Kaylee Evans, Emma Blennau, Maddie Ligos, and Mary O’Sullivan

Professor Reilly
EDUC 359
October 31, 2022
Video Debate Questions

--Roles? Who is on the Bilingual Education side? English Only?

● Maddie and Mary are on the Bilingual Education side.
● Emma and Kaylee are on the English Only side.

--Research Bilingual Education and English Only. Identify 3 pros for each, and 3 cons for each.
● Bilingual Education:
○ Pros:
■ Evidence shows that bilingual individuals have cognitive advantages over
monolingual individuals.
■ Develop better communication skills.
■ Incorporates cultural acceptance, understanding, and diversity.
○ Cons:
■ Learning some core academic subjects may be more difficult
■ It can be very expensive
■ Requires highly skilled and efficient instruction
● English Only:
○ Pros:
■ Full immersion (the right environment)
■ Better Problem Solvers
■ Improved listening skills
○ Cons:
■ Time Efficiency
■ Causes feelings of resentment or frustration
■ Students can be uncomfortable which results in less engagement

--Identify 3 key points you will discuss in your opening for Bilingual Education. Briefly describe
why you believe the key points are relevant/appropriate for the debate. Do the same for English
only.
● Bilingual Education:
○ Spanish is the most common non-English language spoken in the US. 83.3
million Americans speak Spanish as a first or second language. Bilingual
education will prepare students to communicate with more people.
○ Working memory is significantly increased when a student can speak a second
language. This will help bilingual students in all aspects of their educational
career, and lives.
○ Bilingual education creates an opportunity for diversity and equity in schools,
which is heavily lacking in the United States Education systems.
● English Only:
 ○ Allowing students to speak other languages distracts them from the task of
learning English. By allowing students to use their native language, they may not
be as willing to challenge themselves to learn unknown words in English.
○ Students who don't speak only English are also not thinking in English. Speaking
only in English helps students begin speaking English internally and allowing
them to focus on only English can help that process.
○ The only way to become fluent in a language is by being immersed in the
language. The best way to learn a language is to be immersed in it so allowing
your student to be immersed will help them.

--Create 3 questions the English Only side will ask the Bilingual Education side during the cross
examination. Also vice versa.
● Bilingual Education:
○ 1. Do you think that by using English only in the classroom, teachers tend to feel
more comfortable in their environment? Do you think it is more beneficial for the
students?
○ 2. What are ways teachers can make ELL confident in the classroom when there
is only English spoken? How will this impact them in the future?
○ 3. How can an English only method be problematic in schools that hold ELL
students?
● English Only:
○ 1. Do you think that by using both the native language and English, teachers
tend to use the native language as a “crutch” which can hinder the students'
English language development?
○ 2. What are some strategies that the teacher can do to help strengthen the ELL
students abilities in reading, speaking, and writing in English.
○ 3. Are Bilingual Education programs getting as much attention as other
programs like Title 1 which tend to be more effective?

--Identify 3 key points you will address in your closing statements for both English Only and
Bilingual Education.
● Bilingual Education:
○ Students who transfer into new schools as an ELL learner can experience great
anxiety and depression when it comes to their desire to learn in an unfamiliar
setting. Students and student’s parents may have very little Englsih skills in
yearly years. Teachers who incorporate bilingual education in classrooms allow
balance when teaching subjects such as math, science, history, etc. Using both
languages in a classroom help develop a stronger foundation of their first
language as well as English as their second language. It also gets English only
speaking students to become aware of new languages.
○ Students who can speak and write in multiple languages have cognitive
advantages over their English only peers. Young second or third language
learners are able to develop communication skills and a higher degree of literacy.
 Children who grow up in a bilingual environment are exposed to a stronger
foundation on how language works and develop a stronger desire for learning
additional languages in the future.
○ Bilingual education have strong correlations between students cultural and social
growth outside the classroom. Exploring multiple languages in the classroom
provides a foundation that allows students to learn and grown alongside
classmates from different cultural backgrounds.

● English Only:
○ Students who are presented with English only instruction tend to become better
problem solvers because English-only classes force students to find solutions
and think outside of the box to find new and better ways to communicate and
help deliver their questions and responses to their teacher. These skills can help
them through the class with implementing solutions they can use again in future
classroom discussions.
○ Through this, ELL students tend to become better listeners/ their listening skills
improve. They start as a passive listener and then gradually become active
listeners participating in an English only classroom.
○ Becoming immersed in the English language provides a way for students to learn
all 4 parts of the language (listening, reading, writing, speaking) efficiently. They
are able to work on all of these aspects as well as watch their peers