The DEbilingualization of California's Prospective Bilingual Teachers

Abstract

California has a long history of linguistic diversity and conflict surrounding the education of students who come to school speaking a language other than English. This conflict has been evident since before the 1960s, when\nthe federal Bilingual Education Act was signed; presently, state legislation specifies that instruction must be overwhelmingly in English (Unz and Matta-Tuchman,\n1998). In June 1998, California voters approved Proposition 227. Authored by businessman Ron Unz and elementary teacher Gloria Mana Tuchman, the measure called for all students classified as English Language Learners (ELLs) to be placed\nin classrooms designed to provide intensive English language instruction for one academic year before placement in mainstream English-only classes. The intensive\nEnglish language program, called Structured English Immersion (SEI), places the instructional emphasis on English language instruction at the expense of other content\nareas for one to two years. This plan is based on an English-only ideology that\ndenounces the use of any language other than English as a medium of instruction\nin the public schools and includes a provision that allows parents to sue teachers\nand school administrators for using Spanish as a means of instruction.