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| Format | Dissertation |
|---|---|
| Creator | Fessler, Paul Rudolph, 1967- |
| Title | Speaking in Tongues: German Americans and the Heritage of Bilingual Education in American Public Schools |
| Dissertation Note (type -- academic institution) | Ph.D -- Texas A&M University |
| Date | 1997 |
| View Online | |
| Abstract | Examines German-English bilingual programs in American public schools during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Two main questions are posed in this work. First, how were German Americans able to introduce these bilingual programs into the public schools? Cities with these bilingual programs, particularly Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Baltimore are examined. A variety of factors, including numerical dominance and party affiliation, aided the Germans in their fight for bilingual education. Secondly, what impact did German-English programs have upon children? In order to gauge the impact of bilingual education on individual children, the school records from two cities in Minnesota are analyzed: New Ulm, a German-dominated city that had an extensive German-English program; and Owatonna, which did not have bilingual education in the city's public schools despite a large German population. A series of quantitative analyses revealed that the two groups of German students from New Ulm and Owatonna exhibited very similar behavior as adults. At the least, bilingual education did not hinder the New Ulm students who were enrolled in the German-English programs. Considering that rural ethnic enclaves such as New Ulm tended to have lower rates of occupational and geographic mobility, bilingual education probably allowed the New Ulm Germans to compete on an equal basis with the Owatonna Germans. Finally, the study compares the German-English programs to the contemporary bilingual classes in American public schools. The similarities and differences of the two eras' bilingual programs are delineated. The successful German-English programs are very similar to two-way bilingual education, the most successful bilingual education method used in American public schools, offering a useful perspective to the debate on bilingual education in America's public schools. |
| Call Number | Digital file (PDF) |
| MKI Terms | Education/ German Americans -- Minnesota/ Bilingualism/ Language, German (US)/ Schools/ 19th century |