Dyrness, Andrea. "English-Only Teaching Ignores Bilingual Benefits." Hartford Courant.Com.
Hartford Couran, 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 30 May 2012.
In “English-Only Teaching Ignores Bilingual Benefits,” Andrea
Dyrness argues that being bilingual improves thinking skills, helps you pay
more attention and can delay brain diseases like Alzheimer’s. The author starts by describing how many in
her hometown of Hartford, Connecticut have a “poisonous” view of the immigrants
who speak Spanish. She believes people advocate for the English-Only law due to
an “irrational fear” that using Spanish in schools threatens “the primacy of
English.” She ends with a narrative explaining how a school administrator was shocked to learn
her child spoke Spanish and asked if they needed services. However, her child
is bilingual, which was surprising to the school official. The writer’s story
served to show people that being bilingual or speaking a language other than
English isn’t something bad, and then she pleas that schools will research and
discover the positives of bilingual education.
In “Boston Students Struggle with English-Only Rule,” James Vaznis presents a study showing that non-native English speakers have struggled since the Boston School district required all subjects be taught in English. Furthermore, the study showed that this policy has also doubled the drop out for non-native speakers in high school. According to the article, the reason for this is the school isn’t assessing these students correctly, and they are unable to communicate with parents and solicit their help in teaching these students. The study in the article concludes that teaching English only hasn’t worked in Boston, and says that people are debating whether to adapt to the law or get rid of it.
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