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Separating fact from fiction about education.
Informational series for business leaders, policy makers, community leaders and members of the media.
Fiction:
It is un-American to teach children in any language other than English.
What the fiction suggests:
Bilingual education maintains people's native languages at the expense of our common language.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Bilingual education is a more effective way of teaching English.
About 3.5 million school children in the United States do not speak English.1 National polls confirm that non-English-speaking parents want their children to learn English and want to speak English themselves.2 They know that learning English is vital to their success. The long waiting lists for English classes at literacy centers across the country are proof of this fact.3 Bilingual education builds on the resources that families offer. Children learn from their parents and teachers, and they have an innate capacity to process and use several languages.4 Once children have mastered one language, it is easier for them to learn other languages.5
Fact:
America needs bilingual education to produce educated, well-informed citizens.
What the truth means:
The most effective way to teach English to children who speak another language is through an adequate bilingual education program.
When business people hire experts to teach them a foreign language, the experts do not use the foreign language exclusively. They consistently relate foreign words and concepts to those already understood in the native language. Research shows that teaching children who do not speak English only in English is threatening to them and actually impedes their learning of other subjects. A good bilingual education program, on the other hand, enhances the learning of English and subject matter.6 Bilingual education teaches English to children and gives them a chance to practice it while they also learn subjects like math and science.7 Children do not have to waste time in class or wait until they learn English well to begin learning about numbers or about what plants need in order to grow.
The majority of American voters support bilingual education as a better way for children to learn English and excel in all their subjects.8
"In the future, all children should be trilingual - proficient in their native language, prficient in a second language and computer literate. The business community understands the value of trained, multilingual employees. We must offer a workforce that can meet such a demand."
– Mike Moses, Commissioner, Texas Education Agency, November 1995
References
- Rodriguez, R. "The Politics of Language," Hispanic Magazine, April 1996.
- Poll reported in the Los Angeles Times, December 7, 1992.
- U.S. House Judiciary Committee Report 104-728, July 31, 1996.
- Sosa, A.S. Questions and Answers About Bilingual Education, Intercultural Development Research Association, 1993; Strickland, D.S. "Emergent Literacy: How Young Children Learn to Read and Write," Educational Leadership, March 1990; Gonzalez-Mena, J. Tips and Tidbits: A Book for Family Daycare Providers, National Association for the Education of Young Children, November 1991.
- "Bilingual Education: Separating Fact from Fiction" NABE News, National Association for Bilingual Education, February 1, 1996.
- CᲤenas, J.A. Multicultural Education: A Generation of Advocacy, Simon and Schuster, 1995; V.P. Collier and W. Thomas. "Language Minority Student Achievement and Program Effectiveness," research summary of ongoing study, George Mason University, September 1995.
- Sosa, A.S. Questions and Answers About Bilingual Education, Intercultural Development Research Association, 1993.
- Headden, S. "One Nation, One Language?" U.S. News and World Report, September 25, 1995.
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National Academy of Sciences. Assessing Evaluation Studies: The Case of Bilingual Education. Panel review of two Department of Education studies (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1992).
© 1996.
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