History of Bilingual Education (Data from Ovando, 2003)

1
History of Bilingual Education(Data from Ovando,
2003)
Colonial Times

• The colonizers came to America with a unified
  history, with unified traditions, and with a
  common language
• European languages were treated with respect
• They wanted to preserve their ancestral
  traditions one way was maintaining their native
  language.

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• Neither an official language nor a
  government-sanctioned body to regulate speech
  were adopted
• Period marked by the absence of a consistent
  language ideology
• However, debate over official English has been
  present creating resentment and a variety of
  pedagogical practices.

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1700s to 1880s Permissive Period

• Period marked by linguistic tolerance
• inconsistency regarding language ideology
• Defensive Pluralism (Havinghurst, 1978),
  preservation of maternal language and cultures
• Czech was taught in Texas, French in Louisiana,
  and Spanish in the Southwest German, Swedish,
  Norwegian, Danish in the northern states
• 1900 600,000 children, 4 of the elementary
  school population received instruction in German

4
1880s to 1960s Restrictive Period

• Linguistic and immigration restrictionism
  repressive policies
• 1889, American Protective Association promoted
  English-only schools
• 1906 Naturalization Act English required for
  naturalization
• 1918 to 1920, the Bureau of Naturalization and
  the Bureau of Education of the US provided funds
  for the teaching of English skills

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• 1923, English-only instruction was offered in 34
  states
• War World I Anti-German hostility during
  resulted in push for monolingualism teaching of
  German was eliminated in most districts
• Americanization of classes and English-only
  curriculum were the rule to prepare immigrants
  for assimilation to the mainstream society
• Language was used as a unifying force

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• Submersion/swim or sink practices were the rule
  in language teaching
• Students themselves had to make all linguistic,
  academic and cultural adjustments
• 1923, Meyer v. Nebraska decreed that the
  prohibition to teach foreign languages was
  unconstitutional law had no effect on promoting
  bilingual education
• English-only measures were a means to maintain
  colonial domination however, the debate over the
  role of the mother tongue continued

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• Linguistic and cognitive theories and research
  findings blamed bilingualism for academic failure
  and mental retardation
• English was the language of the educated
• Ignorance of English was attributed to inferior
  intelligence.

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1960s to 1980s Opportunist Period

• Period marked by the need to create bilingual
  programs and by laws enforcing bilingual
  education
• Massive school failure prompted bilingual
  education. Isolated bilingual programs were
  created with the following characteristics
• English and the students native language was
  used in all grades for language and content
  instruction
• Some included English-speakers
• Programs were examples of excellence.

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• World War II after the war, the government saw
  the need to foreign language education 1958,
  National Defense Education Act promoted
  foreign-language education in the US
• 1964 Civil Right Act fostered linguistic
  diversity rebirth of instruction in other
  languages brought changes in immigration laws
• 1965 Immigration Act ended the Naturalization
  Acts of 1906 and the 1924 national origin quota
  system, allowing Asians and Latin American to
  enter the country--more language-minority
  students appeared in US classroom.

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• 1963, first two-way bilingual education program
  at Coral Way Elementary School in Dade County,
  FL
• 1968, Bilingual Education Act --Title VII of the
  Elementary and Secondary Education Act
• it constituted a significant step in moving away
  from English-only measures and Darwinian
  sink-or-swim practices
• Schools receiving funding were accountable for
  academic progress of their LEP population
• Act began to undermine English-only laws.

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• Many elementary and some secondary BE programs
  and ESL programs were initiated, especially in
  the Southwest
• Many states reversed the English-only laws
  enacting enacted transitional bilingual
  education.
• Bilingual Program characteristics
• Native language was used to initiate instruction
  English was taught as a second language, and
  later introduced in instruction
• Bilingual education was an educational strategy
  to address the needs of the ELL the native and
  the mainstream language did not have the same
  status.

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• 1974, Lau v. Nichols
• verdict abolished the sink-or-swim practices of
  the past
• Led to the 1974, Equal Educational Opportunities
  Act expanding bilingual practices to all schools
• 1975 Lau Remedies provided guidelines for
  bilingual education, suitable pedagogical
  strategies and the importance of moving ELLs
  into mainstream classrooms in a timely fashion
• recommended bilingual education as the best
  approach for elementary education
• law contained instructions for identification,
  assessment, and mainstreaming of students
• Program was to be implemented at districts with
  20 or more LEP at the same grade level
  representing the same language
• BE programs must be based on sound theoretical
  approach
• BE aimed at biliteracy and biliculturalism.

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• 1981, Castañeda v. Pickard verdict established a
  3-step test for determining whether school
  districts were taking the appropriate action to
  educate ELLs
• Program must be based on sound educational theory
  anchoring school plan
• adequate resources and personnel
• program must reflect sound practices and language
  and academic results.
• 1972, US Commission of Civil Rights found that
  only a small percentage of LEPs were receiving
  bilingual instruction violating legislature

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1980 to Present

• Under construction