Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T01:18:22.387Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

8 - Language Policy Conflicts

New York City’s Efforts to Expand Bilingual Education Amidst English-Only Pressures

from Part II - The United States Context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2019

Thomas Ricento
Affiliation:
University of Calgary
Get access

Summary

The focus of this chapter is on conflicts between federal, state, and city language education policies and how these are navigated in New York City schools. US language education policies at the federal government level have been largely restrictive of languages other than English in school, particularly due to required high-stakes testing in English, which directly caused the elimination of bilingual education programs in New York City schools. In an effort to redress this loss in bilingual programs, New York State has in recent years adopted policies that actively promote bilingual education, while neither contesting nor significantly changing competing policies that actively assert English dominance. Research in one of these new bilingual education programs in New York City highlights these tensions, showing how current policies are mismatched to the needs of local communities. Our qualitative research investigates the expansion of dual language bilingual education (DLBE) in New York City public schools through a focus on a newly-opened Hebrew DLBE program in a public middle school. In this chapter, we share findings from classroom observations, interviews with school administrators, teachers, students and their families, as well as state, city, and school policy documents.

Type
Chapter
Information
Language Politics and Policies
Perspectives from Canada and the United States
, pp. 153 - 172
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baker, C. (2011). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (5th ed.). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Cervantes-Soon, C. (2014). A critical look at dual language immersion in the new Latin@ diaspora. Bilingual Research Journal, 37(1), 6482.Google Scholar
Corson, D. (1999). Language Policy in Schools: A Resource for Teachers and Administrators. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
de Jong, E. (2011). Foundations for Multilingualism in Education: From Principles to Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.Google Scholar
Duchêne, A., & Heller, M. (2012). Language in Late Capitalism: Pride and Profit. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ennser-Kananen, J., Fallas Escobar, C. & Bigelow, M. (2017). “It’s Practically a Must”: Neoliberal reasons for foreign language learning. International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 5(1), 1528.Google Scholar
García, O. (2009). Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
García, O. & Fishman, J. (eds.). (1997). The Multilingual Apple: Languages in New York City. Berlin: Mouton.Google Scholar
García, O. & Flores, N. (2013). Multilingualism and common core state standards in the United States. In May, S. (ed.), The Multilingual Turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL, and Bilingual Education. New York: Routledge, pp. 147–66.Google Scholar
García, O., Menken, K., Velasco, P. & Vogel, S. (2018). Dual language bilingual education in New York City: A potential unfulfilled?. In Arias, B., & Fee, M. (eds.), Profiles of Dual Language Education in the 21st Century: CAL Series on Language Education. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters, pp. 3855.Google Scholar
Hakuta, K. & Linquanti, R. (2016). Statement from the Working Group on ELL Policy re: Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. Stanford, CA: Working Group on ELL Policy. Retrieved from http://ellpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/ESSAComments.pdf [Last accessed February 18, 2018].Google Scholar
Harris, E. (2015, October 8). Dual-language programs are on the rise, even for native English speakers. New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/nyregion/dual-language-programs-are-on-the-rise-even-for-native-english-speakers.html [Last accessed February 18, 2018].Google Scholar
Hunt, V. (2011). Learning from success stories: Leadership structures that support dual language programs over time in New York City. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 14(2), 187206.Google Scholar
Johnson, D. C. (2013). Language Policy. New York, US: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Kaplan, R. & Baldauf, R. (1997). Language Planning: From Practice to Theory. Philadelphia: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Katznelson, N. & Bernstein, K. (2017). Rebranding bilingualism: The shifting discourses of language education policy in California’s 2016 election. Linguistics and Education, 40, 1126.Google Scholar
LeCompte, M. & Preissle, J. (1993). Ethnography and Qualitative Design in Educational Research (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Academic.Google Scholar
Martínez, R., Hikida, M. & Durán, L. (2015). Unpacking ideologies of linguistic purism: How dual language teachers make sense of everyday translanguaging. International Multilingual Research Journal, 9(1), 2642.Google Scholar
McCarty, T. L. (2003). Revitalising Indigenous languages in homogenising timesComparative Education39(2), 147–63.Google Scholar
Menken, K. (2008). English Learners Left Behind: Standardized Testing as Language Policy. Clevedon, Avon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Menken, K. (2010). No Child Left Behind and English language learners: The challenges and consequences of high-stakes testing. Theory Into Practice, 49(2), 121–28.Google Scholar
Menken, K. (2011). From policy to practice in the multilingual apple: Bilingual education in New York City. Editorial Introduction. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 14(2), 123–33.Google Scholar
Menken, K. & Avni, S. (2017). Challenging linguistic purism in dual language bilingual education: A case study of Hebrew in a New York City public middle school. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 37, 185202.Google Scholar
Menken, K. & García, O. (eds.). (2010). Negotiating Language Policies in Schools: Educators as Policymakers. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Menken, K. & García, O. (2017). Language policy in classrooms and schools. In McCarty, T. & May, S. (eds.), Language Policy and Political Issues in Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education (3rd ed.). New York: Springer, pp. 116.Google Scholar
Menken, K. & Solorza, C. (2013). Where have all the bilingual programs gone?: Why prepared school leaders are essential for bilingual education. Journal of Multilingual Education Research, 4(3): 939.Google Scholar
Menken, K. & Solorza, C. (2014). No child left bilingual: Accountability and the elimination of bilingual education programs in New York City schools. Educational Policy, 28(1), 96125.Google Scholar
Miles, M., Huberman, A. & Saldaña, J. (2013). Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
New York City Department of Education. (2014). Memorandum of understanding between the New York City Department of Education and the New York State Education Department. New York, NY: Author. Retrieved from https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/1356880/doe-mou-final.pdf [Last accessed February 18, 2018].Google Scholar
New York City Department of Education. (2015). Checklist: Primary Characteristics of Model Dual Language Programs. New York, NY: Author.Google Scholar
New York City Department of Education. (2017). Chancellor Fariña announces citywide bilingual expansion, bringing 68 new programs to schools this fall. New York, NY: Author. Retrieved from http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/mediarelations/NewsandSpeeches/2016-2017/BilingualExpansion.htm [Last accessed March 1, 2017].Google Scholar
New York City Department of Education, Division of English Language Learners and Student Support. (2016). English language learner demographics report: 2014–15 school year. New York, NY: Author. Retrieved from http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/0183D51C-377B-4ED7-BCBE-607AE4669D54/0/201415ELLDemographicReport.pdf [Last accessed May 22, 2017].Google Scholar
New York State Education Department. (2011). New York City Department of Education’s Part 154 Corrective Action Plan for English language learners. Albany, NY: Author. Retrieved from www.p12.nysed.gov/docs/nycdoe-cap.html [Last accessed February 18, 2018].Google Scholar
New York State Education Department. (2017). Seal of Biliteracy. Chapter 271 of the Laws of 2012 (Section 815 of Education Law). Retrieved from http://sealofbiliteracy.org/new-york [Last accessed February 18, 2018].Google Scholar
New York State Education Department, Office of Bilingual Education and English as a New Language. (2014). Subpart 154–2 services for English language learners for programs operated in the 2015–2016 school year and thereafter. Retrieved from www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/bilingual-ed/terms-154-2-effective-2015-16-and-after.pdf [Last accessed May 22, 2017].Google Scholar
New York State Education Department, Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies. (2014). Blueprint for English Language Learners (ELLs) Success. Albany, NY: Author. Retrieved from www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/blueprint-for-ell-success.pdf [Last accessed February 18, 2018].Google Scholar
Palmer, D., Martínez, R., Mateus, S. & Henderson, K. (2014). Reframing the debate on language separation: Toward a vision for translanguaging pedagogies in the dual language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 98(3), 757–72.Google Scholar
Petrovic, J. E. (2005). The conservative restoration and neoliberal defenses of bilingual education. Language Policy, 4(4), 395416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rhoades, G. & Slaughter, S. (2004). Academic capitalism in the new economy: Challenges and choices. American Academic, 1(1), 3759.Google Scholar
Ricento, T. & Hornberger, N. (1996). Unpeeling the onion: Language planning and policy and the ELT professional. TESOL Quarterly, 30(3), 401–28.Google Scholar
Rolstad, K., Mahoney, K. & Glass, G. (2005). The big picture: A meta-analysis of program effectiveness research on English language learners. Educational Policy, 19(4), 572–94.Google Scholar
Solano-Flores, G. & Trumbull, E. (2008). In what language should English language learners be tested? In Kopriva, R. J. (ed.), Improving Testing for English Language Learners. New York: Routledge, pp. 169200.Google Scholar
Solórzano, R. (2008). High stakes testing: Issues, implications, and remedies for English language learners. Review of Educational Research, 78(2), 260329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steele, J., Slater, R., Zamarro, G., Miller, T., Li, J., Burkhauser, S. & Bacon, M. (2017). Effects of dual-language immersion programs on student achievement: Evidence from lottery data. American Educational Research Journal, 54(1S), 282S306S.Google Scholar
Tollefson, J. (1991). Planning Language, Planning Inequality: Language Policy in the Community. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Tollefson, J. (2013). Language Policies in Education: Critical Issues (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Umansky, I. & Reardon, S. (2014). Reclassification patterns among Latino English learner students in bilingual, dual immersion, and English immersion classroomsAmerican Educational Research Journal, 51, 879912.Google Scholar
Valdez, V., Delavan, G. & Freire, J. A. (2016). The marketing of dual language education policy in Utah print media. Educational Policy, 30(6), 849–83.Google Scholar
Valdez, V., Freire, J. & Delavan, M. (2016). The gentrification of dual language education. Urban Review, 48(4), 601–27.Google Scholar
Varghese, M. & Park, C. (2010). Going global: Can dual-language programs save bilingual education? Journal of Latinos and Education, 9(1), 7280.Google Scholar
Velasco, P., & Johnson, H. (2014). New York State bilingual common core initiative: Creating scaffolds for the successful education of language learners. In Minaya-Rowe, L. (ed.), Effective Educational Programs, Practices, and Policies for English Learners. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing (IAP), pp. 2962.Google Scholar
Wiley, T. & Wright, W. (2004). Against the undertow: Language-minority education policy and politics in the “age of accountability.” Educational Policy, 18(1), 142–68.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×