Permissive Period (1700s–1880s)
In the mid- to late 19th century, many private and public schools provided bilingual and/or non-English instruction. In fact, at the turn of the century, 4% of elementary school students were still receiving instruction in this language (Ovando, 2003, p. 4).
What is German
Beginning in the 1880s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs “implemented a policy of forced Anglicisation” to encourage linguistic assimilation for Native Americans by forcing Native American children to attend these types of schools (Nieto, 2009, p. 62)
What is English-only boarding schools?
This elementary school in Florida implemented one of the first highly successful bilingual education program in 1963 (Ovando, 2003, p. 7). The program was formed in response to the influx of Cuban immigrants following Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution of 1959. Its success has been credited to a number of factors, including parental support and involvement, federal assistance, the availability and expertise of Cuban teachers, and a lack of racism.
What is Coral Way Elementary School in Dade County, Florida?
This legislation, which passed in 1998, effectively eliminated bilingual education in California by requiring that ELL students receive the bulk of their education in English-only environments (Bybee et al., 2010, p. 141). Following the passage of this bill, similar bills were introduced, and some passed, in states like Arizona, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Colorado.
What is Proposition 227?
Research suggests that ELL students learn best through this type of language acquisition program.
What is long-term first-language development as students also learn academic English (“Focusing Policy”, 1996)? Research suggests that “late-exit” bilingual programs are associated with improved academic success for ELL students.
Periods of large-scale immigration resulted in the creation of these schools, which taught students in English and other European languages (“Focusing Policy”, 1996).
What is bilingual/bicultural community schools?
In addition to requiring that immigrants learn English in order to become naturalized citizens, the Naturalization Act of 1906 also encouraged this educational provision (Nieto, 2009, p. 62).
What is English-only education?
This legislation was signed into action by President Johnson in 1968. The goal was to provide federal funding for programs for language-minority students (“Focusing Policy”, 1996). This legislation did not, however, require that students receive instruction in languages other than English.
What is Title VII, the Bilingual Education Act, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)?
This legislation, which was adopted during George W. Bush’s administration, did not officially ban bilingual education; however, it established a system of “high-stakes” testing that encouraged English-only instruction (Nieto, 2009, p. 64).
What is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002?
Despite openness to linguistic diversity, the majority of instruction in the latter half of the 19th century followed this pattern.
Monolingual English education (Baker, 2011, p. 185)
Nationalistic ideologies intensified during this global conflict, resulting in a strong push for monolinguism in schools. In fact, most school districts eliminated instruction in German as a foreign language because it was considered “un-American” (Ovando, 2003, p. 5).
What is World War I?
In 1974, this landmark U.S. Supreme Court case ruled that schools receiving federal funding must provide linguistic support to non-English speaking students (i.e., teach them to read, write, and speak in the English language) (Bybee et al., 2010, p. 140).
What is Lau vs. Nichols?
This political movement, which launched in 1983, campaigned to make English the official language in education and politics.
What is the U.S. English Movement (Baker, 2011, p. 197).