Bilingual Education
Table of Contents
I. Abstract
II. Chapter II Literature Review
A. Background information on bilingual education
B. Two-way bilingual programs 1) Criteria 2) Literature of Review
III. References
Abstract
While the debate on benefits of bilingual education in the United States has continued
and different programs to improve bilingual education have been developed, the two-way
immersion program may be the most effective, in terms of English achievement. The
two-way model promotes achievement both academically and linguistically for both
language majority and minority students in the same classroom. This model has been
Receiving attention among educators and will be the subject of this review of bilingual
education
Chapter II Literature Review
Background
With Hispanics making up more than fifty percent of the language minority population of the United States (cited in Winster, Diaz, Espinosa, & Rodriguez, 1999), Spanish remains the most prevalent target language in U.S. bilingual programs {Christian, 1996). There are more than thirty million language minority individuals that reside in the United States, with an estimated projection of forty million by the end of the century (Fitzgerald, 1993). Christian (1996) indicates that there is a growing concern for the target language maintenance and development. With English being as powerful and dominant as it is, the minority language is fighting for its very survival especially with adolescent students. The students must negotiate between their bilingual system and other complex systems such as peer interactions, self-esteem, and the education system itself as a whole to keep the minority language alive (Soto, 1992). Societal attitudes towards two languages by native English speakers are attributed to the lack of progress in Spanish (Graham & Brown, 1996). The...
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