Bilingual Education in the United States.

Overview & Synopsis

Bilingual education is defined here as instruction in two languages, one of which is English as a second language, and the other the native language of the pupils. Bilingual education is also noted to include a cultural component whereby students are taught about the history and culture of their own civilization as well as those of their adopted country -- the U.S. Among the topics discussed are: the status of bilingual education in the world; the need for bilingual education in the U.S., the official status of bilingual education in the U.S. (financial aid and legal support); target audience of bilingual education in the U.S.; the aims of bilingual education; approaches to bilingual education (maintenance vs. transitional programs); instructional staff in bilingual education; bilingual instruction in subject matter other than language; format and content of lessons; the role of ESL in bilingual education; an example of a lesson integrating ESL with science in bilingual education; history and culture in bilingual education; teacher preparation (language, culture, history, and professional preparation); instructional materials; evaluation in bilingual education; and misinformation and problems in bilingual education (what bilingual education is not, unconscious factors that undermine bilingual education, and negative effects of bilingual education that are provided by federal funding). An appendix includes a socioeconomic profile of New Jersey's Puerto Ricans. (Author/AM)