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Program Choice and English Language Learners

Over the last five years, educators in the New York City public school system have begun to acknowledge the need for schools to nffer increased program choice for the wide variety of English Language Learners (ELLs) entering the New York City public school system. Current language programs in New York can be classified under four categories: two-way bilingual programs, transitional bilingual education, English as a Second Language (ESL) and English immersion programs (Rappaport 1). Due to the shortage of funding and qualified teachers, the majority of ELLs has either been placed in transitional bilingual programs or ESL programs. Unlike ESL programs that offer instruction to students solely in English with a pull-out component for English instruction, bilingual education programs offer English language instruction to students and academic instruction in the native language (Westchester Institute for Human Services Research 1).

In spite of the fact that many educators and policymakers agree that ELLs require additional support to enable them to acquire the English language, they disagree on the type and the length of the support that should be provided to students (Rappaport 1-3). While supporters believe that the most effective approach is to immerse students in an English-only classroom such as the ESL program, opponents believe that ELLs will be more likely to succeed academically and acquire English in a bilingual education classroom (Goode 12). In this paper, the pros of implementing the two aforementioned types of bilingual programs will be discussed.

Before delving into the pros of bilingual programs and their applicability to the schools and the ELLs in New York, it is important to provide some background information. According to Rappaport, New York City has the second largest population of ELLs in the country, with enrollment rising from 110,245 during the 1989-1990 school year to 127,099 during the 2001-2002 sc...

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Program Choice and English Language Learners. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 14:20, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1687695.html