Sociology Bilingualism Issues - Essay Example

Sociology bilingualism Since the beginning of time we have shared our land, our knowledge, our beliefs, our languages among other things, with neighbor country natives and they have done the same with us, whether it was done willingly or having being forced by necessity, this has allowed us to learn, grow and survive. Since the late 60's bilingualism in the United States has become an issue that brings forward an even deeper underlying situation: the immigration status in the United States, making the term bilingualism much more than a simple dictionary definition, there are moral issues awakened by these terms. " Immigration has had a long history in the United States. For the most part, however, it was seldom treated dispassionately even when an attempt was made only to ascertain the pertinent facts and their reliability" (Smith & Edmonston, 1998) The option of bilingualism is not offered in the school system with the strength and emphasis that it should for children to become as knowledgeable of a different language, and understand the materials given in their native one. In some cases bilingualism as a class in a curriculum is considered as a transitional one with it's ultimate goal to push the student to choose just one language as primary and sole, for their examination, graduation and finally the end of their education. "In contrast to the Canadian context, bilingual education in the United States exists primarily as a means to aid the transition of immigrant and linguistic minority children into English" (Meyer & Fienberg, 1992.) Bilingualism then we see that goes beyond a mere program in a classroom on a school for an hour daily, it has become a moral issue. What are the consequences of this battle Who pays the consequences of this battle You would then have to analyze and question the real long-term effects on the children. Forced by their parents whom have immigrated to this country believing that their only opportunity for survival is to speak this new country's language perfect, thus by making them as far as possible from their countries of origin where so much hardship, poverty and lack of education was experienced. Having reached an average 6th grade, these parents come to this country to work manual jobs such as; waiting in restaurants, cleaning houses, construction jobs, hard labor, etc. they unawarely allow their culture; their past, their language and their country become buried in their memories making them stories of horrors passed along to their descendants. Is the government trying to hold on to an ideal Holding to an identity pure and untouched for centuries to come, and only scratches the surface of a language to apace its activists, its minority groups, yet not too subtle so that the purist who are against immigration, do not feel neglected by the system Bilingualism then has become a silent fight among those who believe America should remain the land of opportunities, the land dreamt and fought for by founding fathers such as Abraham Lincoln who believed in liberty, equality and welcomed the impoverished and uneducated to teach them and give them opportunities they do not have in their country. However these exact welcoming have then presented a hazard to the laws, the cohesiveness of the language and culture and the way of living, because this so called "Americanization" has been overwhelmingly time consuming and has left the country with overpopulated schools and undereducated students What has caused this bilingualism to rise in the United States of America and what have been the consequences of this, especially on the children in our educational system We must first trace the origin of bilingualism in schools, since the Bilingual Education Act in 1968 where it's ideal or purpose was to provide equal education and opportunities for those of minority language. The ideal being the assimilation of those who come from a different culture and education to the Americanized culture and education system. "Students must be able to understand what is presented to them in school. The words, examples, models, and demonstrations used in lessons, must communicate the information effectively to the students. Lessons must build on the language, skills, and concepts that students already know" (Leighton, Hightower & Wrigley, 1995) If we were to explore with much more depth the reasons behind this ideal at a simple gaze we can see there is an underlying situation which is much more intense, " The general assumption is guided by an implicit deficit model: to advance socially and economically in the United States, immigrants need to "become American" in order to overcome their deficits in the new language and culture." (Edmonston, B., 1996) We then should ponder on the history of immigration itself to the American soil. In US folklore it is believed that the natives were originally from the northeast Asia area about 20,000 years ago. The speculations continue with tales such as that Americans traveled from Europe and it's vicinities and these new tenants killed off the entire Native American community populating it then with their own alien kind and dispersing themselves then among the entire country Others believe that. Around the year 1500 ac. there were great migrations of Europeans, which coexisted with the Native Americans peacefully. "Where two races occupy a country side by side, it is not correct to speak of one type as changing into the other. Even if present in equal numbers one of the two contrasted types will have some small advantage or capacity which the other lacks toward a perfect adjustment to surroundings."(Grant, 1916) Later came the colonization era where Africans and Caribbean natives were brought by force to work on the lands, this, deepening even more and imposing the growth of several languages, cultures, religions etc. Making the country a common ground for a multicultural culture grown with the country itself. "Shifting demographics and major immigrant waves arising from multiple national and international developments have made repeated demands on American public school systems." (Leighton, Hightower & Wrigley, 1995) As per the National Center for Education Statistics: A census done between 1991-1992 and 2001-2002 revealed and overwhelmingly increase in students who needed assistance and were considered to have the English language as a secondary language. In states like Georgia the growth is determined to be 671% change in it's children's population from 7,955 in 1991-02 to 61,307 by 2001-02, or like North Carolina that in 91-92 its population was 7,026 and by 01-02 grew to 52,835 a 652% increase. In the school year 2001-02 the number of students that received the English Language Lerner or ELL (a program that works with children whom English is a new language) services was 3.7 million or 7% of all students In the 2003-04 school year the services were provided to 3.8 million students or 11% of all students an increase of 4% of students As of 2006 46% of all schools in the United States have ELL students, with certain states having larger numbers than others (for example, 87% of Arizona schools, 90% of California schools and 96% of Hawaii schools have ESL students). Only 18% of all schools offer bilingual education programs and 43% offer ESL programs. However, 27% of these schools find it difficult or impossible to fill these teaching positions with qualified instructors. It is expected that by 2010 over 30% of all children in primary schools will come from homes where English is not the primary language and will probably require the ELL services. Although it's apparent increase in the United States alone, it is selfish to imply that this is the only country that is so often visited from immigrants of other countries. "Linguistic diversity is not a characteristic of the past. There is scarcely a country in the world today that could claim to be monolingual in any real sense, with no linguistic minorities, no significant dialect variations." (Goodman, Goodman & Flores, 1979) Is this a mechanism for assimilation Some say the key for assimilation is politics; others believe that is language "The key to assimilation, of course, is language. The real threat to the United States is not immigration per se but bilingualism and, ultimately, biculturalism." (Krauthammer, C., 1995) If we were to go around the fact that assimilation in this case would consist on teaching the English language to the immigrants and make them "Americanized." The mechanism for assimilation maybe: to teach only the surface of any given language to apace activists in minority groups, yet not to subtle to awaken those who believe that the American culture and costumes maybe at risk. "Today, the annual tidal wave of over a million immigrants (legal and illegal) is endangering our American way of life. Currently, fewer than 15% of our immigrants come from Europe and share the heritage that made America strong. A majority of today's immigrants are (consciously or unconsciously) undermining our customs, our culture, our language, and our institutions." (Americans for immigration Control, Inc, 2008) Is this type of education necessarily accompanied by a multicultural approach The multicultural education in schools is not necessarily a consequence of the bilingual education. Yet as the school system furthers itself in allowing and welcoming the ever-growing minority groups, assisting them with their education, offering bilingualism as part of their curriculum, they continue to make these groups comfortable enough for their peers to continue arriving. "Cultural rights are thus inalienably part of the rights of man. They are also, therefore, part of the rights of a people to survival, to self-determination, and to development, because a people consists of humans brought together as members of a society, formed by a particular culture and history." (Fernandez, 1994) And as this symbiosis continues, so does the need to accommodate the needs that these students bring to their classrooms. Students coming from a different culture need to be understood to better improve their social skills and manners, and this is accomplished by changing their curriculum and adding then as part of their educational offering, a better understanding, in depth investigation of different cultures, religions, beliefs. "Freedom and tolerance have permitted religious and cultural minorities who were marginalized or persecuted in their homeland to maintain a distinctive way of life free of fear" (Thernstrom & Thernstrom, 2002) Having then a multicultural approach in their educational goals with all of the students, including those of American origin. If this type of education accompanies a multicultural approach, does it block assimilation and legitimate differences that could eventually fracture the cohesion of the United States This so called situation derived from the on going battles of bilingualism taught in schools then poses yet another issue; that there is in fact a battle for assimilation growing, making this gap between the native and the alien even deeper, because to acknowledge its mere existence removes the blindfold for those who still believe that there is no conflict developing between those who believe that whoever crosses the border by land, air or water, should mold themselves to our culture, our language and lifestyles, And there are those who believe that we must be as welcoming as possible molding ourselves to the ever growing multicultural population. By allowing this biculturalism some believe they are being assaulted and imposed alien languages, cultures and institutions allowing foreigners to abolish what they have fought to preserve; free speech, democracy, freedom to worship given to them by the ancestors utmost believers that this new great nation under god shall remain with liberty and justice for all. Thus taking this battle further into a struggle to maintain and preserve their heritage rather and allowing this new multicultural way of life as a step in the long stairway that becomes evolution, not only of a language, but of a country as well. You would then need to question, how much of this great, ideal country has become what it has precisely because of the different cultures, languages, ways of life now molded into one great nation. As we once again tackle bilingualism we do with it's underlying theme of immigration; therefore if we question the long-term effects of bilingualism, we question the effects of immigration as well. "Immigration has consequences for all these aspects of population change. In its relatively large flows and wide variety, immigration as the United States experiences it adds both to the numbers of people in the nation and to their diversity." (Smith & Edmonston, 1997). But as history repeats itself over and over, to simply state that because of the rise of bilingualism in our school system may present a risk of blocking the on going assimilation, I would argument that there is no way to stop that effect from happening. Yes, as it grows it will encounter countless battles along the way, some may take this situation to the highest of forums or government branches, but to be able to block it, stop it, and slow it down it would be safe to say that is almost impossible. We as human beings have been characterized by being in constant evolution, growth, learning, etc. This assimilation process is to be understood as the evolution of the sole culture, the growth of the country allowing it to expand and welcome different types of cultures, languages, religions and races. For this has been the history of this nation, the constant flow of immigrants, whether they arrive from Europe, The Caribbean, Africa or Asia it has always remained that way. It is, history itself on the making. To go as far as to say that the multicultural approach may indeed affect the cohesion of the United States as a country once again relies on the eye of the beholder. This is a far more deep issue than just to state that a new language is being imposed or taught in the school system, even further than the fact that now the American children are obliged to learn from different cultures because the government is accommodating immigrants and making them feel welcome, understood and in times, protected. For some it has become a matter of preserving what the American people have worked for in all of it's history such as Thomas Jefferson once expressed "was concerned that unrestricted immigration of peoples from lands unacquainted with the principle of representative government might undo the careful work of our Founding Fathers." The immigration welcoming has presented a hazard to the laws, the cohesiveness of the language and culture and the way of living, because this so called "Americanization" is overwhelmingly time consuming and has leaves the country with overpopulated schools and undereducated students as groups like AIC or American for immigration Control inc, believe "If our borders are not effectively controlled and the rule of law upheld, will we truly be a "United States" in another 10 to fifteen years Or will we become a balkanized, poorer, multicultural society with our European heritage erased" (2008). While the situation at times seems out of control and the immigration numbers continue rising. "Amazingly, this "country of immigrants," as the politicians often put it, has a smaller share of foreign- born persons than countries thought to be far more "homogenous", including Great Britain, Switzerland, France, and even Sweden" ( Lincoln Simon, 1997). References Americans for Immigration Control Inc. (2008). A Brief History of Immigration. Retrieved December 5, 2008, from: http://www.immigrationcontrol.com/5c76217e-fbdb-47aa-b661- 7dc1693599b.aspx Edmonston,B. ed (1996) Statistics on U.S. Immigration: An Assessment for Data Needs for Future Research. Washington D.C: National Academy Press Fernandez, D.G. (2008). Cultural Rights are Human Rights. In Dy, M. B. Jr., (Ed) Values in Philippine: Philippine philosophical Studies, I Culture and Education. (Ch. 9). Washington D.C.: Council for Research in Values and Philosophy Goodman,K., Goodman, Y. & Flores, B. (1979) Reading in the bilingual classroom: Literacy and biliteracy. Maryland: National Clearinghouse Grant, M. (1916). The Passing of the great race or the racial basis of European history. NewYork : Charles Scribner's Son Krauthammer, C. (2005, June 17). Assimilation Nation. The Washington Post, p. A31 Meyer, M.M. & Fienberg, S.E. (1992) Assessing Evaluation Studies; The Case of Bilingual Education Strategies. Washington D. C.: National Academy Press Simon, J.L. (1997) The economic consequences of immigration into the United States. Maryland: University of Maryland Smith, J.P. & Edmonston, B. ed. (1998) The Immigration Debate. Washington D. C: National Academy Press Smith, J.P & Edmonston, B. (1997) The New Americans: Economic, Demographics and fiscal effects of Immigration. Washington D.C.: National Academic Press Thernstrom, A. & Thernstrom, S. (2002) Beyond the color line: New perspectives on race and ethnicity in America. California: Standford University U. S. Department of Education (1995) Model Strategies in Bilingual Education: Professional Development. Washington D. C: Leighton, M. S., Hightower, A.M. & Wrigley, P. Bibliography Edmonston,B. (1996) Statistics on U.S. Immigration: An assessment for data needs for future research. Washington D.C: National Academy Press Fernandez, D.G. (2008). 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C.: National Academy Press National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Educational Programs. (2008). Growth of Ells from 1991-92 to 2001-02 retrieved: December 6,2008 from: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/policy/allstates/growthtable.htm Romaine, Suzanne. (1995). Bilingualism. United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Smith, J.P. & Edmonston, B. ed. (1998) The Immigration Debate. Washington D.C : National Academy Press U. S. Department of Education (1995) Model strategies in Bilingual Education: Professional development. Washington D. C: Leighton, M. S., Hightower, A.M. & Wrigley, P. Worthy, J. & Rodriguez Galindo, A.(2006) Mi hija vale dos personas: Latino immigrants parents' perspectives about their children's bilingualism. Gonzalez, J. (Ed.) Bilingual Research Journal (p.579-601). Texas: University of Austin. Read More