Today, U.S. residents whose primary language is a language other than English are often seen as being outside of mainstream culture. However, these people and their languages are a vital part of our nation's culture, and programs specifically geared toward the needs of language minority students are essential in ensuring they receive a high-quality education. The debate surrounding bilingual education is complicated, reflecting a wide spectrum of political and social influences, many of which began with the passage of the Bilingual Education Act of 1968. Prior to this act, language minority students were often left to sink or swim in an environment of total English submersion where students were not given any support or instruction in their primary language. Over the past 25 years, bilingual and ESL programs have made significant advances in meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse population.
Recent events indicate another shift for bilingual education however.
In 1998, Californians voted to eliminate bilingual education, choosing instead to provide only one year of intensive English-language instruction for language minority students. The events in California may foreshadow difficulties for other bilingual education programs in the United States and intensify the debate over bilingual education. A discussion of the issues requires at least a basic understanding of the types of programs currently being offered in many schools. The terms referring to language minority programs can be confusing, especially since usage and intent of meaning are not always consistent. When someone says to me, 'Hey, we have a great bilingual program,' there may be a mismatch in our understanding of what bilingual education means.