EDUCATION

Study into Bilingual Education System

Study into Bilingual Education System

Annotated Bibliography

Ascher,C. (March 1991) "Testing Bilingual Students: Do We Speak the Same Language?" PTA Today pp. 7-9

The writer discusses cultural and linguistic bias issues in bilingual testing system, he also traces out options for administering tests to bilingual students, and problems associated with these options. The study is to evaluate critically the concept, consequences, pros and cons of the bilingual education system.

Bilingual education is a model of educating students in public schools in their native language and in English. The goal of bilingual programs is the attainment of biliteracy. Biliteracy includes communicative and academic literacy skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in one's native language and in English. Within this model, a student's native language and culture are valued and recognized as assets to learning and society. Bilingualism is achieved in most programs in which a student's native language/literacy is the foundation for transitioning to English only or mainstream classroom instruction(Ascher, 1991).

Ascher, C. (May 1990) Assessing Bilingual Students for Placement and Instruction (ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education #65

The author explains the difficulty of assessing a bilingual student's dominant language and the influence of one language on another, as well as effects of this influence on educational and psychological assessment. The author also discusses misdiagnosis due to linguistic bias in tests and p[olitical influence.

Through political domination, the subordination of vernacular languages, trade, colonization, emigration, education, religion, and the mass media, the English language has penetrated to the furthest reaches of the globe. Approximately 375 million people in the world speak English as a first language, as David Graddol reports, with the number of English second-language speakers estimated by David Crystal as 350 million. The numbers who have learned English as a foreign language varies widely, with estimates ranging from 100 million to 1,000 million depending on how much “learning” has occurred. In all, Crystal's middle-of-the-road estimate is 1,200 to 1,500 million English speakers in the world. In this context, the increased emphasis on English in U.S. education seems understandable. (Ascher, 1990)

Baca, L. & Cervantes, H.T. (1989) The Bilingual Special Education Interface, Columbus, OH: Merrill

The author holds the view that bilingual education can aid the establishment of a more secure identity at a local, regional, and national level. Welsh, Maori, or Native American Indian identities may be enhanced by the heritage language and culture being celebrated and honored in the classroom. Developing a Korean American, Bengali British or Greek Australian identity can be much aided by “strong” forms of bilingual education, and challenged or even negated by “weak” forms. Eighth, in some regions (e.g., Catalonia and Scandinavia), there are economic advantages for having experienced bilingual (or trilingual) education. Being bilingual can be important for securing employment in many public services, particularly when a customer interface requires switching effortlessly between two or more languages.

Thus, bilingual education is increasingly seen as delivering relatively more marketable employees than monolingual education does, as Nadine Dutcher explains(Baca, 1989 ).

Baker, K. & Rossell, ...