The Policy and Politics of Second Language Teaching

This thesis provides an overview of the major policies in the United States that have affected second language teaching. Then, it examines the debate that exists between two popular instructional methods of language teaching: bilingual education and English immersion. This thesis provides a case analysis of California's Proposition 227 of 1998, which mandated the use of English immersion as an instructional method in the state of California. The analysis examines the different language ideologies used by the policy advocates who were for or against the initiative.