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Crystal Nestor
English 1A
Professor Gail Taylor
January 25, 2015
Bilingual Education
Bilingual Education is the practice of educating non-English speaking students in their
native language, while they are learning English. Being bilingual in the United States is no
longer viewed as being impressive. Since many people are now becoming bilingual, many claim
that being bilingual is not adequate enough to land you the job you are achieving. Although,
many claim that having a bilingual education brings you success, there are still reasons to why
not having a bilingual education can still bring you success. Many say that bilingualism brings
various problems, but those who believe that it does not will argue against it. There are many
successful people who have succeed in life without being bilingual, therefore proving that
bilingual education is not needed to succeed, or even as important people say it is.
Before the 1960s, based on a couple of standardized intelligence test scores that had
been done, bilingual students were viewed as being disadvantaged. In an article titled Bilingual
Education by Rebecca Callaban and Soria E. Colomer, mentioned that, yes students were
considered disadvantaged because they were bilingual in the 1960s, but that has changed. They
claim that, Peal and Lambert (1962) conducted a landmark study that controlled for student
background variables and found that the intellectual experience of the bilingual outpaced that of
the monolingual in concept formation, mental flexibility, and intellectual capacity. Numerous
studies since then have confirmed these findings (August & Hakuta, 1997) suggesting the long-

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term benefits for bilingual education. (Callaban & Colomer 3) This proves that being bilingual
is no longer a disadvantage; instead it only proves that being bilingual can make a person react
more appropriate in situations, both mentally and intellectually. In a sense, being bilingual can
make a person slightly smarter than a monolingual student.
Others will agree that being a bilingual student can be also be a pro because it allows
them to be able to communicate with other people from different parts of the world. In
Bilingual Education Pros and Cons they explain that, Bilingual education will provide
students with excellent learning particularly in dealing with other languages used by other races
in the world. This way, those students who are willing to enroll in this kind of program will have
an edge to other students who only know one language. (Para. 3)Not only will they be able to
communicate with other people from different cultures and different parts of the world, but it
will also motivate students who only know one language to join programs that will allow them to
learn other languages besides there own. Being bilingual can be beneficial because there are
situations when a person comes across someone who does not speak the same language that they
do.
Those whom speak more than one language are said to be most likely to get hired in a
job. As the worlds minority language speaking populations continue to rise, children who are
taught to speak multiple languages will become a hot commodity on the job market... The
children who are prepared to adapt to this rapidly changing world will be much better equipped
to face the problems of the future, as opposed to those who only speak one language, (Para 3)
mentions in List of Pros and Cons of Bilingual Education. In other words those who can speak

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multiple languages will be receiving higher paying jobs. They will also be more likely to be able
to solve problems faster, and adapt faster than those who only speak one language. Those who
speak more than one language have many benefits when it comes to being hired at a job, it gives
them first priority over those who only speak one language.
Although there are many that say that being bilingual can be a benefit, there are others
who will disagree. Many believe that bilingual students have a disadvantage when it comes to
many situations such as being labeled. Because bilingualism in the United States is often
[represented] with immigration, the term bilingual child may imply poor or uneducated
(Rizwan Ahmad), (Ahmad 3) was mentioned in the article Bilingual Education: Pros and
Cons. What Rizwan Ahmad means by poor and uneducated is that because most people
view bilingual students/children as poor or uneducated is because most of those who are
bilingual come from backgrounds in which their parents or even themselves are immigrants.
Because they come from this background they are automatically labeled as a poor or
uneducated person. This later becomes a problem because nobody wants to be labeled,
especially when it is something that is not the nicest.
Those who says that being bilingual is a problem also say that having a student learn to a
different language than the one they already know, only holds them back. In Bilingual
Education: Yes or No? they mention that, Bilingual education holds students back. Hearing
and speaking only one language is the best way to learn a new language fast. Students can speak
their native languages at home and with friends. School has to prepare them to be successful in
English-speaking settings. (Para. 3) They believe that students will be more successful if they

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focus on learning English rather than learning other languages. They also believe that if the
student wants to continue speaking their native language, they should do so at home or when
they are with friends. Students should speak English when they are in school so that they do not
fall behind.
Although, they might be partially correct, there are still ways that a student can learn to
be bilingual while still focusing on being successful. There are many solutions to how a student
can still become bilingual while not getting distracted from mastering the English language. One
of the many solutions that are available is simply having an optional class for learning a different
language other than English. There are students that still would like to learn a different language,
that should not be taken away from them, simply because some people believe that they will not
become successful. Some students are capable of learning at least one different language and
still are on track with making the English language a priority. Those who support bilingual
education argue that students that have arrived to the United States from a different country need
the bilingual system. They argue that they are not prepared for future success
Some problems to why the bilingual education system fails is because schools do not
think it is important, therefore they pay little importance to it and provide low quality. In
Bilingual Education in California both Connie Cleung, and Dagmara Drabkin mention that
that Why bilingual education has not been effective [is because] schools' apathy to provide
quality bilingual education.(Cleung & Drabkin 17) They do not put enough effort to the point
that it will be an effect to the situation, to solve that problem, schools should get more
incentives to raise English fluency in their students. Schools should make this fun and have

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rewards to those who put effort into learning a different language, it can give students
motivation, which can then have an effect.
Some argue that just because a student is fluent in one language, it does not mean that
they will automatically be fluent in another. But those that believe bilingual education is good,
argue that the solution to this will be practice. Learning a second language is the same process as
learning the first, it just takes practice, commitment, and patience. There are no excuses to why a
person cannot learn a second language. It can and should be the same exact process as to learning
the primary language.
However, there have been reports of successful stories of individuals who have succeeded
without having a bilingual education. In an article titled What Is Bilingual Education? they
mention that, [a] common argument against bilingual education is the observation that many
people have succeeded without it. This only proves that maybe bilingual education is not as
successful as those who are for it might say. Bilingual education should be made optional, and
those who choose to take may do so. Along with it being educational it should be given the
appropriate care and maintenance that it requires. For example I have older friends who are in
their way of becoming nurses, and business owners who only speak one language. This proves
that bilingual education is not needed to succeed. I believe it is up to the person, depending on
how they want to succeed that as far as they will, with or without bilingual education being part
of it.
Some will also argue that bilingual education is a waste of money, and that it costs too
much money. In Bilingual Education Pros And Cons: Both Sides Of The Coin they mention

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that, Bilingualism can be expensive; language classes, private schools, materials, etc. Over 12
billion dollars are being spent for bilingual education. Bilingual education was said to be a
failing experiment, because of this they decided to shut down the bilingual education system.
But, they also mention that schools do not take the bilingual education system serious. Therefore,
they do not pay much attention to it and give little of importance, which resulted the bilingual
education system to fail.
There are some controversys that say that bilingual education is complex and puzzling.
They believe that students are not prepared to be taught other languages. They also think that it
separates immigrants, since they are the ones that are mostly in need of bilingual education.
Although it creates some diversity, the system is said to be done rapidly. If they believe that
students cannot focus on other studies because they find it complicated, than maybe bilingual
education should not be important.
In conclusion, bilingual education can be both a pro and a con depending on the persons
point of view. Although, some argue that they bilingual education brings many problems and
situations that feel impossible to not find a solution, proponents will disagree. Those that
disagree will argue back that there are always solutions to the problems that come with bilingual
education. At the end of the day it all depends on a how bad person wants to be successful.
Bilingual education should not be viewed as a way to success, because in reality everyone can
still become successful without bilingual education being a part of their education.

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