Bilingualism in

Education
Bilingual
As defined by Webster’s dictionary, is the ability to speak two languages
Colonial America
Early Colonial
There was many languages used during
the Colonial Era including French,
Spanish, Dutch, and German

By the 1664 lower Manhattan had over

18 different languages not including the
Native American languages
Colonial Era
German and French were the most
common languages spoken

Germans even taught their children

at German-speaking schools

Colonial leaders complained about

the bilingualism in the colonies but
did nothing to stop it. The
Constitution has no Official language

They even release documents in two

different languages
The 19th Century
More immigrants come to America meaning more languages were introduced
to American

Languages the grew in popularity were German and Spanish

Spanish was mostly found in Texas, Florida, and California

Americanization
During the 1880’s and lasting until the early 1920’s there was a national
movement to gradually integrate immigrant families into the American society

Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Philippines did not have a gradual integration, their
education was strictly taught in English, even it the students did not speak oo
understand it
Americanization
1906, Congress passed the first language law requiring naturalized citizens to
be able to speak English

1917, WWI German was banned in public

1924, strict immigration quotas

Schools use a variation of immersion to strict English to remove foreign

languages in education. Students who have not mastered English were held
back
American schools vs European Schools
Works cited
“History of Bilingual Education.” Findlaw, education.findlaw.com/discrimination-harassment-at-school/history-of-
bilingual-education.html.

“Bilingualism.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bilingualism.