Bilingual Education 2

Name: Auriol Pedro
Topic: Bilingual Education
General Purpose: To Inform
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about what bilingual education is and how it is important.
Thesis Statement: Bilingual education means instruction in two languages. It refers to a range of classroom strategies that include instruction in the student’s primary language.
I. Introduction:

A. Attention Getter: In 1998, California voters passed Proposition 227, an initiative that limits non-English language instruction for students who are learning English.
Reason to Listen: So you may be a little more educated and know a little about the hard work that foreign students have to put in to get a good education.
Credibility Statement:
1. The United States experienced phenomenal growth in the number of English-language learners over the first decade of the 21st century, expanding the need in many public schools to provide special language instruction.
2. From the ’97-98 school year to ’08-09 school year, the number of English-language learners enrolled in public schools increased from 3.5 million to 5.3 million or by 51% (National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, 2011.)

Preview Main points:
1. Frist, I will discuss the history of Bilingual Education and how it came to be.
2. Second, I will discuss why Bilingual Education is important for business.
3. Thirdly, I will discuss the benefits that Bilingual Education gives to non-English speaking children and people.
II. Bilingual education means instruction in two languages. It refers to a range of classroom strategies that include instruction in the student’s primary language.
A. The history of Bilingual Education and how it came to be.
1. In 1968, the Bilingual Education Act, is noted as the first official federal recognition of the needs of limited English speaking ability students. In order to understand how this Act came into being, it is necessary to look at previous legislative action, judicial decisions, and the social climate of the nation at that time.
a. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school segregation based on race was unconstitutional. Hispanics or other ethnic minorities weren’t specifically mentioned, the ruling did state that it applied also to others similarly situated. This ruling did not directly affect the education of non-English-speaking minorities but it did introduce a new era in American civil rights and led the way to subsequent legislation that would create programs for the disadvantaged.
b. Blacks and other minority groups held demonstrations to protest underemployment, inadequate housing, poor representation in government, and lack of educational opportunity during the 1960s. In 1964, the 88th Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, which several parts of the Act were significant for language minority students. For example, Title IV of the Act allowed the Attorney General to initiate school desegregation suits and the Act provided that any person participating in any program receiving federal financial assistance could not be discriminated based on race or national origin.
c. The emphasis on equality also led to the enactment of the ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) in 1965, which provided assistance to educational agencies for children of low income families. While this benefitted many inner city children, it didn’t target students who suffered specifically from language barriers.
2. In 1967, Senator Ralph Yarborough of Texas introduced a bill which proposed assistance to school districts in establishing educational programs specifically for LESA (limited English speaking ability) students.
a. Some of the recommendations of this bill is to teach Spanish as a native language and teach English as a second language and programs designed to give Spanish-speaking students an appreciation of ancestral language and culture.
b. Although this bill was limited to Spanish-speaking students, it led to the introduction of 37 other bills which were merged into a single measure known as Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) or the Bilingual Education Act.
c. Initially, Title VII was seen largely as a remedy for civil rights violations. However, it also began the process of formally recognizing that ethnic minorities could seek differentiated services for reasons other than segregation or racial discrimination. More significantly, it encouraged instructions in a language other than English as well as cultural awareness.
3. To receive funding for an additional year, Title VII projects were evaluated at the end of each school year. A successful project could be funded for five years, after which time the local school district would assume the costs.
a. In 1968, Congress passed no appropriation measure for the Title VII. However, the following year. It approved $ 7.5 million, and 27,000 students were served by the funded program. In addition to the four major types of programs, these funds also covered development and dissemination of instructional materials.
b. Parent involvement was encouraged by having school districts submit proposals which included participation of the non-English-dominant community in the projects from initial planning through the evaluation process.
Transition: Now that we have learned about the history of the Bilingual Education Act and how it came to be, I will continue about why Bilingual Education is important in business.
B. One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.
1. The high value of diversity in business today will drive businesses to want to be more diverse. There is diversity in background, experience, class, upbringing, etc. A large part of diversity is the whole “cultural package.” This is heavily tied to language. That means, a bilingual person is, generally, more diverse than a monolingual person; at least in terms of cultural diversity.
a. Diversity is a buzzword today in business, and this buzzword is buzzing due to the various benefits in the workplace. When multiple ideas from a varied group of people congeal into one, actionable item, the basis for a great plan is formed.
b. As the world becomes more integrated, markets decisions, business will need people who not only speak other languages but can connect with members of other cultures. Diversity can come in many forms; ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and societal.
c. While a blanket statement cannot be made that bilinguals are more diverse than monolinguals, I would say it is definitely more likely that someone who speaks two languages is more culturally aware than someone who only speaks one.
2. What other benefits are there for bilinguals in business? A lot! Many things in life, if not all things, require a certain level of communication to find success. a. Bilingualism increasing ones abilities, therefore indirectly increasing our abilities in almost every single thing we do!
b. Example, Decision making ability, increasing concentration, ability to filter data, and many others are exactly what is needed to, not only succeed in business, but in many areas in life.
c. Being bilingual isn’t a magic pill, and you won’t instantly become the CEO of Microsoft if you learn a second language, however prolonged exposure to two or more languages will strengthen the executive function region of your brain thereby paving the way for many of these great benefits to come to fruition.
3. A recent survey from Los Angeles-based recruiter Korn/Ferry International found that nearly 9 out of 10 recruiters in Europe, Latin America, and Asia say that being at least bilingual is critical for success in today’s business environment.
a. So which languages can give you a leg up on the job market? Insiders agree the most popular – and marketable – languages are Spanish, German, French, Italian, Russian, and Japanese with a growing emphasis on Mandarin, given China’s booming economy.
b. 66% of North American recruiters agreed that being bilingual will be increasingly important in the next 10 years.
c. In todays’ global economy you really have to understand the way business is done overseas to maximize your potential. A second language equips you for that. If you’re doing business overseas, you obtain a certain degree of respect if you’re able to talk in their native language.
Transition: Now that I have discussed why Bilingual Education is important for business, I will, finally, talk about the benefits that Bilingual Education gives to non-English speaking children and people.
C. Teaching our children to speak more than one language can provide surprising, long-lasting benefits. These benefits come from having a brain that’s constantly juggling two – or even more – languages.
1. But does being bilingual give young children a mental edge, or does it delay their learning? It depends on who you ask. But neuroscience researchers are increasingly coming to a consensus that bilingualism has many positive consequences for the brain.

a. Superior self-regulation. Some critics say that bilingual education say it creates confusion but science shows that the discipline required to switch between two languages improves a child’s ability to focus on an individual task and to control themselves.
b. Delayed dementia. According to a 2010 study of 211 Alzheimer’s patients, bilingual individuals were diagnosed with the disease 4.3 years later and exhibited symptoms of the disease 5.1 years later than those patients who spoke only one language.
c. Reading readiness. Dr. Seuss can increase a child’s awareness and ability to manipulate sound, so does speaking a second language. Processing sounds and words or sound manipulation is called “phonological awareness”. This has been shown to be a good predictor of later reading ability and it also pays off when it comes to brain power. Children who learn a second language before the age of five have been shown to have denser gray matter in their brains than their monolingual peers.
2. If you walk into a room, there’s a million things that could attract your attention. How is it we manage to focus at all? How does our mind pay attention to what we need to pay attention without getting distracted? To test one’s ability, scientists use something called the Stroop test. Subjects are presented with a word for a particular color and asked to identify the color of ink it’s printed in. This is extremely hard to do, because it’s terribly difficult to block out the information from the word.
a. In monolingual speakers, this kind of mental curveball will add 240 milliseconds to their reaction time—a significant delay, in brain reaction terms. On the other hand, bilingual speakers take just 160 extra milliseconds to sort this out.
b. Bilingual speakers rarely use the wrong language than a monolingual speaker. But if the listener also knows both languages, speakers can switch between them to most accurately express their thoughts.
c. When bilinguals prepare to speak, their brains seem to inhibit one language while using the other, this effect is much more noticeable when the speaker choose their weaker language instead of their dominant one.

III. Conclusion.
A. Review of Main Points:
1. First was the discussion of the history of Bilingual Education and how it came to be.
2. Then I discussed why Bilingual Education is important for business.
3. Finally, I discussed how Bilingual Education benefits non-English-speaking children and people.
B. Restate Thesis: Bilingual education means instruction in two languages. It refers to a range of classroom strategies that include instruction in the student’s primary language.
C. Closure: In conclusion, Bilingual Education is very important to have in life and everyone can benefit from it. More and more every day, we see the all the different cultures and languages that are around us because America is one big melting pot and it’s only going to get bigger. To be able to speak another language, like I have, will only make life easier. Weather you stay here for the rest of your life or you choose to travel. You wouldn’t be going to another country completely lost and you wouldn’t feel awkward walking into a new foreign restaurant and not know what the items on the menu where. To have two or more languages is only going to help. Why limit yourself in life when you can have the better of two worlds.

Reference:
Los Angeles Times: Bilingualism good for the brain. By Amina Khan
Education Week: English-language learners. By Education Research Center
The Bilingual Education Act: Twenty Years Later: By Gloria Stewner-Manzanares
How Being Bilingual Can Boost Your Career: By Paula Andruss
Quote from Frank Smith: From Inspiring quotes about language and education
The Bilingual Businessman: The Future of Business: By Jeffery Nelson

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