education Act …show more content…
Pam Bremer, director of Obersee Bilingual School, claims that bilingual education programs not only effectively teach students, but also sharpen the students’ brains and makes them better linguists. On the other hand, Rosalie Pedalino Porter, a director of the Institute for Research in English Acquisition and Development (READ), believes that these programs do not help students because the programs teach the students in their native language before teaching them English, which in turn, delays their development in understanding English. Bremer and Porter disagree on various aspects of bilingual education, especially the main focus of the programs and the duration of time students should spend in these programs. However, they both agree that bilingual education programs come down to involving the parents of these students and, most importantly, teaching the students