| The primary differentiation among bilingual | | | | that are designed to ensure that students are |
| education policies and programs relates to the aim | | | | treated equitably. A review of federal bilingual |
| of promoting bilingualism and biliteracy. So-called | | | | education policy in the United States indicates that |
| mainstream bilingual programs, or immersion | | | | there is substantial room for improvement if |
| programs, hold this aim for majority language | | | | biliteracy and bilingualism are valued as educational |
| children. Often, such programs are those of choice | | | | aims for both language minority children and the |
| for parents who can afford to provide their | | | | general population. |
| children with an elite education. | | | | There is a need to consider policies that promote |
| Thus, unlike federally supported Title VII | | | | both the individual and societal benefits of |
| programs, which no longer exist, there has been | | | | bilingualism. Such policies also need to ensure that |
| no stigma of deficiency associated with these | | | | language minority students have adequate access |
| programs. There have been some attempts to | | | | to a quality education that includes the |
| combine biliteracy and bilingualism as a goal for | | | | development of English for successful participation |
| both majority and minority children. To date, the | | | | in school and society. Moving beyond policies that |
| most successful programs have fallen under the | | | | merely aim to accommodate immigrant and |
| label of "two-way" or "dual immersion." From a | | | | indigenous language minority students, many |
| policy standpoint, these programs help to promote | | | | believe that there is a need to develop and |
| the status of minority languages; however, this is | | | | implement policies that value community languages |
| not always achieved when languages other than | | | | and expand national language resources. |
| English are presented as "foreign" rather than as | | | | Such policies need to recognize the linguistic reality |
| living community languages of the United States | | | | of a country in which nearly 1 out of 6 people |
| and the world. | | | | speak languages in addition to English. Constructive |
| There has also been some concern that students | | | | language policies would also need to recognize that |
| in such programs can be differentially positioned | | | | languages other than English are used daily in the |
| based on the perceived status of their languages. | | | | linguistic life of the country. Policies based on our |
| For example, concerns have been raised that | | | | linguistic reality would do well to acknowledge that |
| Spanish-speaking students of lower socioeconomic | | | | the United States is not only among the largest |
| status may be "servicing" language majority | | | | English-speaking nations in the world-rivaled only |
| English-speaking children by providing them with | | | | by India, a multilingual nation with millions who can |
| native-speaker modeling of the target language. In | | | | speak English-but that it also has millions who can |
| other words, in the programs' implementation, the | | | | speak Spanish and numerous other indigenous and |
| needs of children of the majority are addressed, | | | | immigrant languages and that these languages can |
| but not those of minorities. | | | | be resources for both language minority students |
| Given the status differential between English and | | | | and the nation as a whole. |
| Spanish, there is a need for programmatic policies | | | | |