Bilingual education

Introduction

The controversial debate over English immersion and bilingual education programs has effects in almost every school system. Advocates of bilingual education believe that it is necessary for children to be instructed in their native tongue and gradually be introduced to English or else they may fall behind in school. Supporters of English immersion say that bilingual education programs hinder the learning process of the English language, thus retarding the learning potential of a child. English immersion supports the “sink or swim” idea of immersing a limited English proficiency (LEP) child in an almost completely English-speaking environment. English immersion supporters then rely on the idea that LEP children will “swim” after being thrown into such a situation, and eventually catch up to the rest of their classmates. Are bilingual education programs a hindrance to learning English? If they are, should programs where children are forced to learn English through almost complete immersion be used in place of bilingual education programs? To answer these questions correctly, a full understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of both programs is required.

Problems

It is important to first understand the techniques and goals of the bilingual education program before deciding if the program is harmful to a student's potential to learn English. The creators of bilingual education strongly believe in the idea that teaching technical subjects, such as math and science, in English can be harmful to a child's development in that subject. The goal of bilingual education is to teach children mathematical and scientific concepts in a child's native language while teaching him or her conversational English on the side. Several noted scholars support this technique and feel that students learning the English language should be taught all academic subjects in their native language for no fewer than five, and preferably seven, years (The Changing Face of Bilingual Education). The knowledge and skills that are acquired after five to seven years of instruction in a student's primary language will transfer to the his or her English speaking ability (Research Agenda for Adult ESL). The same scholars also believe that such academic instruction in the student's native language is necessary for students to benefit from typical classrooms (The Changing Face of Bilingual Education). Like most contemporary models of bilingual education, children will gain competency needed to survive in a normal classroom.

Supporters of English immersion programs feel that an approach where children spent a great deal of their academic time using English would bring a child closer to proficiency at a more rapid pace than a bilingual education program. English immersion supporters think that the best way to become comfortable with a language is to use it as much as possible. Supporters say that the only times that a child not proficient in English should be spoken to in his or her native language would be to clarify a point, to help a child to complete a task, or to answer a question (The Changing Face of Bilingual Education). After approximately a year in English immersion programs children ...