Bilingual Education-A Perspective.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper defines bilingual education and notes that because of bilingual education's broad definition, a number of vastly different types of programs and program goals are being pursued. Four broad categories of bilingual education programs based on four different kinds of community and school objectives are discussed in this paper. Each of these is illustrated by an existing or proposed bilingual education program for some Spanish Speaking community. Several rationales advanced for bilingual education are reviewed. Briefly discussed is the issue of how bilingual education might affect the future of language teaching and language learning in the United States. Most American bilingual education programs are viewed as academically compensatory and as socioeconomically compensatory for disadvantaged minority group children from non-English speaking families. It is noted that if bilingual education is sold as a "compensatory promissory note", teachers and citizens will be disappointed. A number of questions about bilingual education are discussed within a comparative and sociolinguistically-oriented framework. Among these are: (1) Must one language always be an "other" tongue? (2) Can the school "go it alone" for bilingual education? (3) Can community interest be too divisive for the good of bilingual education? (4) Does the world or mankind really need all those ethnic languages?. (Author/AM)