Cover Letter
I am writing this to express how much I have been able to enjoy this class so far. I was only able to walk forward in my college journey due to the lessons I’ve learned in this class and the experiences I have gained through college so far. One of the most meaningful insights I have gained while doing this lesson was not exactly related to my class or something I have learned in class.
It was about the significance of English in my daily life, knowing English was something I have taken for granted my entire life my teachers in india had already prepared me for the world that was beyond mine from an age I could even barely remember tough there were some bad interacting I have had with English which I do not wish to encounter again every single bit of it had made me who I am today and have made me a stronger person who can live in a society which is diverse and where people have different opinions about you. Some good and some bad. But something I have learned is that not everything has to be good and some of these “bad” experiences did more good for me than any of the good experiences as criticism had made me want to spend more time making me a better version of myself just to prove them wrong.
Even knowing the littlest bit of English was helpful to me in order to live in this society and has helped me and my family to better integrate with America.
This assignment was something I just did because that was the only thing I could come up with. I had little to no motivation or drive in me in order to this topic either but as I started off to explore how effective bilingual education was I was able to delve more into how it worked and what impacts it had on people. This slowly forced me to change my topic into something better and also something I started to enjoy. Every bit of information I had obtained for this research paper has also had a significant impact on my understanding of how society worked. It taught me how important a skill that I took for granted was and how much importance it had to some people who wished to have that skill. It also taught me how many opportunities I was able to get due to this skill.
This assignment was also different in a way that it prevented me from doing something that I have been doing since the start of this class. Which was the use of “non standard” English. I realized in order to convey the message and insights I had gained from this research the “Standard” English was the only method available to me and I was Able to learn that everything has a place of its own and that i don’t have to force myself to use the other forms of English and that everything has a place of its own.Which is why I am writing this cover letter in “My English” which I had gained from the countless interacting and experiences I had.
Kenny Joseph
Professor Talero
Engl 11000
14 November 2023
Bilingual education and Language Politics. Exploring the Impact of Bilingual education
In today’s society with the ever growing numbers of immigrants coming to america it is no wonder bilingual education has been considered by schools all over america as a method for teaching immigrant children in order to provide them with opportunities.While the goal of bilingual education is to embrace diversity and to promote inclusivity, there are notable concerns about its impact. This essay asserts that bilingual education might pose challenges to students in acquiring proficiency in English, potentially resulting in higher dropout rates, reduced future earning potential, and an increased susceptibility to engaging in criminal activities.While bilingual education, with its well-intentioned goals, seeks to embrace diversity, my examination reveals that Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) will without fail contribute to social and economic disparities,hindering individual progress. In my view, TBE poses more challenges than benefits, acting as a barrier to students’ success rather than effectively supporting them. According to Massachuestts department of elementary and secondary education “a program designed to allow English learners to achieve long-term academic success through English-medium instruction in general education classrooms; provided, however, that the native language of the English learner is used to support the student’s development of English and content learning and is then gradually phased out of instruction as a student’s English proficiency increases.”(MDOE)
According to research conducted by Prof. Christine Rossell, an American author well known for her studies on school desegregation and bilingual education policy. In her scholarly article “The Educational Effectiveness of Bilingual Education”. Implies that TBE or transitional bilingual learning is never a better option of teaching students with limited or no English proficiency over structured immersion and in her article she supports this claim by saying
These more negative findings for language than for reading suggest that a child is less dependent on school for many of the skills learned in reading-decoding, vocabulary, and understanding concepts-than they are for grammar. The fine rules of grammar, it appears, are learned mostly in school, and because they are more complex, they are more influenced by school time-on-task. Thus, these results suggest there is a risk that bilingual education students will incur a deficit in English grammatical rules because they have spent less time on them than have LEP children in an all-English environment. (Rossell pg-20-21)
According to the findings made by prof.Rossel, students in the TBE program are not able to learn English as it is heavily influenced by time spent in school learning the language and the TBE program prevents the students from gaining more experience with English because their classes are administered in their own native language which prevents them from learning English as effectively as others.
This is further supported in the claims made by Prof.Dylan Conger who is an American author known for her works that analyzes disparities in achievements between groups and evaluates policies aimed at addressing these disparities. In her scholarly article “Does Bilingual Education Interfere with English-Language Acquisition?”. Implies that TBE affects language acquisition in students by preventing them from being exposed to it and she says-
If one assumes that all language groups in bilingual education classes receive the same dose of native-language instruction, and that the sorting mechanisms into the program are the same, then the results from Table 4 would seem to suggest that enrolling in bilingual education interferes with English acquisition for students of all language groups.(Conger pg – 1115)
According to the finding made by prof.Conger TBE program interferes with English language acquisition. Enrolling students in any TBE class will prevent them from learning English and is overall detrimental to the student’s acquisition of English.
Overall both sources endorse the claims made by one another of TBE not being the most effective method of teaching students with limited English proficiency. Both of them highlight the negative impacts of TBE and how it prevents English language acquisition and argue Structured immersion methods which expose students to more English might be a better approach towards this issue.
Even in a society like America which is considered the “melting pot” of the world, English is still considered an indispensable skill in order to live here. Not knowing English can have many implications in their daily lives and also deny people of many opportunities that would have been provided to them. (Yates)
(Rossel Pg: 20)
While many might argue that the pros that come with TBE are undeniable such as students doing better in math. There are always better alternatives to TBE which are better for teaching children with limited English proficiency. One such example/program which is a lot more effective than TBE would be structured immersion. While TBE program has classes which teach children in their own language structured immersion program teaches children fully in English but it is in a pace where they can understand what they are being taught. Also the cons that come with TBE is extremely devastating for the children in their future, such as them not learning any English at all. In a school where children are only being taught in their native language they will not be able to study English which is a necessity in-order to live in a society like America. There are also other negative impacts that come with not knowing English.
Such as Dropping out of school, Engaging in criminal activities and also being isolated in school due to not being able to “fit in” which can cause other psychological problems for these students.
Prof.Dylan Conger, In her scholarly article “Does Bilingual Education Interfere with English-Language Acquisition?”.Implies that Immigrants who don’t know English earn less and experience more isolation. She says-Immigrants who never fully gain proficiency in English dropout of high school at higher rates, earn less in the labor market, and experience greater
social isolation than those who reach proficiency. (Conger pg-1118)
According to Prof Conger, people who don’t fully gain English proficiency have a higher chance to drop out, which will affect them further in the future as they will earn less than others.
This is further supported by David Bjerk is currently an Assistant Professor of Economics at Claremont McKenna College and an Adjunct Economist at the RAND Corporation. His research primarily focuses on crime and the criminal justice system, as well as issues of race and gender in the labour market. In his scholarly article “Re-examining the impact of dropping out on criminal and labor outcomes in early adulthood”. Implies that high school dropouts generally earn less than others and also engage in more criminal activities. He says-
“Not surprisingly, the results from this analysis confirm that, overall, high school dropouts indeed have substantially lower earnings in their early twenties and participate in much more crime in their early twenties than those who continue through to twelfth grade but otherwise have similar pre-dropout achievement and background characteristics”. (Bjerk Pg:111 )
In examining the impact of educational approaches on individual progress, the relation between high school dropouts and lower earnings, along with an increased likelihood of engaging in criminal activities during the early twenties, shows the consequences of TBE. This scenario serves as an illustration in support of the thesis that Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) contributes to social and economic disparities, hindering individual progress. Moreover, the focus on the immediate impact in the early twenties accentuates the urgency of addressing this issue within educational systems, aligning with the contention that TBE, with its good intentions, poses more barriers than benefits to students’ success. Overall, this straightforward analysis underscores the well-documented consequences of high school dropout, emphasizing the importance of educational attainment in shaping early adult outcomes.This is also reinforced by findings from schoolschedulingassociates.com who say “About 75 percent of America’s state prison inmates, almost 59 percent of federal inmates, and 69 percent of jail inmates did not complete high school.” which is very similar to the findings made by prof.Bjerk and Conger. As dropping out of high school can be a leading cause of promoting criminal activities in the students who dropped out as that is the only path open to them because dropping out can prevent them from getting many opportunities which would have otherwise been available to them.
The claims made by Prof Conger support what was found by Prof.Bjerk. Prof.Conger claims that not knowing English can lead to adolescents dropping out of school. The findings by Prof Bjerk further emphasizes the impact dropping out from school can have, such as them earning less in their future and also engaging in more criminal activities. According to the statistics found by “literacy mid south” High School dropouts are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested in their lifetime than people who graduate from high school. High school group outs are also 63% more likely to be incarcerated than college graduates with 4 year degrees.
Conclusion
In conclusion the discussion around bilingual education and especially TBE or transitional bilingual education, raises concerns on how effective it can be for educating students/children with limited English proficiency. Studies by professors Rossel and Conger suggest that TBE might not be the best option to educate immigrant students as it stops them assimilating with American society by preventing them from learning English.
While a few argue that TBE has some very good impacts such as higher math performance, the long-term effects of not knowing English on students have to be taken into consideration. Such as Earning less in their future and also engaging into criminal activities and also being 3.5 times more likely to get incarcerated. In light of those findings, other programs must be taken into consideration,including structured immersion, which teaches students in English at a pace they could understand.
Finally, the problems surrounding bilingual education, particularly Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE), prompts serious concerns about its effectiveness in educating students with limited English proficiency. TBE, defined by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is a program designed to allow English learners to achieve long term academic success through English-medium instruction in classrooms, with the native language being used to support the student’s development of English. However, its shortcomings become clear when compared to alternatives like structured immersion. Structured immersion, teaches students exclusively in English at a pace tailored to their understanding. On the other hand, TBE stops assimilation by administering classes in students’ native languages, preventing them from learning English. Despite providing higher math performance for students, the potential long-term consequences of TBE, such as lower future earnings, increased criminal activities, and higher incarceration rates, must be considered by policymakers exploring educational strategies need to learn about the impacts of TBE on students’ future lives beyond its immediate academic benefits and advocate for alternatives that prioritizes language proficiency and integration into society.
Works Cited
Jv. “The Relationship between Incarceration and Low Literacy – Literacy Mid.” South, Literacy Mid-South, 6 July 2022, www.literacymidsouth.org/news/the-relationship-between-incarceration-and-low-literacy#:~:text=High%20school%20dropouts%20are%203.5,with%20four-year%20college%20degrees.
Rossell, Christine & Baker, Keith. (1996). The Effectiveness of Bilingual Education. Research in the Teaching of English. 30.
Conger, Dylan. “Does Bilingual Education Interfere with English-Language Acquisition?” Social Science Quarterly, vol. 91, no. 4, 2010, pp. 1103–22. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42956450. Accessed 7 Nov. 2023.
https://medium.com/the-journey-together/what-is-our-culture-66b4ffd2b25cBjerk, David. “Re-examining the impact of dropping out on criminal and labor outcomes in early adulthood.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2011, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1933352.
Ronald E. Yates. “Does Our Diversity Portend Disintegration?” Ronald E. Yates, 1 June 2021, ronaldyatesbooks.com/2021/06/does-our-diversity-portend-disintegration/.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. “Transitional Bilingual Education Programs.” Transitional Bilingual Education Programs – English Learner Education, www.doe.mass.edu/ele/programs/tbe.html. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
