Why Bilingual Education?
Bilingual education continues to receive criticism in the national media. This Digest examines some of the criticism, and its effect on public opinion, which often is based on misconceptions about bilingual education’s goals and practice. The Digest explains the rationale underlying good bilingual education programs and summarizes research findings about their effectiveness. When schools provide children quality education in their primary language, they give them two things: knowledge and literacy. The knowledge that children get through their first language helps make the English they hear and read more comprehensible. Literacy developed in the primary language transfers to the second language. The reason is simple: Because we learn to read by reading–that is, by making sense of what is on the page (Smith, 1994)–it is easier to learn to read in a language we understand. Once we can read in one language, we can read in general. The combination of first language subject matter teachin
