General Debate
Pro-
I am in support of this bill because it is giving all citizens of the United States a fair chance to succeed in this world. Bilingual education breaks down the biggest barrier to acceptance into a new culture. Often times a person is unable to effectively transition because they are unable to understand the language being spoken. Researchers have found that students experiencing discriminatory practices such as the inability to be taught in their native language soon retreat into a posture of resistance in which they stop working with the school and its agents" (Tozer, 2009, p. 424). This is when bilingual education can allow students to feel like they are accepted and feel like people want to help them.”Students …show more content…
As well as students, who achieve bilingual proficiency, will be able to expand their career opportunities later in life, quite possibly become a bilingual teacher. Students acquire a second language most easily when they develop literacy skills and content knowledge in their native language, have opportunities to interact with English-speaking peers, and learn with students of different ability levels. Contrary to the long-standing belief in the American education community, the human brain is not limited to learning only one language. In fact, research shows that the more languages a person learns, the stronger their mental stamina. Teachers and parents of ESL students must encourage children to retain the ability to speak their native language in addition to achieving fluency in English. Bilingualism has powerful advantages in academic, linguistic, personal, occupational, etc. Finally, it is most important to remember that this is not a flimsy extracurricular activity but rather a necessity for children who do not speak …show more content…
This problem in itself is difficult because there is an extreme lack of teachers qualified to teach core subjects in foreign languages. Based on a census of NJ in 2011 2,882,497 people do not speak English as their first language. Looking at this census you could build several schools for the respective languages, then say that number drops the next time a census is taking. If non-native English speaking population changes quickly it will be difficult for schools to keep up with the fluctuating population. According to NJ future, there is a population of 2% Russian speakers. Meaning that in the 600 school districts that 300 students would be in each school based on the most recent census. There is an extremely high-cost foreign language textbooks, new teachers, and other supplies that will be needed for this bill to be implemented. No matter how many amendments are made the cost is unavoidable and could severely affect the lives of people the bill would not even be affecting. It has been proven that bilingual teaching can delay cognitive development, as well as accommodation of non-English speaking students, has been proven to decrease their willingness to learn English. Only perpetuating the attitude that English is not a necessary skill in America. Recent studies show that students in public schools’ bilingual programs have lower