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Christina Reed
Professor Wilkinson
English 100
05 May 2015
Bilingualism
One in seven or 31.8 million people speak a language other than English in their home, according to the United States Census. (United States Census, 2009). People use this term in different ways. For some, bilingualism means an equal ability to communicate in two languages. For others, bilingualism means the ability to communicate in two languages but with the possibility of greater skills in one language. There is a lot of criteria that goes along with bilingualism. For this research paper, the criteria I focused on were: The history of bilingualism laws in the United States, pros/cons of bilingual education in America’s school system, who benefits the most from bilingual education programs; youths in elementary or the youths in high school, bilingualism in the labor market, and bilingualism in the media. In the society that we live in today, Bilingualism has become just as it is important to learn as to learn the language from the country of a person’s ethnical background. Bilingualism has come a far way in the last 20 years to where it is today. Whether we notice it or not bilingualism plays a part in every person’s day to day life. Bilingualism is highly researchable subject is given a lot of political, as well as ethical attention. Twenty years ago in the school system bilingual education programs were almost never heard of much in elementary schools for English speaking students to have to learn another language. Most often the kids who didn’t t know English well would leave the
Reed 2 classroom and go to another classroom for language programs such as E.S.L for example. What is the ESL program and does ESL even exists in the American School System today? ESL is a program for non-native English speakers to learn English and skills necessary for communicating in many different situations. The United States History goes back a lot further than one would think when programs such as ESL had begun in the American culture. Times are changing. Today E.S.L. and programs such as these no longer want to be the front runner of society’s issues, instead now it seems as though it is the opposite of what it was; this was that in America everyone must learn and know how to read, write and talk English. Now it’s more like “Oh I’m very sorry but you listed English as your only language, you do not meet the job qualifications our company is looking for.” It seems in America today, that you stand a way better chance of getting a job if you are bilingual.
HISTORY OF BILINGUALISM LAWS IN AMERICA 1664-1984
Bilingual education started way back in 1664, according to the website findlaw.com. By 1839 some states begun to adopt bilingual education laws. In the mid-1920s, many bilingual schools all over the United States were dismantled, and English-only instruction continued until the 1960’s, this is when the United States’ government stepped in again to sanction bilingual programs. During the 1960’s there was a huge rise in Cuban immigration. The first government-sanctioned bilingual program was initiated in Dade County, Florida. This program became an unofficial model for the nation. In 1966, a more professional organization was established called TESOL. TESOL stands for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. By 1968 congress passed the Bilingual Education Act under Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary
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Education Act. The act was the first national acknowledgment of the special educational needs of non/limited-English speaking children (findlaw.com, “The history of bilingualism”). Making headway into 1974, a suit by the Puerto Rican Legal and Educational Fund brought about a Federal court arrange that commanded the New York City Chancellor of Education to make a suitable bilingual program that secured exhaustive English direction and some guideline in Spanish. In that same year was the urgent Lau versus Nichols case. In 1984, projects supported by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) were re-composed into two divisions. Division 1 gave cash to extemporized understudies, furthermore vagrant instruction programs. Division 2 gave square concedes to the states under such laws as "Ethnic Heritage Act" and the "Crisis School Aid Act." Funding for Limited English Proficient (LEP) understudies originated from those projects, all according to History of bilingualism laws on findlaw.com (findlaw.com, “A History of bilingualism laws’).
BILINGUALISM IN THE AMERICAN SCHOOL SYSTEM
Society is at a steady level headed discussion; is Bilingual Education helping or harming? According to Professor Nena Torrez, Associate Professor in the Department of Language, with the developing number of settlers developing in the United States, the dialect obstruction between people appeared to be more noteworthy when it came to kids in the classroom. Bilingual instruction is an open door, not something that is to be underestimated. It has been said that bilingual instruction costs much more than English dialect training. Bilingual training requests extra staff preparing, instructional materials and organization. These sorts of projects cost more than the customary English programs, Professor Torrez argues. ESL (English as a second
Reed 4 dialect) is one of the extravagant projects and favored among the American educational systems. There are various projects that are not in backing of bilingual training and are trying their hardest to apply impact against it. The system English First, is an association contradicted to bilingual instruction and was initially established in 1986. They have three straightforward protests, which incorporate making English America's official dialect, giving each kid a probability to learn English and cut-out the expense of all unavailing multilingual arrangements. Bilingualism has had unfavorable criticism recently. Prop 227, the Unz Initiative, triumphed bilingual instruction from California schools supplanting it with the English Immersion program. There are numerous amazing focuses and contentions for every side of the tape (Nina, Torrez pg. 207-220, Academic Premiere, 2001).
James Flood and Diane Lapp, authors of Literacy Instruction for students, writes about another system called the Late Exit Bilingual Education, which they seem to believe in all is the more beneficial manifestation of bilingual training contrasted with the English Immersion program. There are more advantages and less unfavorable impacts with the Late Exit Bilingual Education program. There are numerous reasons why Late Exit Bilingual Education ought to be the inclination of state funded schools all around with raised minority populaces. One of the outcomes from the Late Exit Bilingual Education is that the understudies would have the capacity to support their refined society. Late Exit Bilingual Education gives the non-English talking understudies a capable measure of time to take in the English dialect .English is not a simple dialect to learn. Bilingual promoters accept that "bilingual understudies who first learn another dialect and afterward roll out an improvement over to English, do on an inclination to do too scholastically in the remote future as their English-just alternate extremes. Supporters feel
Reed 5 that regardless of the fact that understudies are not capable in English, the projects keep them from plunging sense in ranges and support their self-regard. This will issue them the assurance to look up some other time, on the off chance that they ought to need to. (Flood, Lapp (1996) pg. 356-359).
Stephen Emory, author of “There’s nothing wrong being Bilingual” featured in Eric Digest talks about that due to the fact that there are many diverse ethnic groups in the United States, bilingual education can make easy learning for people with different ethnic backgrounds. Bilingual education speed up the course of action by providing the fluency of the native language, bettering the academic efficiency of the second language learned, raising sense of assurance and self-esteem, making the progression into a new circumstance less terrifying, and promising. When the school opposes bilingual education, students set out to work in the world, will be slight efficient in fields that have need for technical or professional skills where language matters. Thus, the only possible career advantage of bilinguals will be demolished. Younger students seem to benefit the most from English Immersion classes, while older students, have benefited from bilingual education have benefited the least. The English Immersion program works best for younger students. High schools now require their students to take a foreign language before graduating, so why is this form of bilingual education accepted. Yet the elementary bilingual program are under constant criticism? Bilingual people are compensated in today’s society by the greater wages and more desirable positions. The ridicule of the bilingual education programs that provide students with this wonderful advantage is unfounded and usually due to misunderstandings. In today’s society, being monolingual no longer an enticing trait. Schools must continue to plead for children with this out of the ordinary gift of bilingual
Reed 6 education. Why take unremittingly a language that children will benefit from in the future? This a country of immigrants with different ethnic backgrounds and languages. If the confinement of ethnicity is supported, it will come through above the rest of the world. A person who is affluent in two languages is most plausible that they will come across more employment opportunities. (Stephen Emory, (2007), pg. 173-186) BINGUALISM IN THE JOB MARKET
By noticing the population in the United States, some of the common jobs and study abroad, society can see that being bilingual, especially with English and Spanish is a very marketable resource. There are many lines of work where knowing different languages are crucial. In most if not all possibilities of study, such as communications, hotel or restaurant management, retail, traveling magazines, documentary filming, anthropology, missionary work, and etc., it is beneficial in getting the job. According to Richard Fry and Lindsey’s Lowell research that is published in the Labor Law Journal, training in another language opens up the educated to a free knowledge bank of wealth that cannot be modified with a price. Apart from occupations, people who regularly travel abroad can side step many disappointments when they are able to speak in the native’s language. In general, learning other languages breaks down obstacles in conversation and can be a compelling aid in most occupations. In the past twenty years there has been an inflation in the number of Bilingual speakers needed in the US. There is no confusion about it, being bilingual, especially with English and Spanish is a recognition in today’s job market. (Fry, Lowell, 2013).

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While having a bilingual speaker on staff can be helpful to any business, there are undoubted organizations where it is particularly advantageous, including training and health awareness. To be better ready to teach understudies who communicate in English as a second dialect, it is critical that instructors and different teachers, similar to guides, are bilingual speakers. "Restorative practices ought to have a bilingual speaker on staff to impart therapeutic data obviously and precisely to patients," as per Marcia Layton Turner in "The Benefits of Being Bilingual" in Practice Link. Auto dealerships can likewise benefit from having bilingual staff individuals on the grounds that auto sales representatives must have the capacity to powerfully publicize the auto deal to clients (Marcia Layton, 1999, “The Benefits of Being Bilingual).
Stanford University directed a phone study. The territory they studied was based out of California. A percentage of the things that they gained from this overview were: Among telephone organizations there is a compensation differential for bilingual representatives. Sprint pays there bilingual representatives 5% all the more paying little mind to the position level. Outskirt watch obliges contempency in different dialects relying upon the region. Preparing incorporates a far reaching Spanish dialect direction. General society social administration organization expressed that they don't have no employing inclination however that they do pay individuals with bilingual abilities up to 1,200 more every year. A few school areas expressed that they didn't have an inclination unless that individual was requisitioning a bilingual showing position, however are dependably vigilant for educators that are bilingual. Work site centered for Latino's did not give careful consideration for occupations with bilingual aptitudes, however being bilingual was a prerequisite. There was no finical motivator however the greater part of the employments posted demonstrated that the candidate must be conversant in perusing and writing
Reed 8 in both English and in Spanish. Also, Bilingual aptitudes require the consideration that it is an extraordinary expertise that obliges significant time and vitality and that such abilities ought to be repaid monetarily in the same ways other talented specialists are. (Amanda Padilla, Professor University of Stanford, (2002) pg. 21-23). In an unyielding job market, it's smart to make yourself more beneficial to your employer. As the nation becomes more diversified, businesses are reacting to a greater number of people, both employee and customers, who didn’t speak English. Acquisition another language may not be the easiest life history -growing move, but it may be among the most beneficial.
BILINGUALISM IN EVERYDAY MEDIA By taking a glimpse at journals and newspapers, one can visually perceive that bilingualism is gradually a working its way in as a component of the way of life. Corporations are endeavoring to hearten an appeal in bilinguals such as Spanish among the native English verbalizers and to interact to those bilinguals such Spanish-verbalizers who can’t deduce English. The companies are checking out the language position of the population to accede on how to go about verbalizing with everyone. James McEnteer a blogger and once journalist for the Miami Herald newspaper in Florida, gives a great example this; the most recent ""Got Milk" ad features Marc Anthony, a Latin singer and artist. He has gained a reputation not only in the Latin Market, but a reputation here as well, after having relinquished one of his music albums in English. Marc Anthony verbalizes for the Latin community in the Cumulated States, but can additionally reach out to the people from the United States in English (James McEnteer (1999) Harvard International Press).
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According to James McEnteer, “The one major city in the United States where Hispanics dominate numerically, politically and economically" (McEnteer). WLTV, the local Univision station in Miami is "the only bilingual-language station that has actually been able to top its English counterparts" (McEnteer). It doesn’t just stop with television either, but can be seen throughout other medias as well. "Radio Unica" is the nation’s first 24-hour bilingual-language radio network. "In years past, The Miami Herald, a newspaper in Miami, had an insert within it in bilingualism. Now, due to increasing demands and an increase in the bilingual population, this section is no longer a section, but its own newspaper, El Nuevo (McEnteer). These are just a few examples of the bilingualism that is present in the different media areas.
CONCLUSION
Bilingualism arranges our consciousness of truth and induces us how to we see the world. Part of being human is knowing dialect. Correspondence permits us to associate and see perspective focuses from someone else's perspective. It bails us make sense of why a nonnative thinks and carries on in an alternate way. Dialect is simply a disclosure of convictions. Without having this basic foundation of dialect, numerous every day exercises are getting to be troublesome. It is highly unlikely that a monolingual instructor can oblige understudies that talk a dialect other than English with an adequate instruction. These constraints of dialect keep on creating issues. On the off chance that we don't acknowledge bilingualism here in the US and begin instructing individuals in diverse dialects, we are going to keep on having issues with Census checks, voting and welfare advantages, in light of the fact that individuals won't have the capacity to partake or contribute. At the point when adjusting the universe of instruction, drug, law and day by day life, one can see that Bilingualism is assuming a much bigger part than it
Reed 10 used to. So as to make sense of neighbors and companions, we can't permit a dialect obstacle to stop us. The time to be bilingual is currently; make yourself more productive. Simply take a look at general society in the United States. It will be anything but difficult to see that by being bilingual one can exploit numerous more open doors in mulling over abroad and in the work market.

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Work Cited
Turner, Marcia Layton. "Practice Link." Practice Link Magazine. Practice link, 1 Feb. 2009.
Web. 05 May 2015. <http://www.practicelink.com/magazine/featured/the-benefits-of-being-bilingual.

Padilla, Amanda M. "Rewarding Workplace Bilingualism." Hispanic Journal of Behavioral
Science (2002): 21-23. Rewarding Workplace Bilingualism. - Stanford University. Language Magazine, Oct. 2002. Web. 5 May 2015. http://web.stanford.edu/~apadilla/Padilla_Oct02a.pdf).

McEnteer, James. "In Miami, Mañana is now." Harvard International Journal of Press/
Politics 4.3 (1999).

Dreifus, Claudia. "The Bilingual Advantage." The New York Times. The New York Times, 30
May 2011. Web. 05 May 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/science/31conversation.html

History of Bilingual Education." Findlaw. Find Law, n.d. Web. 05 May 2015. http://education.findlaw.com/discrimination-harassment-at-school/history-of-bilingual-education.html United States. Department of Commerce. Commerce. 2015 Census Tests. Census, Dec. 2009. Web. 05 May 2015. http://www.census.gov/2015censustests.

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Torrez, Nena M. "Incoherent English Immersion and California Proposition 227." Urban Review 33.3 (2001): 207-220. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 May 2015

Flood, James, and Diane Lapp. "Literacy Instruction for Students Acquiring English: Moving
Beyond the Immersion Debate." Reading Teacher 50.4 (1996): 356. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 May 2015.

Emery, Steven D. "Citizenship and Sign Bilingualism: "... There Is Nothing Wrong With Being
Bilingual... It's A Positive and Fantastic Thing!" Deafness and Education International 9.4 (2007): 173-186. ERIC. Web. 6 May 2015.00