アメリカのバイリンガル教育法における言語観

Abstract

The first federal legislation for bilingual education in the United States was the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, which was passed by Congress under Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The 1968 Bilingual Education Act represented the first national acknowledgment of special educational needs of children of limited English proficiency. This Act was reauthorized in 1974, 1978, 1984, 1988 and 1994.This paper traces the historical development of language policy of the Bilingual Education Act. Teaching English and teaching the native language for minority language children have been the main theme of this Act. But the estimate and the meaning of teaching these two languages have changed from the 1968 Act to the 1994 Act.The Bilingual Educatin Act of 1968 provided funds for bilingual education programs, but it didn't specify ‘bilingual’ education.The 1974 amendments defined a ‘program of bilingual education’. The definition provided that ‘there is instruction given in, and study of, English and, to the extent necessary to allow a child to progress effectively through the educational system, the native language of the children of limited English-speaking ability’. It also authorized ‘the voluntary enrollment to a limited degree’ of English-speaking children in bilingual education programs.The 1978 amendments clarified the definition of eligible children. The term ‘limited-English-proficient’ supplanted ‘limited-English-speaking’ in recognition of the importance of reading, writing, understanding and cognitive skills in addition to speaking. It also clarified the 1974 provision authorizing the voluntary enrollment ‘to a limited degree’ of English-speaking children by specifying that up to 40 percent of the students could be native-English speakers.Although federal bilingual education policy had proceeded along with the civil rights enforcement during 1970s, the Reagan Administration quickly moved to change federal education policy and to cut funding for the Bilingual Education Act.Both the 1984 amendments and the 1988 amendments clarified that the goal of all Bilingual Education Act programs was enabling LEP (limited English proficient) students ‘to achieve competence in the English language-and to meet grade-promotion and graduation standards’. Not only bilingual programs but also monolingual English programs for LEP students were authorized for grants. The three major instructional programs were TBE (transitional bilingual education), DBE (developmental bilingual education) and SAIP(special alternative instructional programs), that is, monolingual English programs.The 1994 amendments also authorized to fund both bilingual programs and monolingual English programs. The 25 percent allowance for SAIP, defined as those that do ‘not use the student's native language for instructional purposes’, has been retained. In awarding grants, it gave priority to applicants seeking to develop ‘bilingualproficiency both in English and another language for all participating students’. In addition, it is authorized to fund programs designed to conserve endangered Native American languages.Richard Ruiz, who specializes in the study of language policy, has proposed three ‘basic orientations’ toward language and its role in American society. That is language-as-problem, language-as-right and language-as-resource. Language policy of the Bilingual Educatuin Act can be considerded in the framework of these orientations. Language-as-problem seeks solutions to complications created by diversity. Language-as-right stresses principles of equality, self-determination and entitlement. Language-as-resource regards linguistic skills as a form of human capital to be conserved and developed in pursuit of national goals.