The United States is one the world’s most ethnically diverse nations; the U.S. attracts immigrants from several countries. One of the most frequent asked questions are: how we accommodate immigrants and whether to try to fully blend them into the U.S. culture? There is a huge controversy over the Bilingual Education issue. After many years of bilingual education in the United States, one thing is certain that it doesn’t work and it’s failing America’s immigrants but many might disagree with this statement and may think that Bilingual Education is a successful program.
Two-way language development programs, also referred to as bilingual immersion, dual language, and mainstreaming education, are full-time programs that use two languages, one of which is English, for the purpose of instruction (Mora, 2000). Ideally, these programs are composed of elementary or secondary students, half of whom are native speakers of English, the other half of whom are native speakers of the other language of instruction. Subject matter is learned through the native language as well as through the second language, enabling students to become proficient in a second language, and to continue developing skills and proficiency in their native language. Two-way language development programs seek to promote the following: (1) bilingual education as an enrichment program for all students rather than as a compensatory education mode for limited-English-proficient (LEP) students; (2) better understanding between two linguistic communities in a given district as they work towards a common goal; (3) access to equal education by all students; and (4) educational excellence.
Specific objectives of two-way language development programs include the following: --Language minority students will become literate in their native language as well as in English. Language majority students will develop high levels of proficiency in a second language while making normal progress in first language development (Mora, 2000)................
