Making the choice Bilingual or Immersion Education
Which is better Immersion or Bilingual Education?
One in every nine students today speaks a native language other than English, and it has been predicted that within the next twenty years, non-English speaking students will become as common as one in every four students (Goldenberg 10). This raises a question of how to give students the best education while helping them learn English. There are two basic forms of education used in schools today for English language learners (ELLs), English immersion and bilingual programs. In an English immersion program most or all of the time is spent only learning English. In a bilingual Education programs students are taught content in the native language and learning English at the same time. The two main forms of bilingual education are traditional programs, the most common form of bilingual education which teaches in the native language and immerses ELLs in mainstream English classes after three years, and developmental bilingual education, which teaches in both the native language and English and lasts up to 7 years (Donagen 54). The idea behind English immersion is to gain English proficiency while bilingual education is to develop literacy in English and the native language.
English immersion supporters that that it is a more effective teaching method because students can learn English at a much quicker rate. Some students may not feel this way because the English they were learning was not the English that they would use in regular conversation, they would only use it in an academic setting. The supporters feel that bilingual education delays the learning because both the native language and English are used to teach. According to Dr. Goldenberg, Professor of Education at Stanford University, it generally takes at least 3 years to reach an intermediate level of proficiency (12). But in some states, including California and Arizona, students are required to attend mainstream English classes after only one year,
One in every nine students today speaks a native language other than English, and it has been predicted that within the next twenty years, non-English speaking students will become as common as one in every four students (Goldenberg 10). This raises a question of how to give students the best education while helping them learn English. There are two basic forms of education used in schools today for English language learners (ELLs), English immersion and bilingual programs. In an English immersion program most or all of the time is spent only learning English. In a bilingual Education programs students are taught content in the native language and learning English at the same time. The two main forms of bilingual education are traditional programs, the most common form of bilingual education which teaches in the native language and immerses ELLs in mainstream English classes after three years, and developmental bilingual education, which teaches in both the native language and English and lasts up to 7 years (Donagen 54). The idea behind English immersion is to gain English proficiency while bilingual education is to develop literacy in English and the native language.
English immersion supporters that that it is a more effective teaching method because students can learn English at a much quicker rate. Some students may not feel this way because the English they were learning was not the English that they would use in regular conversation, they would only use it in an academic setting. The supporters feel that bilingual education delays the learning because both the native language and English are used to teach. According to Dr. Goldenberg, Professor of Education at Stanford University, it generally takes at least 3 years to reach an intermediate level of proficiency (12). But in some states, including California and Arizona, students are required to attend mainstream English classes after only one year,
Cited: Donagen, Craig. “Debate Over Bilingualism.” CQ Researcher. (1996): 49-72. Web. 10 October, 2013. Jost, Kenneth. “Bilingual Education vs. English Immersion.” CQ Researcher. (2009):1029-52. Web. 10 October 2013. “Preparing to Serve English Language Learners.” Ies.ed.gov. Institute of Educational Sciences. (2005): 1-32. Web. 10 October 2013. Goldenberg, Claude. “Teaching English Language Learners: What the Research Does – and Does Not – Show.” American Educator. (2008): 8-44. Web. 2013 Nov 20.