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Political Turmoil Influencing Bilingual Education in the 1980s

Received: 5 June 2021    Accepted: 23 June 2021    Published: 27 September 2021
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Abstract

It is not uncommon to meet young Latinx adults who were raised in Spanish-speaking households but who received all-English elementary instruction, which deprived them from further developing their Spanish language proficiency. A large part of this population is a product of our educational system from the 1990s. This archival research delves into the 1980s to uncover our bilingual education history where strong sentiments were publicized and politicized affecting the youth of that time without them even knowing it. Also included, are reflective words from a 1980s New York Times author who spoke against bilingual education then and who agreed to an interview in early 2020. From un-American claims to a need for research, the findings reveal arguments made against bilingual education in the 1980s that are strikingly similar to those that exist today. These are the views that would continue to influence, and many times threaten, bilingual education for years to come. And in one way or another, forty years later, they continue to impact our classrooms today. Bilingual educators and advocates need to be aware of bilingual education history to ensure that the current youth has a more positive experience than what was experienced by others in the past.

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 9, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.12
Page(s) 247-257
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Bilingual Education, History, Bilingual Education Programs, Political Views, Bilingualism

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Betty Alicia Cárdenas. (2021). Political Turmoil Influencing Bilingual Education in the 1980s. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 9(5), 247-257. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.12

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    Betty Alicia Cárdenas. Political Turmoil Influencing Bilingual Education in the 1980s. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2021, 9(5), 247-257. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.12

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    Betty Alicia Cárdenas. Political Turmoil Influencing Bilingual Education in the 1980s. Int J Lang Linguist. 2021;9(5):247-257. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.12,
      author = {Betty Alicia Cárdenas},
      title = {Political Turmoil Influencing Bilingual Education in the 1980s},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {9},
      number = {5},
      pages = {247-257},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20210905.12},
      abstract = {It is not uncommon to meet young Latinx adults who were raised in Spanish-speaking households but who received all-English elementary instruction, which deprived them from further developing their Spanish language proficiency. A large part of this population is a product of our educational system from the 1990s. This archival research delves into the 1980s to uncover our bilingual education history where strong sentiments were publicized and politicized affecting the youth of that time without them even knowing it. Also included, are reflective words from a 1980s New York Times author who spoke against bilingual education then and who agreed to an interview in early 2020. From un-American claims to a need for research, the findings reveal arguments made against bilingual education in the 1980s that are strikingly similar to those that exist today. These are the views that would continue to influence, and many times threaten, bilingual education for years to come. And in one way or another, forty years later, they continue to impact our classrooms today. Bilingual educators and advocates need to be aware of bilingual education history to ensure that the current youth has a more positive experience than what was experienced by others in the past.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    T1  - Political Turmoil Influencing Bilingual Education in the 1980s
    AU  - Betty Alicia Cárdenas
    Y1  - 2021/09/27
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.12
    T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    SP  - 247
    EP  - 257
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-0221
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.12
    AB  - It is not uncommon to meet young Latinx adults who were raised in Spanish-speaking households but who received all-English elementary instruction, which deprived them from further developing their Spanish language proficiency. A large part of this population is a product of our educational system from the 1990s. This archival research delves into the 1980s to uncover our bilingual education history where strong sentiments were publicized and politicized affecting the youth of that time without them even knowing it. Also included, are reflective words from a 1980s New York Times author who spoke against bilingual education then and who agreed to an interview in early 2020. From un-American claims to a need for research, the findings reveal arguments made against bilingual education in the 1980s that are strikingly similar to those that exist today. These are the views that would continue to influence, and many times threaten, bilingual education for years to come. And in one way or another, forty years later, they continue to impact our classrooms today. Bilingual educators and advocates need to be aware of bilingual education history to ensure that the current youth has a more positive experience than what was experienced by others in the past.
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  • Doctoral College, Texas A & M University, Kingsville, USA

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