Re: “Schools should focus on teaching English” (Page A6, June 25).
This letter to the editor reflects some general misconceptions about bilingual education.
Related Articles
Support bill to make textiles sustainable: Letter to the editor
Better ways to save water than fake turf: Letter to the editor
Letters: No sales tax | Kelly for VP | Sustainable textiles | U.S. exceptionalism
Letters: Better solutions | Nation’s heritage | Call for freedom | Misconceptions abound
Letters: Replace Thao | Reconsider RCV | Natural resources | Applying reason | Left to Congress | Unqualified opinion
The primary goal of bilingual education is teaching English. But imagine if your 7-year-old self moved, suddenly, to Greece and was expected to read and learn in a language you didn’t know. You would lose years of instruction before you were ready to learn using Greek as the language of instruction.
In bilingual education, English is used increasingly through the years (in most models) so that proficiency and literacy in both languages are achieved. Research shows that students in bilingual programs equal or outperform their peers in English by 5th grade
Finally, where, precisely, will we find those bilingual teachers if we wait until high school “foreign” language class to teach literacy, and to use and value their native language? We need to provide incentives for and prepare more bilingual teachers.
Merryl KravitzProfessor Emerita, School of Education, New Mexico Highlands UniversitySan Jose