ABSTRACT
Introduction Bilingual Education will be defined here as the application of specialized educational techniques to enhance the learning opportunities of students who come to school speaking a native language other than the predominant language of instruction. These students are referred to as language minority students, Limited English Proficient students, and also as English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States. Bilingual Education has received considerable research, and policy and practice attention because of the continued presence of non-English speaking immigrants and indigenous people of the United States who do not speak English as their native language. The U.S. Congress has authorized legislation targeted directly at these students on six separate occasions (1968, 1974, 1984, 1987, 1994, & 2001) while numerous states have enacted legislation and developed explicit program guidelines. The U.S. Federal District Courts and the U.S. Supreme Court have specific enunciated judgments that protect the rights of language minority students. In response to these actions, U.S. schools have developed various models of bilingual education. The intent of this chapter is to provide an overview of bilingual education in the United States with a focus on who is served by bilingual education, what research and educational practices indicate about bilingual education, and what policies have been generated at the federal and state levels regarding the students who are the focus of bilingual education.
