This article examines the Spanish proverb, "quien habla dos idiomas vale por dos," which literally translates to mean he who speaks two languages is worth two people and applies its meaning to immigrant children who are language brokers for their families. Historically, the United States has not promoted multilingualism and even frowned…

Simply put, children with poor English skills are less likely to succeed in school and beyond. What's the best way to teach English to young children who aren't native English speakers? In this article, Lisa Barrow and Lisa Markman-Pithers examine the state of English learner education in the United States and review the evidence behind different…

Based on a qualitative study of an urban middle school, this article examines student perceptions of shifting tracking structures following the dismantling of a school's bilingual education program. The article demonstrates that students understood the school changes based on supposed language needs through an explicitly racialized lens, thereby…

A growing body of research documents how educational policies and accountability systems can open or close "ideological and implementational spaces" for bilingual education, shaping the language planning efforts of Indigenous communities. Using collaborative research, Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers investigated the…

In this paper, we compare the bilingual/language education policies of Arizona and Washington to show that state-level language policy plays a critical role in shaping the appropriation of federal language policy [No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), Title III] and how different state-level language policies impact the district level of policy…

In this paper we weave lived experiences, those of a bilingual social studies teacher at a middle school in a large city in the Southwestern US, with critical theory/pedagogy and bilingual education. The purpose of this paper is to present an articulation of the practice of critical pedagogy in a bilingual educational context principally under the…

The state of California educates over six million or twelve percent of the nation's student population. Approximately three million are Latino and 1.5 million are classified as English Language Learners (ELLs). English Language Learners are significantly underperforming in math and reading compared to White students in all grade levels. The…

Drawing from the surge of anti-bilingual education sentiments at the turn of the millennium, Ron Unz and the program he initiated, English for the Children, promoted Proposition 203 to dismantle bilingual and English as a second language (ESL) programs in Arizona's public schools. According to Unz's initiative, language-minority students were to…

Supporters of bilingual education are hoping that the election of Barack Obama as president will lead to a thaw in attitudes toward what they consider a proven educational method that has been ignored--or worse--by the Bush administration. Advocates are encouraged by the endorsement of bilingual education by President-elect Obama in the recent…

In the Horne v Flores Supreme Court decision of June 25, 2009, the Court wrote that one basis for finding Arizona in compliance with federal law regarding the education of its English learners was that the state had adopted a "significantly more effective" than bilingual education instructional model for EL students --Structured…

This case study of reading activity in third-grade bilingual classrooms at a state-sanctioned "successful" school examines the influences of the California accountability framework--Proposition 227, No Child Left Behind, and the federal Reading First program--on shifting beliefs and practices around what "counts" as reading.…

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing segment of the K-12 student population in the United States, and they are settling in areas that have never before seen such diversity. This article discusses how rural and suburban districts across the United States are moving to keep pace with their rapidly growing English language learner…

In this article, Luis O. Reyes provides a retrospective of the historic 1974 Aspira Consent Decree between the New York City Board of Education and Aspira of New York, which established bilingual instruction as a legally enforceable federal entitlement for New York City's non-English-speaking Puerto Rican and Latino students. Reyes analyzes the…

Teachers in traditional bilingual settings confront strict program requirements under the guise of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), excessive assessment demands (state, district and program assessments in both English and Spanish), and negative attitudes about bilingual education from many in the political and public spheres. Since 1998, the passage…

With the increasing number of undocumented workers entering the United States and the costs associated with educating their children, bilingual education may soon become the target of opponents of illegal immigration. Furthermore, recent leftist shifts in Latin American governments have provided an impetus for an educated biliterate population…