| Bilingual Education What is it? Bilingual Education is a method of education where the student is taught some classes in their own first language and some in a second language with the idea in most cases being that in the end the child will be able to speak and work in both languages. Generally it is accepted there are 3 main categories of bilingual education, these are: Transitional Bilingual Education: Students in this form of second language education are taught initially grade-level subjects in their own language with part of their day being learning English and then slowly they switch to all English instruction in all classes over a period of 2-3 years. This is also called Early Exit Bilingual Education. Maintenance Bilingual Education: In this model students learn their grade level subjects in their own language while spending part of their day learning in English. The goal is to keep the students equally bilingual in both their own language and English at the same time. Two-Way Bilingual Education: In this type of language education students from two languages are taught half of their subjects in one language and half of their subjects in the other language with the students helping each other learn and practice both languages. Why bilingual education? When a Limited English Proficient (LEP) child enters the American school system he or she is already at a disadvantage, because at that point they must learn both the things they need to be at their grade/age level, and also the English language as well. In the ESL/Immersion approach, these children are "pulled out" of regular classes either full time or part time and given an intensive crash course in English in an effort to put them into regular classes as quickly as possible. Even then, research has shown that the time lost while learning English instead of learning their grade level subjects such as math or science is a serious problem, and most children never catch up in their entire public educational career. This leads to frustration, low grades and low interest in education among many LEP children, and in fact many ESL/Immersion schooled students drop out of school because they can't keep up once they enter the normal school system. Research has proven that it takes about 2-3 years of regular practice for a person to learn a language well enough to hold a natural conversation with people who speak that language. On top of that, the research has also shown that it takes another 3-4 years of language learning for a person to be able to fully work and think in a language as well as someone who was born in the culture the language is spoken in (a "native speaker"). This means that it takes between 5 and 7 years for a person, or a child, to reach a level where they can compete with a native speaker of that language on an academic level, about the length of an Elementary school education. Research has also shown that children who are taught things in one language are capable of remembering and applying the things they learned in the first language in other languages they master. The important requirement being that they are able to master the second language so that they understand how to translate the content from the first language to the second in their heads. Bilingual education is based on these two ideas, that if we teach children things in one language such as math skills, geography, science or other core subjects, that once they reach a certain level of skill in English they will be able to apply what they learned in English as well. This also solves the problem that ESL/Immersion students often face because they don't lose any time while learning English and are able to keep learning the important subjects at the same time they learn English. A grade 6 or grade 11 Bilingual student is doing math and chemistry at a grade 6 or 11 level, and will keep doing it at their level even after they have transferred to an English-only education. Benefits of Bilingual Education The most obvious benefit of bilingual education is that when the child is finished their education, they will normally be able to speak and work in not one language but two languages. People who are bilingual have more job opportunities in corporations and the government, they have improved chances to make more money and overall recieve a better education than monolingual people who speak just one language. But, there are more benefits to bilingual education besides this, because children who are educated bilingually also gain a deep understanding of language that can only come with learning two languages. Because their brains become used to switching between two languages they become better at breaking down ideas and meanings, and understanding things from different points of view. Perhaps because of this, children who have been educated bilingually have proven to score slightly higher on some IQ tests than children who were educated in the normal monolingual way. Their brains are more adaptable and can solve problems better, which leads to increased thinking ability, and this allows them to get higher IQ scores than they otherwise might receive. Problems with Bilingual Education If the student is enrolled in a "transitional bilingual" education program, where they are trying to get the student into the English classroom without maintaining their original language, there is a chance the student will lose their original language. This problem, called "subtractive bilingualism", is less likely to happen with bilingually educated students than ESL/Immersion students, but it still happens. Especially with young students, they want to be like the other children around them, and if those children are English speakers then the children often only want to speak English, even at home. If the parents are bilingual and also start speaking English to the children at home to make talking easier, then the children can lose most of their original native language skills. Another problem of bilingual education is that it normally requires the children to be separated from their English-speaking classmates, sometimes in schools that are 100% bilingual, but usually in a few small classes. This kind of separation can lead to segregation as LEP children don't mix with the regular children at the school and keep to themselves or socialize with their LEP classmates. This can mean they don't get as many chances to practice their English, and could lead to their speaking skills not becoming as developed as they could be. However, in the long term once they are able to enter into the English-only classroom they will have many chances to speak English and socialize with English-speaking students. Back to Main Page... |