Implementing Educational Language Policy in Arizona-Legal, Historical and Current Practices in SEI M. Beatriz Arias and Christian Faltis, New York: Multilingual Matters, 2012, 181 pages

Abstract

Implementing Educational Language Policy in Arizona-Legal, Historical and Current Practices in SEI, presents a critical examination of Arizona’s restrictive language policies as they influence teacher preparation and practice by bringing together scholars, researchers, and educators. The two editors of Implementing Educational Language Policy in Arizona, Beatriz Arias and Christian Faltis have a significant and substantial trajectory in the area of instructional policy of English learners. They have compiled a volume of chapters that provides us with a multidimensional analysis of the implementation and impact of state prescribed educational policies and their impact on language minority students in Arizona. These language-learning experts expose the effects of one state with the educational authority to impose educational policies that prescribes structured English immersion as the only model for instruction of language minorities. They reveal, layer-by-layer, the consequences of the Structured English Immersion (SEI) model and how it prescribes the complete segregation of English learners for four hours a day from English speakers and academic content for a minimum of one year. Furthermore, the book exposes the limited educational practices available to educational administers, teachers, and parents in determining opportunities for English learners resulting from the mandatory and restrictive language for instructional practices.