Bilingual education - is it necessary in the USA?

Let me point out the meaning of bilingual education according to Wikipedia: Bilingual education involves teaching all subjects in school through two different languages - in the United States, instruction occurs in English and a minority language, such as Spanish or Chinese, with varying amounts of each language used in accordance with the program model. The following are several different types of bilingual education program models: Transitional Bilingual Education. This involves education in a child's native language, typically for no more than three years, to ensure that students do not fall behind in content areas like math, science, and social studies while they are learning English. The goal is to help students transition to mainstream, English-only classrooms as quickly as possible, and the linguistic goal of such programs is English acquisition only. The overwhelming majority of bilingual programs in the U.S. are transitional. Two-Way or Dual Language Bilingual Education. These programs are designed to help native and non-native English speakers become bilingual and biliterate. Ideally in such programs in a U.S. context, half of the students will be native speakers of English and half of the students will be native speakers of a minority language such as Spanish. Dual Language programs are less commonly permitted in US schools, although research indicates they are extremely effective in helping students learn English well and aiding the long-term performance of English learners in school (Center for Applied Linguistics, 2005; Thomas & Collier, 1997; Lindholm-Leary, 2000). One of the most effective forms of Bilingual Education is a type of Dual Language program that has students study in two different ways: 1) A variety of academic subjects are taught in the students' second language, with specially trained bilingual teachers who can understand students when they ask questions in their native language, but always answer in the second language; and 2) Native language literacy classes improve students writing and higher-order language skills in their first language. Research has shown that many of the skills learned in the native language can be transferred easily to the second language later. In this type of program, the native language classes do not teach academic subjects. The second-language classes are content-based, rather than grammar-based, so students learn all of their academic subjects in the second language. Late-Exit or Developmental Bilingual Education. Education is in the child's native language for an extended duration, accompanied by education in English. The goal is to develop bilingualism and biliteracy in both languages. This program is available to students whose native language is not English, and also less common than transitional programs.

You mean like comming here and not kow how to speak Souix? Or Cherokee or any of the othe lanuages spoken by the natives when the Europeans invaded?

Naty1941: I apologize. I misunderstood. Newt probably didn't misunderstand. Teaching children English with this method is a great idea. I do not understand why Newt has a problem with it, but I Thank you for elaborating and educating me! WeenitsMom: Our society was not as advanced then as it is now. My point is, if you move to France, you are expected to know how to communicate in French. If you move to Mexico, you are expected to learn to communicate in Spanish. You do not, however, expect to move to another country and have all of the citizens there cater to your language because you chose not to educate yourself. I am not at all against being able to speak several languages. On the contrary, I think that is a wonderful thing. The pervasive language in the U.S. is English. If you move to this country, then you should at least have the courtesy to learn the language. Do you speak Sioux or Cherokee? If not, then maybe the both of us should pursue a bilingual education.

Thank you for your response it is very enlightning. I too live in California and have noticed that bilingual education is not working in California due to a variety of reasons. One thing I noticed is that the teachers that teach Bilingual education are not well trained in the native language of the students they are teaching. Therefore, the classes are not productive as the lesson becomes more complicated than they should be.

Bless ur tongue Marie, most countries require students to be equiped with two languages or more... native tongue and English or french or both.... in Amercia ur either either admired for that but still think it is not necessary or say u dont need another language

But it's not CITIZENS that don't speak English. One of the requirements to become a US citizen in the first place is to learn to speak English. This backlash all comes from the illegals, which in my area of the USA is a terrible problem. People are getting very angry that this country is bending over backward to help illegals while so many of our own citizens are in need.

Sounds like reverse integration to me. They are integrating your kids for the Spanish speakers. It certainly should be the other way around I would think. At one time I had immigrated to USA from my home country Romania.... Did I expect everyone to speak my language? NO. I learned English BEFORE I went and of course enrolled in classes once there to further my understanding of the language. I certainly wouldn't have expected to see things translated into my language on my account. If you go to my country to live I guarantee you have to learn our language. Why USA any different. It is insane the lengths that PC people will go to satisfy others while putting themself out.

Thank you for your response but where I come from, Puerto Rico, we have two offical languages Spanish and English and when an American comes to visit we speak to them in English as a courtesy. It also is good public relations as they will spend more money in the Island.