Transcript Colonial Times

Historial Context of Bilingual
Education:
Colonial Times
•Colonizers, unified history, with
unified traditions, and with a common
language;
•European languages were treated
with respect.
Colonial Times
• Neither an official language nor a
government-sanctioned body to regulate
speech was adopted;
• Absence of a consistent language
ideology
• Debate over official English has been
present creating resentment and a
variety of pedagogical practices.
1700’s to 1880s
•18th & 19th c., inconsistency regarding
language ideology;
•“Defensive Pluralism” (Havinghurst,
1978), preservation of maternal language
and cultures;
•Laws were passed authorizing bilingual
education.
1700’s to 1880’s
• Czech was taught in Texas, French in
Louisiana, and Spanish in the Southwest;
• 1900, 600,000 children, 4% of the
elementary school population received
instruction in German;
• Southwest, beginning of 20th c. Spanish
or English was the language of the school
curriculum.
1880’s to 1960
•1889, American Protective Association
promoted English-only schools;
•1918 to 1920, the Bureau of
Naturalization and the Bureau of
Education of the US;
•1923, English only instruction in 34
states
1880’s to 1960
• Anti-German hostility during War
World I;
• Americanization classes and Englishonly curriculum to prepare
immigrants;
1880’s to 1960
• The debate over the role of the mother
tongue continued;
• 1923, Meyer v. Nebraska, prohibition to
teach foreign languages was
unconstitutional;
• The case had little effect in promoting
BE.
1880’s to 1960
• Linguistic and cognitive theories and
research findings blamed bilingualism for
academic failure and mental retardation.
• English was the language of the
educated;
• Ignorance of English was attributed to
inferior intelligence.
1880’s to 1960
• Ethnocentric attitude: American culture
more desirable;
• Adoption of the sink-or-swim method
also known as submersion.
• ESL classes served only adults.
1960 to 1980
• Isolated bilingual programs were
created with the following
characteristics:
– English and the students’ native
language was used in all grades for
language and content instruction;
– Some included English-speakers;
– Programs were examples of excellence.
1960 to 1980
•National Defense Education Act of
1958 aimed at raising the level of
foreign-language education in the US ;
•1964 Civil Right Act fostered linguistic
diversity;
•1965 Immigration Act, Asians and Latin
American began to enter the country:
more language-minority students
appeared in US classroom.
1960-1980
• Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution of 1959
fostered BE to prepare children for
their return home;
• 1963, Cuban community established a
highly successful two-way bilingual
education program at Coral Way
Elementary School in Dade County, FL.
1960-1980
• 1968 creation of the Bilingual Education
Act --Title VII of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act;
• Act strove to help language minority
students as an offshoot of President
Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty;
1960-1980
• Title VII was unclear with regards to
bilingual education; original goal was the
maintenance of bilingualism, later
replaced by the use of home language to
facilitate the acquisition of English only.
• Significant step in moving away from
English-only.
1960-1980
• As a result of Title VII, many elementary
and some secondary BE programs and ESL
programs were initiated, especially in the
Southwest.
• Many states reversed the English-only laws:
Massachusetts enacted its Transitional
Bilingual Education Act (1971); more than 20
other states followed.
1960-1980
• Program characteristics:
– Native language was to be used to initiate
instruction; English was taught as a
second language, and later introduced in
instruction;
– Bilingual education was an educational
strategy to address the needs of the
ELL– the native and the main language did
not have the same status.
1960-1980
• 1974, Lau v. Nichols (414 US 5637)
case;
• Lau v. Nichols verdict:
– abolish the sink-or-swim practices of the
past;
• August 1974, Equal Educational
Opportunities Act expanded bilingual
practices to all schools.
1960-1980
•1975 Lau Remedies (Office for Civil
Rights):
–The law recommended bilingual education
as the best approach for elementary
education;
–Law contained instructions for
identification, assessment, and
mainstreaming of students.
1960-1980
•1975 Lau Remedies:
–BE should recommended for school
districts with at least 20 ELL’s of
same language;
–BE programs must be based on sound
theoretical approach;
–BE aimed at biliteracy and
biliculturalism.
1960-1980
•Research studies supporting
bilingual education:
–Pearl and Lamberts (1962), Ben_Zeev
(1977), Ianco-Worrall (1972),
Segalowitz (1977) demonstrated
cognitive flexibility, higher verbal and
non-verbal ability, and increased ability
to analyze syntax by bilingual speakers;
–Ability to differentiate between two
languages is not an impediment.
1960-1980
•Research studies supporting
bilingual education:
–Pearl and Lamberts (1962), Ben_Zeev
(1977), Ianco-Worrall (1972),
Segalowitz (1977) demonstrated
cognitive flexibility, higher verbal and
non-verbal ability, and increased ability
to analyze syntax by bilingual speakers;
–Ability to differentiate between two
languages is not an impediment.
1960-1980
• 1981, Castañeda v. Pickard– in a case of
violation of civil rights under the Equal
Education Opportunities Act of 1974;
• Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals verdict:
– sound educational theory anchoring school
plan;
– adequate resources and personnel;
– program reflecting sound practices and
language and academic results.
1960-1980
• 1981, Castañeda v. Pickard– in a case of
violation of civil rights under the Equal
Education Opportunities Act of 1974;
• Court verdict:
– Emphasis on English language ability did
not violate appropriate implementation;
– sound educational theory anchoring school
plan;
– adequate resources and personnel;
– program reflecting sound practices and
language and academic results.
1980 to Present
•Reagan: preservation of native languages
was anti-American--funds for English
immersion programs increased;
• Lau’s regulations were terminated as
were compliance reviews;
•US English (1983), English Only, and English
First began to gain support;
1980-Present
• CA Proposition 187 was approved
restricting services to illegal immigrants;
• CA Proposition 227 passed: English
became the primary medium of
instruction for language-minority
students;
– Ron Unz, initiator of the proposition:
bilingual programs failed to teach children
English;
• Other states followed the CA example,
including AZ, CO, WA, and MA.
1980-Present
• 1999, President Clinton’s administration:
– restored funding for BE programs;
– dropped a bill article allowing only 2 years to
learn English, increasing funding for Englishonly immersion programs, and hindering the
implementation of two-way BE programs.
• 2001, President GW Bush proposed the
No Child Left Behind Act, replacing the
Bilingual Education Act (1968-2001)
1980-Present
• 1999, President Clinton’s administration:
– restored funding for BE programs;
– dropped a bill article allowing only 2 years to
learn English, increasing funding for Englishonly immersion programs, and hindering the
implementation of two-way BE programs.
• 2001, President GW Bush proposed the
No Child Left Behind Act to replace the
Bilingual Education Act (1968-2001)
1980-Present
• Creation of the Office of English
Language Acquisition, Language
Enhancement and Academic
Achievement for Limited English
Proficient students (OELA) in
charge of administering Title III of
the NCLB Act of 2001.