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In Early Childhood Education The Illinois State Board of Education was supposed to vote this week on whether all state-funded preschools run by school districts must provide official bilingual programs by 2014.
But the proposal was so controversial that it was pulled off the agenda at the last minute. Supporters hailed it as a needed benefit. Critics said programs would have a hard time finding qualified teachers.
Under the proposed rule, programs with at least 20 students who speak the same non-English language would be required to teach students in their home languages. Those with 19 or fewer students would teach students in English, but with specialized English as a Second Language content.
Currently, Chicago schools decide on an individual basis whether to offer a bilingual program. Typically, those that do not keep an aide or parent volunteer in the classroom who can communicate with children who do not speak English. They also receive assistance from bilingual coaches, who are trained to disseminate ESL teaching methods to staff who aren’t certified in the specialty.
The measure brings state policy in line with a law that took effect in January 2009. The change would not affect state-funded preschool programs in private day care centers and community-based organizations (except for those funded by school districts, a category which includes nearly all community-based Preschool for All sites in the city of Chicago).
Only 1200 teachers across the state have both a bilingual or ESL credential and an early-childhood endorsement, but many of them are teaching in elementary schools. And the pipeline is slow: during the 2008-09 school year, just 33 teachers joined that group.
Barbara Bowman, head of the Chicago Public Schools Office of Early Childhood Education, estimates the district would likely need to hire about 100 new teachers.
Districts can use bilingual money to help teachers get certified, ISBE spokeswoman Mary Fergus says. But including preschoolers in bilingual law doesn’t mean the funds would increase proportionally. The state allocates the funds each year, and in a time of budget cuts, bilingual dollars, too, are likely to take a hit.
Despite these challenges, bilingual education advocates see the proposed change as a positive one. DePaul University education professor Sonia Soltero says some preschoolers in CPS – along with many elsewhere in Illinois – need more help than they are currently getting.
Putting children in all-English classes without additional help “is not supported by any evidence,” she says, noting that it takes five to seven years for students to learn enough English to succeed in school.
In her keynote address at Oakton Community College’s Infant Toddler Conference on March 6, Soltero painted a sobering picture of the effects of the “sink or swim” all-English preschool classes that are common around the state.
Students may find themselves in an unfamiliar environment, unable to fully understand what is going on, Soltero told the crowd. Without bilingual or ESL classes, students may have a higher risk of school failure down the road, especially if they are also growing up in poverty. In the early elementary years, they may begin to feel ashamed of non-English-speaking parents, and tell them not to visit school.
Her vision: Expanding bilingual programs, including in the upper grades, to produce children who are fluent and literate in both their first language and in English – reaping the job-market advantages.
But it isn’t clear whether bilingual preschool programs would, in practice, be a step toward that goal. The law doesn’t say how to meet the bilingual instruction requirement, Bowman notes, or how much of it must happen in a child’s first language.
“If we don’t have [enough] teachers, they may have to move children [to English] more quickly – so that the same teacher can serve more children,” Bowman says.
Program relevance at issue
Luisiana Melendez, director of the Erikson Institute’s Bilingual/ESL certificate program, says that she doesn’t think there are enough seats in certification programs for all the teachers who would need to go back to school to get the credential.
Most of such teachers likely would end up with endorsements geared toward K-12 classes, Melendez says. Only two institutions in the state – Erikson and DePaul – offer specialized coursework for early-childhood educators; the Illinois Early Learning Council is working to get more universities to address the issue.
Still, Melendez says, the coursework won’t be a waste. “[It] addresses things that are crucial to teachers who are working with dual language learners,” she says.
She says that preschool bilingual education is getting more attention. Head Start has expanded its professional development but has yet to make bilingual education a requirement.
“At the top level of Head Start, this is a hot topic,” Melendez says. “There is momentum.”
Bilingual education has been a national issue since the 1970s. But in the late 1990s and the No Child Left Behind era, a growing emphasis on accountability led to more focus on English proficiency and less on second-language education, she says.
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Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 12:44 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
Just because a child does not speak English, does not mean, he/she is not a U.S. citizen with equal rights as any other child. The reality is that these children need to be able to communicate with their parents who are not English speakers, this is the fundamental right. The self-esteem of a child, their family foundation, their ability to learn new concepts (not just the English language) are the core to the right to bilingual education. For decades ignoring this issue has resulted in children growing up disconnected from their families since they cannot speak the parents language, not knowing who they are, feeling ashamed of their ethnic background and their parents, finding other ways to fit. Unfortunately many drop out of schools and join gangs as a result of being confused. Seeing how wonderfully a child responds to being acknowledged, respected and valued for who they are and for what they have to offer is the goal of every teacher. Why not acknowledge, respect and value their home language, their home experiences, their families? Of course in these days of resentment and racism the ones that pay the consequences are the most vulnerable, the young children.
Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 5:24 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
we pay for illegals--in education, in medical, in welfare, in jobs-heck, at my childs school, ALL the LSC parents running wrote their statements in Spanish and i was told too bad if I cannot read them since I read only English. so don;t give me this junk about prek and gangs.
Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 7:08 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
I have been working in education for 20 years in the city of Chicago. Preschoolers who receive bilingual education continue to require bilingual education for a minimum of three years. After that point, many of them will be referred for a full and individual evaluation for failure to make academic progress. Bilingual education at present is not doing anyone any favors. It doesn't keep families together any more than a monolingual system disconnects children from families. They are watching english language television. Can you say sponge bob square pants? Instead of pre k instruction in spanish, let's offer more english language classes to parents. As a bilingual educator, I'm beginning to feel that there is a sense of entitlement from the spanish-speaking parents, and no incentive for them to learn english. After living here for 10 years or more, or even being born here, I've met children and adults alike who only speak spanish. Or pretend to. Get rid of it.
Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 7:46 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
I agree. My family has run a private school for years, and they have many students come in unable to speak English (the parents can barely speak English sometimes). The students speak everything from Mongolian, Korean, Polish, Russian, and Spanish! The teachers all speak English, and a 3 or 4 year old who speaks no English can be speaking fluently within a year. The school does the Terra Nova tests for kids who are considered to be in kindergarten or above, and the kids consistently score well above the 70% percentile on average (many are in the 90+%). This is a Montessori school.
I don't think it is possible to effectively teach English speaking children to be bilingual at such a young age, unless you immerse them in a classroom of mostly native Spanish speakers. IMO, the goal is to surround the child in the foreign language so they can absorb the language through words, actions, and body language. If half of the class is speaking English, then the English students tend to flock together because they are able to communicate with each other, while the Spanish speaking students flock to the other kids who speak Spanish. I don't think logistically there is a way to isolate students well enough to allow them to be fully immersed in the language.
Also, one has to understand that for a 5 or 6 year old to learn a new language, they will appear "slow" for a few years as they fully grasp the language. Giving them additional support or time is necessary, but labeling them as stupid or special needs is not necessary. I can't see how bilingual education where the students are divided essentially in half would only take a few years. It would probably take a life time of learning to get both groups on the same track.
Personally, I'd rather send my child to a private Spanish speaking school to immerse him/her in the language at an early age (2-5) then continue the Spanish instruction as an extra curricular when he/she goes to traditional school and is expected to speak and learn in English.
I don't think it is possible to effectively teach English speaking children to be bilingual at such a young age, unless you immerse them in a classroom of mostly native Spanish speakers. IMO, the goal is to surround the child in the foreign language so they can absorb the language through words, actions, and body language. If half of the class is speaking English, then the English students tend to flock together because they are able to communicate with each other, while the Spanish speaking students flock to the other kids who speak Spanish. I don't think logistically there is a way to isolate students well enough to allow them to be fully immersed in the language.
Also, one has to understand that for a 5 or 6 year old to learn a new language, they will appear "slow" for a few years as they fully grasp the language. Giving them additional support or time is necessary, but labeling them as stupid or special needs is not necessary. I can't see how bilingual education where the students are divided essentially in half would only take a few years. It would probably take a life time of learning to get both groups on the same track.
Personally, I'd rather send my child to a private Spanish speaking school to immerse him/her in the language at an early age (2-5) then continue the Spanish instruction as an extra curricular when he/she goes to traditional school and is expected to speak and learn in English.
Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 9:42 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
a private school. CPS has lots of Spanish speaking schools, would you relocate to live in the neighborhood?--not likely.
And if you did and spoke only English, you child would NOT be allowed in the classroom anyway under CPS policy.
And if you did and spoke only English, you child would NOT be allowed in the classroom anyway under CPS policy.
Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 9:50 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
You are correct! My wife had a parent come in to her school for his 12 yr. old son, a severe behavior problem. He is from Mexico and stated, that USA is a rich country and that the school has the money to do something about his son's problem, It is our responsibility not his. There are many who do not have legal status to work here, yet they get free lunch and school supplies on our taxes. Bitter-yes, I have been laid off and now she is next.
Fri Mar 26, 2010 at 5:02 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
How can one teach if that student does not speak English and the dominate language is Spanish? You teach them in their language and interject the English language. Bilingual education is a method that can be utilized to promote logic, math, reading, and social norms. It can be a tool to reach the potential open mind found in every young child and instead of forcing a monolingual form of instruction, one should be open enough to instill a dual language, bilingual language and trilingual language method. Only in the USA do we not value the bilingual or multilingual individual.
Fri Mar 26, 2010 at 5:40 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
In determining whether a bilingual program would be beneficial for preschoolers we need to look at the facts so that we can make informed decisions:
• 90% of brain development occurs by the age of five (RAND Corporation) We need to have exposure to these kids early...the earlier the better
• Before the age of 7, the brain is essentially wired for learning a language. This is why learning our primary language has to happen during this time, and why learning a second language in the early years is optimal as opposed to waiting for high school. (The Carolina Abecedarian Project) If we are interested in English Language Learners and literacy we must consider oral language development and how these skills relate to literacy. After all, language development is the foundation for literacy. To the extent that the language systems are developed in the child’s native language will directly affect and determine how quickly and efficiently transfer occurs not only to literacy in Spanish but to subsequent proficiency and literacy skills in English.
• We need to consider demographics. Children in low-income families on public assistance hear one-half to one-third as many spoken words as children in more affluent households, so that a child in a low-income home knows about 3,000 words by age 6, while in a high-income family it is closer to 20,000. (America Reads) As a bilingual speech and language pathologist diagnosing students ages 3-21 I can tell you that this is a serious problem not only in our Hispanic communities but with many students who come from poverty. I test many students who at age four and five have less than 1,000 words in their repertoire. Trust me when I say it’s much easier and cost effective in the long run to try to close that gap when they’re young rather than waiting until elementary grades to try to deal with these issues.
• 90% of brain development occurs by the age of five (RAND Corporation) We need to have exposure to these kids early...the earlier the better
• Before the age of 7, the brain is essentially wired for learning a language. This is why learning our primary language has to happen during this time, and why learning a second language in the early years is optimal as opposed to waiting for high school. (The Carolina Abecedarian Project) If we are interested in English Language Learners and literacy we must consider oral language development and how these skills relate to literacy. After all, language development is the foundation for literacy. To the extent that the language systems are developed in the child’s native language will directly affect and determine how quickly and efficiently transfer occurs not only to literacy in Spanish but to subsequent proficiency and literacy skills in English.
• We need to consider demographics. Children in low-income families on public assistance hear one-half to one-third as many spoken words as children in more affluent households, so that a child in a low-income home knows about 3,000 words by age 6, while in a high-income family it is closer to 20,000. (America Reads) As a bilingual speech and language pathologist diagnosing students ages 3-21 I can tell you that this is a serious problem not only in our Hispanic communities but with many students who come from poverty. I test many students who at age four and five have less than 1,000 words in their repertoire. Trust me when I say it’s much easier and cost effective in the long run to try to close that gap when they’re young rather than waiting until elementary grades to try to deal with these issues.
Sat Mar 27, 2010 at 12:55 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
I agree with the intent of the law. I teach many Spanish speaking students and have a wonderful assistant who is bilingual. I do not speak Spanish and know that if I did, ALL of my students would benefit. In addition to trying to learn Spanish with Rosetta Stone, I'm currently enrolled in ESL endorsement coursework in anticipation of the law. I can't help but feel that I'm paying to be able to keep my job. This is another example of lawmakers not putting the money where their mouths are. Education is one of the few professions that doesn't value continuing education enough to subsidize it in some way,
Sat Mar 27, 2010 at 4:53 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
I'm not sure full language immersion is not "supported by any evidence" for preschoolers. Kids in this age bracket pick up second languages very well. I support bilingual supports and/or instruction for older children- but preschoolers? Or even kindergarteners? Not really, unless the child is disabled. I think it would be more helpful to just fund longer school days in full immersion classrooms so children have greater language exposure, as well as reaching out into the spanish speaking community to get more preschoolers into classes.
Beyond that, before the state mandates ANY more school services, they need to PAY the money they owe to schools. Our school district may have to end ALL ESL preschool services- how is this mandate going to help when they can't even get the children into the classroom? No more unfunded mandates.
Beyond that, before the state mandates ANY more school services, they need to PAY the money they owe to schools. Our school district may have to end ALL ESL preschool services- how is this mandate going to help when they can't even get the children into the classroom? No more unfunded mandates.
Sat Mar 27, 2010 at 10:53 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
The country is broke, the state is broke, we cannot afford to give our legal citizens a decent education. CPS is proposing approximately 40 students per classroom. We must insist on educating only children of US citizens. We cannot afford to educate and/or reward the lawbreakers which are those that came to this country illegally. We must stop the incentives for the illegals to immigrate here.
Sun Mar 28, 2010 at 7:23 AM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
I am a retired principal, 33 years of service and 15 years of principalship. I kept abreast of research and the special education statistics have documented the larger number of referrals requesting a Case Study Evaluation have been generated by Latinos attending the Standard Education Program without any support to their English as a Second Language needs. Consequently, the Case Study is implemented by monolingual professionals not able to distinguish between disabilities and language needs in the cases of mild or moderate disabilities (severe disabilities are much easier to diagnose). If we continue with the "Status Quo," the # of referrals will increase due to the pressure of the NCLB Standards. The Early Childhood with support for the students' linguistic needs (native language and ESL) will prevent the future sentence to being labeled special education.
Sun Mar 28, 2010 at 2:17 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
HB 5569 Seeks Ban Chicago Teachers Union
Illinois Republicans aim to further cripple Chicago Teachers Union
http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=1272#comment16432
John Kugler - March 28, 2010
The Chicago Board of Education is trying to get legislation (HB 5596) introduced by Illinois State Republican House representatives to allow the school board to to reopen the Chicago Teachers Union contract without the agreement of the union.
The bill seeks to prohibit any educational employee from going on strike during the time when the contract would be opened by the school board because it does not want to fulfil the contractual agreement for salary increases. In addition to the prohibition on striking when the employer breaks the contract for not wanting to pay the negotiated pay raises, there would be significant penalties for striking: the exclusive bargaining agent shall be removed and declared ineligible for representation for 2 years; employer cannot deduct dues for the exclusive bargaining agent for 2 years; fines may be imposed on the bargaining rep and officers.
continued
http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=1272#comment16432
Illinois Republicans aim to further cripple Chicago Teachers Union
http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=1272#comment16432
John Kugler - March 28, 2010
The Chicago Board of Education is trying to get legislation (HB 5596) introduced by Illinois State Republican House representatives to allow the school board to to reopen the Chicago Teachers Union contract without the agreement of the union.
The bill seeks to prohibit any educational employee from going on strike during the time when the contract would be opened by the school board because it does not want to fulfil the contractual agreement for salary increases. In addition to the prohibition on striking when the employer breaks the contract for not wanting to pay the negotiated pay raises, there would be significant penalties for striking: the exclusive bargaining agent shall be removed and declared ineligible for representation for 2 years; employer cannot deduct dues for the exclusive bargaining agent for 2 years; fines may be imposed on the bargaining rep and officers.
continued
http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=1272#comment16432
Sun Mar 28, 2010 at 2:22 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
Studies have shown that language is best acquired by age 6, that's why there is the push for pre-school/kindergarten. I do think that academically, children need to spend additional time on their reading/writing skills to fill in the gaps between one language and another language. These gaps are sometimes labeled as learning disabled, which is unfortunate because the children are not learning disabled but learning a lot!! They just need more time to sort and process it.
Mon Mar 29, 2010 at 1:08 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
To Nicole and Others:
1. I see that many negative comments are based on bias against immigrants (even if they state it's about illegals), but this bias has historically existed in the U.S. (the nativist movements). It is unfortunate, because if the children are not given all the opportunity to become educated and successful, productive members of our society, we ALL pay the price, regardless of individual views.
2. A Federa court ruling protects the rights of all children to a free public education, including the undocumented ones, who should not be penalized since they were not responsible for the actions of their parents (see Plyler v Doe).
3. Developing a strong foundation in the home language, in my experience, is the best way to ensure excellent 2nd language development and academic results. Children coming from homes where another language is spoken but whose parents are well educated, middle class members have a significant advantage in that respect, since they have been exposed to extensive vocabulary development in a literacy rich home environment.
4. Children coming from lower economic background have generally the disadvantage of having limited vocabulary and have not been exposed to the same experiences (e.g., interaction with books, different reading materials, cultural events, etc.) that serve to expand language and allow them to be ready for schoolwork.
5. Children from homes where another language is spoken and whose families are of limited means face the double challenge of having had limited opportunities to develop a strong foundation in at least one language, and have seldom been exposed to a great deal of experiences that allow them to gain all the prior knowledge required to be successful in school.
6. Acquiring full proficiency in a second language takes longer than three years. By proficiency, I mean the ability to speak, understand, read, write and perform academically at the same level of competency as an academically successful native English speaker. Full proficiency is not equivalent to the ability to converse with schoolmates in English (that is not academic Englisch, it's "hallway" or "playgound" English).
7. There are many variables affecting how long the process of successfully acquiring a second language will take. This has been supported by research (and my own experience). Among them: age, socioeconomic status, and the number of years of formal schooling in the native language. Immigrant children who have completed three or more years of schooling in their home countries, for example, have an easier and more successful transition into the general education/all English program (thus, a strong academic foundation in the native language is key to easier and quicker acquisition of academic English). I encountered to be the case in my own personal experience.
In conclusion: appropriate early childhood programs where the home language is strengthened so that it provides a strong foundation for the acquisition of English, and where instructors have the knowledge and skills needed to work with English languge learners is a win-win situation. It prevents early negative experiences in school (and the development of a dislike for schooling, and feelings of failure), overidentification/referral of language minority children for special education, early school leaving (i.e., drop-outs), among others. Overall, it is more cost effective to invest on English learner up-front.
And for those who could not care less when it comes to others, at least think in these terms: the more successful and highly educated the next generation will be, the higher their contributions to the Social Security fund.
In the meantime, please refrain from blaming the children for things that are going wrong with your personal life, the economy, etc. Children should not be made the scapegoats.
1. I see that many negative comments are based on bias against immigrants (even if they state it's about illegals), but this bias has historically existed in the U.S. (the nativist movements). It is unfortunate, because if the children are not given all the opportunity to become educated and successful, productive members of our society, we ALL pay the price, regardless of individual views.
2. A Federa court ruling protects the rights of all children to a free public education, including the undocumented ones, who should not be penalized since they were not responsible for the actions of their parents (see Plyler v Doe).
3. Developing a strong foundation in the home language, in my experience, is the best way to ensure excellent 2nd language development and academic results. Children coming from homes where another language is spoken but whose parents are well educated, middle class members have a significant advantage in that respect, since they have been exposed to extensive vocabulary development in a literacy rich home environment.
4. Children coming from lower economic background have generally the disadvantage of having limited vocabulary and have not been exposed to the same experiences (e.g., interaction with books, different reading materials, cultural events, etc.) that serve to expand language and allow them to be ready for schoolwork.
5. Children from homes where another language is spoken and whose families are of limited means face the double challenge of having had limited opportunities to develop a strong foundation in at least one language, and have seldom been exposed to a great deal of experiences that allow them to gain all the prior knowledge required to be successful in school.
6. Acquiring full proficiency in a second language takes longer than three years. By proficiency, I mean the ability to speak, understand, read, write and perform academically at the same level of competency as an academically successful native English speaker. Full proficiency is not equivalent to the ability to converse with schoolmates in English (that is not academic Englisch, it's "hallway" or "playgound" English).
7. There are many variables affecting how long the process of successfully acquiring a second language will take. This has been supported by research (and my own experience). Among them: age, socioeconomic status, and the number of years of formal schooling in the native language. Immigrant children who have completed three or more years of schooling in their home countries, for example, have an easier and more successful transition into the general education/all English program (thus, a strong academic foundation in the native language is key to easier and quicker acquisition of academic English). I encountered to be the case in my own personal experience.
In conclusion: appropriate early childhood programs where the home language is strengthened so that it provides a strong foundation for the acquisition of English, and where instructors have the knowledge and skills needed to work with English languge learners is a win-win situation. It prevents early negative experiences in school (and the development of a dislike for schooling, and feelings of failure), overidentification/referral of language minority children for special education, early school leaving (i.e., drop-outs), among others. Overall, it is more cost effective to invest on English learner up-front.
And for those who could not care less when it comes to others, at least think in these terms: the more successful and highly educated the next generation will be, the higher their contributions to the Social Security fund.
In the meantime, please refrain from blaming the children for things that are going wrong with your personal life, the economy, etc. Children should not be made the scapegoats.
Mon Mar 29, 2010 at 1:46 PM
State education board considering bilingual ed for preschoolers
This proposed legislation is a good first step in expanding bilingual programming in Illinois. There is a great deal of room for improvement. It is well understood within the fields of bilingual and special education that bilingual education results in higher achievement and long-term life outcomes for students whether they are native English speakers or English language learners.
We should want all of our children to be bilingual! This is a strength, and bilingualism has neurological benefits that are similar to learning a instrument. These assets can be realized by typical learners and students with disabilities.
Second language acquisition takes time. Most children who are "graduated" from bilingual programs across the nation only have a communicative competence in English, not the academic competence that some comments suggest. The term "fluency", as it was used above in regard to 3-4 year-olds, does not capture the language depth required for content area learning. Collier and other researchers conducted longitudinal studies regarding the effectiveness of different language programs (e.g., immersion, ESL, and bilingual) and determined that bilingual programs yield far superior student achievement outcomes (see CAL.org). Two to three years of bilingual programming is the standard across the U.S., and this is insufficient to prepare our youth for our increasingly specialized and technology-based society.
There absolutely is a dearth of personnel to provide these services, but that shortage is not being remedied by current programs that devalue the native languages that students bring to classrooms. The U.S. government is currently funding students who pursue language majors in colleges; why is bilingual education that occurs during the optimal language learning period of childhood received with such mixed emotions?
Finally, 60% of English language learners in the U.S. are native born (NASBE, 2007). They are not immigrants. These are our children, and we have an obligation to them as well as our communities to serve them well. If we do not cultivate ALL of their cognitive strengths now, we will pay later. The investment in bilingual education now will return incredible dividends later.
We should want all of our children to be bilingual! This is a strength, and bilingualism has neurological benefits that are similar to learning a instrument. These assets can be realized by typical learners and students with disabilities.
Second language acquisition takes time. Most children who are "graduated" from bilingual programs across the nation only have a communicative competence in English, not the academic competence that some comments suggest. The term "fluency", as it was used above in regard to 3-4 year-olds, does not capture the language depth required for content area learning. Collier and other researchers conducted longitudinal studies regarding the effectiveness of different language programs (e.g., immersion, ESL, and bilingual) and determined that bilingual programs yield far superior student achievement outcomes (see CAL.org). Two to three years of bilingual programming is the standard across the U.S., and this is insufficient to prepare our youth for our increasingly specialized and technology-based society.
There absolutely is a dearth of personnel to provide these services, but that shortage is not being remedied by current programs that devalue the native languages that students bring to classrooms. The U.S. government is currently funding students who pursue language majors in colleges; why is bilingual education that occurs during the optimal language learning period of childhood received with such mixed emotions?
Finally, 60% of English language learners in the U.S. are native born (NASBE, 2007). They are not immigrants. These are our children, and we have an obligation to them as well as our communities to serve them well. If we do not cultivate ALL of their cognitive strengths now, we will pay later. The investment in bilingual education now will return incredible dividends later.
Wed Apr 7, 2010 at 1:55 AM
What a Great Foundation!
It would be a great foundation for children to receive bilingual education services! The earlier that they learn to read in their primary language, the better they will read in English.
Don't forget that many bilingual education programs (two-way immersion) programs also have native English speaking children who are learning another language.
If this is to be implemented, it is going to require planning so that the bilingual programs are effectively implemented. We know that they have superior outcomes WHEN WELL IMPLEMENTED.
We often blog about these related topics at http://multilingualmania.com
Don't forget that many bilingual education programs (two-way immersion) programs also have native English speaking children who are learning another language.
If this is to be implemented, it is going to require planning so that the bilingual programs are effectively implemented. We know that they have superior outcomes WHEN WELL IMPLEMENTED.
We often blog about these related topics at http://multilingualmania.com
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