ZhiJie Xue
Instructor: Sita Patel
LCD 103
14 March 2018
Bilingual Education is a necessity to LEP student
We are in a society that is diverse in cultures, origin backgrounds and noticeably in languages. America is a country of immigrants, and the increasing population of new-coming people brings this diversity into society’s attention. The main issue concerned by most immigrants is the education that they and their younger generation will receive in America. The majority of immigrants, especially the young groups, come to America looking for a better opportunity for education. However, the first difficulty that they have to deal with is their limited English language proficiency. A great number of immigrant students are struggling in academic
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If students are taught in a language they know, they can learn more effectively; and it won’t increase their burden that they have to spend more time on extra schoolwork. Besides, students won’t lose their confidence and interest in school subjects. However, there is rising opposite voice to the bilingual education. In this chapter, some challengers claim that bilingual education cannot benefit students in acquiring English language proficiency; and bilingual education prevent students from using English. In this point, the author defends that the charge that bilingual programs make exclusive use of the primary languages of the LEP students is absurd. LEP students learn all school disciplines as native students must. Besides, it takes more time and energies to know the content in English well enough to handle higher academic English. Likewise, I agree with the author that students’ not being given access to the curriculum in a language they understand will prevent them from participating in school …show more content…
And in this case, bilingual instructional support can be practical to help students learn common subjects well in a language that they can understand. Thereupon, they won’t fall behind because of the language difficulty. Besides, the acquirement of English proficiency is equally important to LEP students’ academic development. Bilingual education can not only be helpful in school curriculum, but also is a practical program in which LEP students are able to learn both English and their primary language and also use their first language to acquire English proficiency for a long run.
Work Cites
B., Chelsey, et al. “Bilingual Education - Need for Bilingual Education, Benefits of Bilingualism and Theoretical Foundations of Bilingual Education.” Language, English, Students, and Programs - StateUniversity.Com, education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1788/Bilingual-Education.html.
Finegan, E., & Rickford, J. (2004). Language in the USA : Themes for the Twenty-first Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lynch, Matthew. “Bilingual Education: 5 Reasons it should be Required.” The Edvocate, 8 May 2017,