Bilingual education in the United States  

When you learn a second language you open yourself to a new path of learning. The United States is a country where there are people from all over the world. Most of them speak two or more languages. All these are people generally immigrants and that’s why they can speak two languages, they usually speak their mother tongue, and they learn English. At the beginning it is hard for them to learn a second language. They are taught English in the schools. The kids of immigrants are the ones who find it essay to speak two languages, because they learn the language of their parents and English at a young age. But being able to speak a second language is an advantage for the people. They are a mix in two cultures the American culture and the culture of their heritage. Additionally, when they are going to apply for a job, they have an advantage in getting it, because they can speak more than one language, therefore, they can connect to more people. The knowledge that they have is an advantage.  

In the United States the dominant language is English even though in the country there are people speak different languages. In the United States there are more than 400 different languages. That’s because annually millions of people immigrate to the United States from all over the world and that makes that when everybody gets to the country the need to communication, so here is when their second language comes into action. English is the language that these people learn to communicate with others and thanks to these they are able to continue with their lives without the fear of not being able to communicate with others.  

Personally, I can give the example of my grandfather who is an immigrant who came to the United States from the Dominican Republic when he was 50 years old. He didn’t know English and when he gets here, he had to face all the difficulties and issues that some people have to communicate with other. He needed to communicate with others every time because even when he was walking in the streets, he needed to interact with people. Additionally, at the time when he wanted to get a job, for him it was harder than for a person that speak the language because the simple thing, that he did not speak the language makes it difficult for him to get accepted into jobs where he needed it to speak. 

In the other hand I can give the example of my little cousin that came to the United States when he was 4 years old, he learned the language when he started school and now, he is bilingual. he is able to communicate to people in Spanish and English, this is an advantage that was giving to him thank to the school system in the United States. Now at the time that he is applying for a job he is most likely to be chosen because he is able to speak to two different types of people from different cultures and languages.  

Learning a second language gives people many advantages, for example in “Student Question | Should Everyone Learn At least One Other Language?” by Michael Gonchar. He mentions that bilingual education can help us because “it can help you get a job, it can increase your cognitive abilities, and it can provide “insight into another way of thinking, another mind-set.” here the author gives us some of the benefits that being bilingual has. And he can say that, because there was a debate room where people participate and get to the conclusion of this benefits also Lawrence Summers, the former president of Harvard University was part of that debate. The education that someone gets is a gift that helps to enrich your knowledge. 

The United States offers one of the best education systems in America. Also, it can be said that this is one of the reasons why people immigrate to the country in “School Is for Hope” by Gabrielle Oliveira she states that “Immigrant parents describe education and schooling as among the most important benefits of migrating to the United States. Leaving home and risking the treacherous, expensive journey north is often partly motivated by the promise that U.S. schools hold for children. To migrate is to care.” here as we can see the author states that education is one of the reasons why immigrants come to the country. They want to give their children a better education and a better life. When immigrant children get to schools the schools have programs that teach them English. When they learn the language, this makes them bilingual, so by that they have the ability to adapt better with people because they can communicate better. 

In the United States there are program that help all the immigrant to learn English all this program facilitates their adaptation in the country in the article “Improving Bilingual Education” from the New York Times it says that “Over the last decade and a half, New York City has developed several programs to teach every academic subject in a range of foreign languages. The overall bilingual program now enrolls about 176,000 students.” here the author informs the reader about all the students that are taking advantage of this program so by that they are getting skills that are going to help them in the future. 

Another example of an immigrant that came to the united states and had to take classes to learn English is Heidy she is an immigrant girl that came from Guatemala in the article “School Is for Hope” by Gabrielle Oliveira the author gives the tell “Before Heidi headed to school that morning, Jorge took pictures of her in her dress, tights and puffy silver coat. They waited at the bus stop, looking nervous but feeling excited. Heidi spoke mostly Spanish and a little English. She was headed to a bilingual program where one of her teachers spoke Spanish. Jorge was hopeful. Heidi was hopeful.” as we could appreciate here Heidy and her father had the hope that in the United States, they were going to have a better live and that’s what they get with the education that Heidy is getting she is going to have a better future for her and her family. 

We can connect bilingual education with language and literacy because through language people are able to communicate and given the option of speak two languages, they are making these people able to have a voice. 

Also, I can give the example of what have I lived and the experiences that I have had learning a second language, when I came to the United States from the Dominican Republic. I started an English class through college that helped me to be better and more confident with my English. When I started that class in fall 2021. I did not know what an essay was because in Spanish they don’t give the students those types of assignments, so I was new on all of that, so they teach me how to do essays and now I am able to write better at the time of doing assignments for college. It takes from a person the wish of wanting to learn so they can reach that goal. 

In conclusion language is the most important form of communication that people have and the more languages you speak the more you can connect with others. Also, millions of immigrants come to the United States every year and those people need a way to communicate to other and thanks to the programs that the country provide they are able to learn a second language and have a better life for that. Also, children are better than adults at the time of learning a second language. And almost every immigrant child is bilingual. 

Work cited  

Student Question | Should Everyone Learn At least One Other Language? By MICHAEL GONCHAR published on March 15, 2016, https://nyti.ms/2jFvRVx accessed on November 11, 2022. 

School Is for Hope by Gabrielle Oliveira published on Sept. 1, 2022 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/opinion/us-school-immigrant-children.html?smid=url-share accessed on November 11, 2022. 

Improving Bilingual Education published in the New York Times on October 30, 2000. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/30/opinion/improving-bilingual-education.html?smid=url-share accessed on November 11, 2022.