Dive Brief:
- Findings from a study resulting from a partnership between the Stanford University Graduate School of Education and San Francisco Unified School District show that bilingual instruction is best for English language learners.
- According to the National Association for Bilingual Education, 10 times as many dual-language programs existed in U.S. schools in 2011 than in the previous decade.
- Still, a shortage of qualified bilingual teachers is an ongoing challenge for many schools, and even more problems arise when teaching Native or indigenous language immersion.
Dive Insight:
After 17 years of a law that limited bilingual education, a new movement is pushing California to reconsider English-only instruction and reincorporate bilingual education. Today in the state, some students work around the English-only rule by having parents sign a waiver. “According to the state Department of Education,” the Atlantic reports, “some 50,000 California children are receiving dual instruction in English and another language...” In total, however, California has around 1.4 million ELL students.
The number of U.S. students who speak foreign languages at home now totals 4 million. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education issued new guidelines in a 40-page document on ELL instruction, saying that "public schools must have programs in place for ELL students with specific learning plans in place to help them reach English proficiency, and that they must also have access to magnet programs, honors societies, and other opportunities provided to their peers."
Finding qualified bilingual teachers can be difficult, especially in Native American languages, the Atlantic reports: “Decades of research show documented results for indigenous-language immersion—including significant gains in achievement, family involvement, and community pride — for a population of students with dismal education outcomes.”
A lack of textbooks and other traditional learning tools in native and indigenous languages further exacerbates the problem.
Pending federal legislation may help. Just last week, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee advanced the Native Language Immersion Student Achievement Act. If implemented, the bill would create a $5 million dollar initiative “to establish or expand Native language immersion programs” over five years.