A BRIEF HISTORY OF ESL AND
BILINGUAL EDUCATION
Bilingual education in the United States dates back
farther than you might imagine – as far back as the
first settlements in North America in 1664. In
addition to many Native-American languages, at least
eighteen languages were spoken in the U.S. in the 17th
century. During the 18th and 19th centuries, groups
with various cultural and linguistic backgrounds
continued to settle across the country, and starting
in 1839 some states began to adopt bilingual education
laws that authorized instruction in languages other
than English.
However, during the first few decades of this century,
immigrants – especially those in large urban areas –
were taught to assimilate and encouraged to replace
their own cultural heritage with a more “American” one
(a trend commonly attributed to the changing political
winds of WWI).
Although some communities taught
students
in
their
native
languages,
non-English
speakers were often “submerged” in the English-only
classroom with no second language instruction. By the
mid-1920s, most bilingual schools throughout the
country were dismantled, and English-only instruction
continued until the 1960’s, when the government
stepped in again to sanction bilingual programs.
1963—Largely as a result of the rise in the number of
Cuban immigrants during the 1960s, the first
large-scale
government-sanctioned
bilingual
program was initiated in Dade County, Florida,
and soon became an unofficial model for the
nation. Educators from all over the country came
to examine the curriculum in an effort to
investigate the use of bilingual schooling for
English Language Learners (ELL).
1966—TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other
Languages), a professional organization, was
established in response to the increased demand
for ESL materials and methodologies due to the
influx of immigrants, refugees, and international
students to the United States.
1968—Congress passed the Bilingual Education Act under
Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary
Education
Act.
This
represented
the
first
national
acknowledgment
of
the
special
educational needs of non/limited-English speaking
children. Under Title VII’s “poverty criterion”
for eligibility, however, bilingual education was
seen as a strategy for “repudiating the effects
of poverty and cultural disadvantage”.
1974—A suit by the Puerto Rican Legal and Educational
Fund resulted in a Federal court order that
required
the
New
York
City
chancellor
of
education to develop adequate bilingual programs
that included intensive English instruction and
some content instruction in Spanish.
1974—In the pivotal Lau vs. Nichols case, the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that Lau and 1,789 other
Chinese students in San Francisco were being
denied access to equal educational opportunities
because they could not sufficiently understand
the language of instruction. The Lau case set the
expectation that school systems must adopt some
kind of comprehensive strategy that addressed the
needs of non-English speaking students, though
the Court refused to mandate any particular
model.
1984—The majority of programs funded by the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) were reorganized into two divisions. Title I provides
money for disadvantaged students, as well as
migrant education programs. Title II provides
block grants to the states under such laws as
“Ethnic Heritage Act” and the “Emergency School
Aid Act.” Funding for Limited English Proficient
(LEP) students (another term for ELL), comes from
all of these programs to varying degrees.
1998—California’s Proposition 227 was passed during
the primary election and effectively restructured
education for language minority students by
mandating a one-year structured English immersion
(SEI) program, although parents can choose to opt
out of the program.
Proponents of 227 have
maintained
that
LEP
students
have
acquired
English at a higher rate since the inception of
the proposition in school year 1998-99.
Many
academics, however, have found no empirical
evidence
supporting
the
assertion
that
LEP
students have benefited from the legislation.
2000—The frenzied bilingual debate showed no sign of
slowing down. Arizona passed Proposition 203 and
effectively ended bilingual education in that
state. Led by California software mogul Ron Unz,
the
non-profit
corporation
One
Nation,
One
California is pursuing similar legislation in
Colorado, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas.
This is obviously only a cursory glimpse at the
history of bilingual education, but this summary of
laws and events does provide important background and
introduce a number of terms that all teachers need to
know and understand.