WestCollections Repository (Western Connecticut State University)

Abstracts

De Souza, Sarah

Honduras

Parmon, Patricia

Social Sciences Journal66
There has been great controversy in the United States over whether immigrant children should be able to attend schools 
in this country, and this paper focuses on bilingual education in America’s education system to explain why there have been 
concerns with these programs.  Most Americans are not compliant with funding these bilingual education programs and feel 
that children who do not speak English should be mandated to learn, speak, and write English in America’s schools.  Even 
though many Americans are hostile toward immigrant children filling classrooms in America, there is evidence that children 
who do not speak English as their native language are more successful and socially adapted if they retain their bilingual skills 
while learning English.  Therefore, immigrant children in America’s schools should be able to maintain their own culture and 
native language, but should also become fully proficient and literate in the English language in order to achieve a successful 
education. 
The rise of immigration in the United States and the growth of the non-English speaking population have become con-
cerns for America’s education system. Children who cannot communicate in English because their primary language is not 
English are labeled as Limited English Proficient, or LEP. Children learning English in the classroom are also known as English 
Language Learners, or ELL. According to The Urban Institute’s Immigration Studies Program, by as early as 2015 children 
of immigrants will constitute 30 percent of the nation’s school population (Honigsfeld 167). This rising number has caused 
schools in America to adjust by creating English language programs for LEP students. 
The increasing immigrant population in the United States has also precipitated a rise in conflicts about education.  The 
population of non-speaking English children has caused many social and cultural problems, and in American society, two dif-
ferent philosophies have emerged.  Some people believe that every person in the United States should only use the English lan-
guage; and some people believe that every person has a right to speak their own native language. There are those who strongly 
believe that if you are living in the United States then you should become an American and assimilate into the culture by learn-
ing to speak the English language.  Opponents of bilingual education feel that if LEP students are given the option to receive 
instruction in their native language or learn English they will choose their native language and never learn English.  James 
Crawford, an author who has specialized in the politics of language for over 20 years, states: 
  Today’s immigrants appear to be acquiring English more rapidly than ever before. While the 
  number of minority-language speakers is projected to grow well into the next century, the number 
  of bilinguals fluent in both English and another language is growing even faster. Between 1980 and 
  1990, the number of immigrants who spoke non-English languages at home increased by 59 percent, 
  while the portion of this population that spoke English very well rose by 93 percent.(1)
Bilingual education has been part of American education since 1839. It involves teaching academic content in two lan-
guages with varying amounts of time spent in both the native language and secondary language depending on the specific pro-
gram. Over the years, the argument of whether or not immigrant children should learn to read, write, and speak English pro-
ficiently in the school system has been fraught with controversy. Cultures and opinionated philosophies come into play when 
arguing about immigrant children in America’s schools. Even though bilingual education programs have caused great contro-
versy in the United States, immigrant children in America’s schools should be able to maintain their own culture and native 
language, but should also become fully proficient and literate in the English language in order to achieve success in education.
In 1839, Ohio became the first state to provide students with instruction in English as a second language. But by the 
mid-1920s bilingual education ended and English-only instruction continued for LEP students. The Bilingual Education Act 
of 1968 passed during an era of growing immigration and mandated schools to provide bilingual education programs to LEP 
students because students in English-only classrooms were failing academically and dropping out of school at concerning rates. 
However, this act was abolished in 2001 and replaced with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The main goal of the 
NCLB Act of 2001 is to improve the performance of primary and secondary schools through standardized testing, although 
specific provisions have been made regarding bilingual education. Because immigrant children can no longer receive full 
instruction in their native languages in the classroom, there have been many programs specifically constructed to teach them 
the English as a second language.  Abedi writes,  “The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires that all children, 
Educating Immigrant Children: Bilingualism in America’s Schools
Patricia Parmon
Western Connecticut State University 67
Patricia Parmon
including English language learners (ELLs), reach high standards by demonstrating proficiency in English language arts and 
mathematics by 2014” (1). Even though all students who are learning English have a three-year time frame to take assessments 
in their native language, they must demonstrate proficiency on an English-language assessment after those three years. This 
causes great stress on the parents, children, and schools that deal with this issue.  
The NCLB Act could make it harder for schools to achieve adequate yearly progress because students who do not speak 
English well hinder the progress of schools meeting the goals of this legislation.  The English proficiency of LEP students 
is among the goals of schools with high numbers of LEP students.  This could be troublesome for these particular students 
because schools may rely less on dual language programs which help LEP students learn English while also being taught in their 
native languages.  Capps states, “Students who do not score well on tests, such as late entering immigrants and those who have 
difficulty learning English, may grow discouraged by their poor performance and possibly drop out of school” (2).  High LEP 
dropout rates create additional problems for schools that have many LEP students enrolled in them, and as a reaction to this 
specific challenge, the U.S. Department of Education recently approved NCLB plans for several states permitting students to 
remain in the English Language Learner subgroup until they have reached the proficient level on the English language arts sec-
tion of the state achievement test for several consecutive years (Abedi 1).  On another note, the NCLB Act could help programs 
for LEP students since they are required to pass the same standardized tests as English-only students.  Title I of the NCLB Act 
mandates that schools must submit assessment results for students in these protected classes as well as be held accountable for 
improvements in the performance of these students (Capps 1).  However, Altshuler and Schmautz report that we need to con-
sider the effects of standardized testing on culturally diverse students, because these students have historically scored lower than 
white students on standardized tests and dropped out of school without receiving a high school diploma (Sanchez 333).
There are consequences that schools can suffer from if the performance of students in these groups is proven to decrease 
over an extended period of time.  Schools can be subjected to government intervention or suffer from parents sending their 
children to another school.  According to the U.S. Department of Education, consequences could lead to school restructur-
ing and possibly even closure.  “NCLB is likely to promote changes in curricula for LEP students—whether enrolled in dual 
language, bilingual, or English immersion programs—so these students can perform better on standardized content area assess-
ments” (Capps 1).  This legislation works in LEP students’ favor because bilingual education programs seem to help test scores, 
and abolishing them may have negative consequences. According to Education Week, studies based on National Assessment 
for Education Process scores suggest that statewide mandates limiting Bilingual Education in California, Massachusetts, and 
Arizona have produced negative results.  
In order to achieve success in America’s education system, there are many different bilingual programs that are offered to 
immigrant children in schools of America. Some programs may be considered to be more effective than others, but depending 
on the school’s demographics, these programs should be chosen so that they will meet the academic needs of the diverse learn-
ers.  Programs such as bilingual education allow children to learn while still speaking their native language in the classroom.  
Other programs such as English as a Second Language (ESL) are taught mainly in English until the child is fully proficient in 
English.  Students in these separate classes receive instruction in English for part of the school day until they are ready to learn 
with the rest of the students in the classroom for the entire day. Some state education departments, such as New York’s, have 
developed closely monitored guidelines for the number of periods each English language learner is entitled to receive ESL ser-
vices (Honigsfeld 168).  
English immersion programs are frequently used, but rarely prove advantageous for students learning English.  In English 
immersion programs, LEP students are placed in classes where they receive English content instruction all day.  These English 
immersion programs are being increased in states such as Massachusetts, California, and Arizona.  California’s Proposition 
227 mandates that all children in California public schools will be taught English.  Similar to this, Arizona’s Proposition 203 
requires that “Children who are ‘English learners’ to be taught in English immersion classes during a temporary transition 
period not normally intended to exceed one year” (Honigsfeld 168).  Arizona’s Proposition 203 has caused civil rights prob-
lems because research indicates that one year of instruction is not enough time for children to learn English.  According to 
Education Week, “Cumulative and comparative studies based on National Assessment for Educational Progress scores suggest 
that statewide mandates limiting bilingual education in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts have produced ‘less-than-stellar’ 
results” (Mora 17). No matter the program, every student needs to be taught equally and effectively.  In a particular civil rights 
case, Lau vs. Nichols (1974), Chinese American students from California claimed they were not receiving help in school due to 
their inability to speak English.  A Supreme Court decision was made that protected the civil rights of LEP, and Mora notes, 
Social Sciences Journal68
Educating Immigrant Children: Bilingualism in America’s Schools
“One means of addressing these rights was through implementation of bilingual education programs, which give students the 
opportunity to learn academic content in their native language while they gain competence in English” (14).
Sociological and educational researchers Portes and Rumbaut both support the notion that immigrant students who retain 
their bilingual skills and their ties to their parents’ culture of origin are more academically successful and socially well-adapted 
in the long term than their peers who become monolingual in English (Mora 16).  Bilingual education programs have been 
shown to be effective according to a research brief by Center for Research on Education.  One of the two key findings related 
to program choice is that 90/10 and 50/50 Two-Way Bilingual Immersion Programs helped students score above 50 percent of 
the other test takers in their own language and in English in all subject areas.  The 90/10 Program allows students to receive 90 
percent of instruction in their native language, which is then gradually reduced to 50 percent.  In the 50/50 model the students 
are taught in both their native language and English for equal amounts of time.  This research brief also found that English lan-
guage learners who attended English-only programs showed large decreases in math and reading achievement, and the largest 
number of dropouts came from this group (Honigsfeld 80).  
There is no evidence that bilingual education hinders the process of an immigrant child learning English, and bilingual 
education actually can provide advantages such as enhancing cognitive thinking skills.  An example of a school that success-
fully implemented the 90/10 learning model into their classrooms is City Elementary School, a K-5 school located in Texas 
that begins a dual-language program in Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten. During the first few years the goal is to present 
90 percent of the content instruction in Spanish and 10 percent in English.   87.8 percent of the student population at City 
Elementary School is Mexican American with 29.4 percent of the population speaking Spanish as the primary language in the 
home, and after the introduction of the 90/10 Program, Alanis noted that: 
  Research studies on this model have indicated high academic achievement for both groups of 
  students. Scores for the fifth-grade TAKS test in English reading indicated that students at City 
  Elementary consistently outscored students across the district.  Students exhibited high scores in 
  the 80 to 100 range. This finding is impressive given that students were tested in English, even 
  though students in the dual language program did not receive formal English reading until the 
  third grade. Consequently, Spanish did not hinder the development of English for either the 
  English-dominant or Spanish dominant group.(313)
The 90/10 Program at City Elementary proves that advantages of bilingual education should not be ignored.
Opponents of bilingual education claim that when an immigrant child begins his or her education in America, he or she 
should be placed in an English-only classroom.  These people feel this way because they believe Americans should not adjust 
the school system to accommodate immigrant children who were not born in the United States.  Unfortunately, those who do 
not agree with bilingual education cannot see what they are truly doing to these students and to American schools.  Sanchez 
writes, “The English immersion approach’s negative effects have been found to manifest in secondary school (middle school 
and high school) when students begin to move toward higher levels of English syntax, lexicon, and academic language regis-
ters” (332).  Students need a strong foundation in their native language to achieve success in their education as well as learning 
English.   
Despite the controversy of bilingual education programs in the United States, immigrant children in America’s schools 
should be able to maintain their own culture and native language in addition to becoming fully proficient and literate in the 
English language.  The number of school-age children who spoke a language other than English reached almost 10 million in 
2004, and with this expanding population, schools across America should figure out which programs are the best models for 
educating immigrant children, since the demographics vary across the country (Alanis 305).  Statistics show that only 13 per-
cent of English language learners who received English acquisition beginning in Kindergarten were reclassified as fluent English 
proficient by third grade (Mora 18).  Therefore, more things must be done to improve the education of immigrant children, 
such as targeting educators.  Teachers must have the sufficient professional skills in how to use LEP curriculum to instruct stu-
dents in English, and more books in English should be offered to immigrant children so that they can practice English at home 
on their own time and at their own comfort level. Many immigrants do not have access to books or other educational materials 
because of their financial situations, and it would benefit LEP students to further their practice of the English language as bilin-
gual education is an advantage to native English speaking students as well.
Western Connecticut State University 69
Patricia Parmon
References
Abedi, Jamal and Ron Dietel. “Challenges in the No Child Left Behind Act for English Language Learners.” 
National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing. 2004.
Alanis, Iliana, and Mariela A. Rodriguez. “Sustaining a Dual Language Immersion Program: Features of Success.” 
Journal of Latinos and Education 7.4 (2008): 305-319. 
Capps, Randy. “The New Democracy of America’s Schools.” The Urban Insititute, 9 May 2010.  
<http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/311230_new_demography.pdf>. 
Crawford, James. “Ten Common Fallacies about Bilingual Education.” ERIC Digest, 1998. 11 Apr. 2010.
Honigsfeld, Andrea. “ELL Programs: Not ‘One Size Fits All.’” Kappa Delta Pi Record 45.4 (2009): 166-171.
Karathanos, Katya. “Exploring US Mainstream Teachers’ Perspectives on Use of the Native  Language in Instruction with 
English Language Learner Students.” International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 12.6 (2009): 615-633.
Mora, Jill Kerper. “From the Ballot Box to the Classroom.” Educational Leadership 66.7 (2009): 14-19.
Sanchez, Heliodoro T., Jr., and Mary Ann Sanchez. “The Politics of Illegal Immigration, Bilingual Education, and the 
Commodity of the Post-Technological Society.” Educational Forum 72.4 (2008): 329-38.


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