With a growing minority of youth in America that speaks poor or no English,
bilingual education – along with English as a Second Language (ESL) classes –has become an important part of maintaining a well educated citizenry.
Although there is heavy resistance from bilingual education opponents, proponents point to study after study that show ensuring a student is proficient in their native language first:
a. helps them learn English
b. ensures they will learn English better
c. results in a bilingual and biliterate student,
developing the brain in a manner conducive to learning
But perhaps more importantly, when a student is taught in a language they don’t understand very well they are virtually certain to fall behind. Often, once a student is behind they never catch back up, even as an adult. Rather than becoming a productive member of society, theybecome a burden.
If a student is already, or they become, proficient in their native language,
ESL
classes are often used as a way to teach the student English, allowing them to eventually integrate into an English-only school or youth education program.
Research has shown that a student educated in one language can easily transfer their writing and higher-order language skills over to another language. Indeed, many students who are native English speakers that understand higher orders of English language structure have noted that understanding English to a high degree in fact helped them learn the structure of a new language, and therefore become fluent in it much faster.
A proper
youth bilingual education program strives to teach both the student’s native language and the English language. Education in a student’s native language will prevent them from falling behind and becoming overwhelmed, while ESL instruction ensures that they can eventually become a productive and contributing member of an English speaking society.
