Research Paper on:
Bilingual Education - The Controversy

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
have been determined to be everything from a dismal failure to the saving grace for children who enter the public school system unable to speak English. The basic original idea  was to have limited-English speaking children taught the core subjects in their core language and then make the transition to English instruction (Guzman 58). The original intent, however, has been  expanded making todays bilingual programs significantly different than the original programs (Guzman 58). This expanded notion may be the cause of the controversy that has existed for the last 20  years. Research on the impact of bilingual education has resulted in diametrically opposed conclusions: instruction in two languages provides any number of benefits to the child and bilingual instruction  delays mastery in English and this is a very costly delay for the student (Guzman 58). Still, proponents argue that academic subjects need to be taught in the childs home  language, slowly increasing the amount of English used in instruction (Rothstein 672). The theory is that children will not fall behind in their academic learning under this model and as  soon as their English is adequate, they can transition to English instruction (Rothstein 672). The bilingual education theory continues to argue that this program allows children to retain their heritage  and their home culture (Rothstein 672). Further, proponents comment that some studies show an increase in cognitive abilities among students who can speak two languages (Salas-Rojas). Opponents to bilingual education  argue that schools assimilated immigrants into the culture and taught them the skills needed to get a job and to achieve upward mobility (Rothstein 672). As Rosthstein explained the critics  argument: "Children were immersed in English instruction and, when forced to "sink or swim," they swam" (Rothstein 1998, p. 672). Rothstein goes on to argue that it is the separatist