Restrictive Language Education Policies and Emergent Bilingual Youth: A Perfect Storm With Imperfect Outcomes

Menken, Kate

doi:10.1080/00405841.2013.804307

Cited by 54 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…U.S. educational policies tend to prioritize children's rapid acquisition of English, with much less attention paid to the maintenance of minority languages (27). The use of children's native languages for instruction in public schools has been hotly debated and even legally restricted in some states (28) and linguistic diversity has been seen by some as a threat to national unity (29,30). At the same time, a growing awareness of the cognitive, economic, and social benefits of bilingualism has fueled interest in dual language programs among Englishspeaking families (31).…”

Section: Measuring Language Attitudes In the Us Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Perceptions of Bilingualism Scales

Luk¹,

Surrain²

2019

Preprint

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An increasing number of children in the U.S. and around the world are exposed to multiple languages, yet there is considerable variation in individual bilingual outcomes. Previous research has shown that factors such as input, usage, and language history can help explain this variation, but less is known about the role of attitudes towards bilingualism, and no instrument currently exists for measuring such attitudes. Guided by previous theories on language perceptions, we describe two new scales developed to measure general perceptions of the value of bilingualism (study 1: Perceptions of Bilingualism, PoB) and parental perceptions of the value of bilingualism for one’s child (study 2: Perceptions of Bilingualism for child, PoB+) in the United States. We use factor analysis and Item Response Theory (IRT) to test the reliability, dimensionality, and individual item contributions of each scale using a national online sample of 422 adults (study 1) and a subsample of 321 parents (study 2). The final 10 and 8-item scales demonstrate internal reliability, unidimensionality, and precision of the intended construct to be measured. We report associations between scale scores and demographic characteristics and discuss how an IRT approach can complement classical approaches to attitude scale development. The PoB and PoB+ are useful tools to explore the association between social perceptions of bilingualism and language use for oneself and for one’s child.

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Section: Measuring Language Attitudes In the Us Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Perceptions of Bilingualism Scales

Luk¹,

Surrain²

2019

Preprint

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“…(Ronald Reagan, 1981, cited in Lyons, 1990 It was not until 1994 when the Federal government shifted funding for Dual Language programs through a grant program under the reauthorization of the ESEA. In 2001 the amendment called No Child Left Behind (NCLB) had an impact on English learners (ELs) due to its encouragement of English-only instruction (Menken, 2013). The most recent amendment was in 2015 with President Obama's Every Student Succeeds Act.…”

Section: Brief History Of Bilingual Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This act promotes high-quality education to bilingual students but no specific guidance on how bilingual instruction would be enacted (Mitchell, 2016). While today various programs are offering bilingual education to maintain the L1, the goal of federal education policy remains the same: use the L1 as a tool to help ELs transition into English so that they can effectively participate in the job market (Menken, 2013;Mitchell, 2016).…”

Section: Brief History Of Bilingual Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transitional Bilingual Education and Two-Way Immersion Programs: Comparison of Reading Outcomes for English Learners in the United States

Polanco¹,

Baker²

2018

AJE

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The purpose of this review is to provide a comparison of reading outcomes of the two most popular bilingual programs in the United States: Transitional Bilingual Education and Two-way Bilingual programs. To provide context, we present a theoretical framework and a brief historical perspective on how these programs came to gain popularity. We explored two questions. The first one asks whether there are differences in student outcomes between the programs and whether there are advantages of one program over the other. The second question looks into practical strategies that make these programs beneficial to English learners. For selection methods, we used the previous definition of high-quality articles that included clear outcomes and program definitions. For evaluation of the programs, we used a five-framework model that defines effective bilingual programs that incorporates components of second language literacy development, highquality instruction, and precise definition of the sample population. After the careful review of articles, academic outcomes are presented, indicating that while there might be non-significant differences on reading outcomes, bilingual programs are not detrimental to English learners and there are additional benefits to having a bilingual program beyond potentially enhancing reading outcomes. Also, we found that strategies that work well in a general education classroom for native speakers, also work well for English learners. Finally, we provide recommendations for program development and future research.

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“…In 2001, bilingual education in New York City was commonplace, with half of all emergent bilinguals attending bilingual education programs. However, the 2000s bore witness to a dramatic loss of bilingual education programs, particularly transitional bilingual programs, as (a) anti-bilingual education legislation passed in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts affected public sentiment in New York, and (b) federal education legislation, No Child Left Behind (2002), repealed the Bilingual Education Act (1968) and required school accountability based on high-stakes testing in English (Menken, 2013; Menken & Solorza, 2014). By 2015, enrollment of New York City's emergent bilinguals in bilingual education had fallen to less than 17%, with 80% enrolled in monolingual ENL programs (NYCDOE, Division of English Language Learners and Student Support, 2016).…”

Section: Bilingual Education Expansion In New York City Schoolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenging Linguistic Purism in Dual Language Bilingual Education: A Case Study of Hebrew in a New York City Public Middle School

Menken

Avni

2017

Ann Rev Appl Linguist

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Dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs, in which students are taught language and academic content in English and a partner language, have dramatically grown in popularity in U.S. schools. Moving beyond the teaching of Spanish and Chinese, DLBE programs are now being offered in less commonly taught languages and attracting new student populations. Based on qualitative research conducted in a New York City public middle school that recently began a Hebrew DLBE program, we found that this program, in its inception and design, challenges traditional definitions of DLBE and offers new understandings about bilingual education for the 21st century. We argue that the policies and guidelines for the provision of DLBE and the scholarship upon which they are based are rooted in notions of linguistic purism that fail to consider or meet the needs of communities enrolling in bilingual education programs today.

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Restrictive Language Education Policies and Emergent Bilingual Youth: A Perfect Storm With Imperfect Outcomes

Cited by 54 publications

References 9 publications

The Perceptions of Bilingualism Scales

The Perceptions of Bilingualism Scales

Transitional Bilingual Education and Two-Way Immersion Programs: Comparison of Reading Outcomes for English Learners in the United States

Challenging Linguistic Purism in Dual Language Bilingual Education: A Case Study of Hebrew in a New York City Public Middle School

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