Bilinguaglism

Bilingual Education

With America's population being 311 million, the number of people living here who speaks little or no English increases almost every day. For example, English is a second language for millions of school children, according to the United States Department of Education. In a country with so many immigrants mainly who speak Spanish, it is very critical that Spanish is a mandatory language that is taught in the United States school systems. Most students attending public school are not exposed to Spanish until their freshman year in high school, yet more and more immigrants are coming to the States speaking Spanish. “Children who are learning to speak two languages follow patterns of learning. The sounds of the first language can influence how children learn and use a second language. It is easier to learn sounds and words when the languages you are learning are similar. Over time, the more difficult sounds and words will be learned” (ASHA). It is important for students to learn Spanish in elementary school because research has shown that children are more likely to retain what they learned if taught early in life.   In high school, students have their first language so ingrained in their heads that it becomes much more difficult to learn a second language.   It is vital for Spanish to be taught in the American school system and to be government funded so all students have an equal education, since Spanish will help students to communicate clearly and bilingualism opens the door to more job opportunities.
Education is a long-term process, which involves much more than just the English language. As vital as this trait is, just knowing English will not do much for you unless it is coupled with the knowledge of other subjects. There are a lot of Americans who possess English conversational skills and, unfortunately, cannot get decent jobs. The role of schools, whether to American born students or immigrant students, is to teach skills that will...