Padilla, Raymond V. Title VII ESEA: The Ambivalence of Language Policy in the United States. Bilingual Research Journal, Volume 22 #1, December 1998, Online.

Full Article

Annotation:  This introduction to a special issue of the Bilingual Research Journal focuses on the role, relevance and impact Title VII has had in the last 30 years. Padilla points to the ambivalence of bilingual education, in other words the existence of mutually conflicting feelings about a concept whose implementation might be neither wholly good nor wholly bad.  Though the article begins with a call for views of bilingual education’s proponents and detractors alike, in comes down hard on the “English for the Children” initiative, sighting inaccuracies and perceived misleading tactics. Using the differentiation of bilinguality and bilingualism as an example, Padilla demonstrates the inequity in the acknowledged drive to increase the nation’s bilinguality (individual speakers of two or more languages) while attempting to diminish regional and cultural bilingualism (societal groups possessing the ability to negotiate meaning in two or more languages). Other obstacles addressed are: the resistance by colleges and universities to reconfigure their monolingual and bilingual teacher education programs to adequately prepare graduates for the special challenges presented by LEP students.

Course Components:

1. Cognitive Theories Paper 
2. Legal Cases Analytical Paper 
3. Presentation  
4. Notebook 
5. Paper 
6. Professional Development