Ianco-Worrell (1972), for example, found that children who are exposed to a bilingual environment from an early age are more skilled at learning new words and their meanings in their first language.
Of course, there are other ways to help children increase their vocabulary in their first language. However, those other methods do not also bestow the many other benefits of bilingualism. And while there are additional costs to bilingual classrooms, proficiency in a second language helps students gain admission to universities as well as to be more competitive in the job market.
Students who become bilingual early on in school will bring those skills to the workplace and improve workplace productivity. Speaking multiple languages offers a competitive edge in the job market and provides a cultural bridge for successful workplace relations. Because of this, demand for bilingual speakers in the workplace is increasing and bilingual communication skills increase economic competitiveness for the individual, the company, and the nation. When Jennings (1987) wrote that bilingualism had become -- already a generation ago -- as important and math and analytic skills, he was writing presciently of needs that would only grow. While those skills too remain important, as the world grows more inter-related, language skills have become increasingly important, a fact reflected by the push that other nations are making to teach their students foreign languages.
Finally, bilingualism allows for peaceful conflict resolution. Being able to communicate in another person's native language increases clear communication and facilitates conflict resolution and...
Bilingual Education Predicting the effect of bilingual education on student outcomes with the work done by Huddy and Sears, "Opposition to Bilingual Education: Prejudice or the Defense of Realistic Interests?" is problematical. The authors investigated the bases for parental prejudice against bilingual education; they did not investigate in any detail what the educational outcomes might be for the children involved. They made only incidental reference to the possibility that Latino, African-American
Bilingual Education The first federal Bilingual Education Act (BEA) was signed into law in 1968. This study sought to determine what effects the BEA had on local and state school districts in California, some who had previously initiated programs to address the Limited English Speaking (LES) students who were becoming an integrated part of the educational system in California. The study is important to the proposed paper in that it shows
Bilingual Education in Los Angeles According to the Los Angeles Times articles, "Hundreds Wait for Bilingual Education," by Louis Sahagun and Nick Anderson (October 23, 1998), there are hundreds of students awaiting arrangements for bilingual classes; these students' parents have petitioned the Los Angeles (LA) school system to provide the resources and facilities their children need to learn the English language outside of total immersion classrooms. This article examines the impact
Bilingual Education America is a land of immigrants and has, therefore, always required bilingual education programs in some form or the other. In fact, bilingual education programs have existed in America since the late eighteenth century, when European immigrant children received educational instruction in their native languages. Recently, however, the issue of bilingual education appears to have grown somewhat contentious. This is evident by the initiatives taken by the States of
The factors affecting cost are numerous and not always easily identifiable; in addition to the purchasing of bilingual textbooks and other instructional supplies, there is often a perception that bilingual instruction leads to a greatly increased workload and number of class hours, and therefore a greater overall strain on the often-tight budgets of public education institutions and districts (Mora 2006). It is primarily the transitional costs, however, that many
In terms of efficacy, Krashen addresses the position that bilingual education is not as effective as suggested by its proponents. The evidence presented by this position is however not sufficiently convincing to make a substantial case for immersion programs as being superior to bilingual curricula. Krashen admits that there are still a number of problems associated with bilingual education that need to be addressed. The largest of these is the accessibility
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