English-only Education Movement in the U.S.: Focusing on Proposition 227

Abstract

This paper analyzes the recent English-only movement prevalent in the United States of America, focusing on Proposition 227, which was enacted as California Educational Code in 1998. Seemingly, the legislation of 227 is considered a victory of pro-English monolingual activists, who have propagated their anti-bilingual sentiment throughout the nation since the 1980s. Advocates of English-only education maintain that bilingualism and bilingual education do much harm to the limited English proficient students by obstructing the development of English proficiency, whereas advocates of bilingual education rebut this argument as groundless and misleading. Unless Proposition 227 is overturned by California voters, the educational law is expected to exert its legal power in oppressing bilingualism and bilingual education that have been appraised as beneficial to the education of ethnic minority students in the state.