Multilingualism and Multilingual Education in the US: A Comprehensive Review

Ava Beck

doi:10.7273/000003758

Language is a core part of identity, so it follows that identity development and language acquisition are intimately linked. Language is also a core part of education, and the development of academic language is vitally important to success in an academic setting. The United States houses a vast array of both cultural and linguistic diversity in its student population and citizenry, many of whom struggle in the classroom. As a result, multilingualism and multilingual education represent central issues of identity and achievement in the American education system. As a future teacher and an advocate for early development of multilingualism, these issues are integral to my future career, and the central question I sought to answer for myself and for the growing body of research was “What present and historical factors have prevented the United States from adopting a multilingual approach to education and how can these factors be overcome?” In order to answer this question, I approached the topic of multilingual education from three vantage points I anticipated as being central to the issue: international perspectives, sociopolitical movements, and educational approaches. The international perspectives informed both approaches as well as outcomes of multilingual programs and offered examples that I believe the United States could follow. The sociopolitical movements framed the issues at work in the mindsets and policies of the population. The educational approaches provided practical applications that could be directly implemented in the classroom. What I found is that the issue is even more complex than I had anticipated, and that this project only scratched the surface of its complexity. As an overview, this project provides an effective summary of the three perspectives I had hoped to explore, but there are many more topics that are related, and even integral, to this issue which offer avenues that others might pursue in further research of this topic. For example, the experiences of speakers (or signers) of indigenous languages, non-standard dialects of English, and signed languages like American Sign Language contribute to the story of American multilingualism in ways that I was unable to address in this project. Nonetheless, I feel that I have answered the question I set out to answer to the best of my ability; the factors I had anticipated as barriers to the acceptance of multilingualism and multilingual education in the US were indeed barriers. As far as overcoming these barriers, the success of these programs is dependent on the support they receive in fulfilling the purpose they set out to accomplish. Teachers and administrators alike need the support of policymakers and parents to make these programs happen and to move them into more widely accepted circles. This support begins with a willingness to follow international examples, a consciousness of the faults we have fallen into in the past, and an openness to new experiences and pedagogies.

Multilingualism and Multilingual Education in the US: A Comprehensive Review

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