Bilingual Education: Si or Non?
The truth about dual language programs.
by Vivian Manning-Schaffel
November 24, 2008
There are typically two types of dual language programs: 50/50 — where English is spoken half the time along with the immersion language, and 90/10 — where teachers speak the immersion language 90% of the time for grades K-1, then gradually increase the amount of English instruction until fifth grade, when it becomes a 50/50 split.
Classes consist of half English-speaking students and half "native language" students. Teachers only use one language at a time (no translation or language mixing), with the objective of developing high levels of oral language skills and literacy in English and the native language, academic achievement at or above grade level in both languages, and positive attitudes toward both cultures.
Kids in Europe and the Middle East have been learning two and three languages in elementary school for ages, yet many parents here in the U.S. have reservations about these programs.
"This country is largely a monolingual English society, despite the fact that there have always been many immigrant groups who speak other languages," says Elizabeth Howard, Ph.D., assistant professor of Bilingual Education at the Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut. "Parents are afraid their kids are going to be left behind." "Parents are afraid their kids are going to be left behind because they won't understand what's going on at math time, or they won't learn to read because they are learning to read in a language they don't speak very well."
I must admit, I sweated it a little when I initially envisioned my barely-five-year-old kid's teacher as an incomprehensible Peanuts cartoon, but experts say building a foundation of fluency at an early age will help him later. "Unless they visit the country or speak it at home, English-speaking kids are only exposed to the immersion language in school, so if they don't start young enough, they have trouble getting up to speed in the language to the level that they would be able to use the language to learn math, science and social studies concepts," says Howard.
Depending on where you live, this type of dual language immersion program can be the next best thing to pricey private schools or gifted and talented programs (which ironically use a lottery to select students), or as a means of integrating immigrant children.
©2008 Vivian Manning-Schaffel and Nerve Media
About the Author
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Vivian Manning-Schaffel has written for Parents, Parenting, The Advocate, The New York Post, Business Week and a variety of other publications. She lives and works in the heart of breeder Brooklyn with her husband and two kids. She's on the web at vivianmanningschaffel.com. |
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