U.S. English Chairman Hails
Slow Death of Bilingual Education

"Taken together, the recent headlines amount to a major national trend: no matter what the age of the learner, students do better at learning English when they are taught overwhelmingly in English. What started as a parental revolt in California has grown into a national movement that has vindicated the approach we have advocated for years."

Although programs labeled as "English immersion" vary on the margins, they all share a same core approach: students are given a language intensive curriculum, and are taught overwhelmingly in English. The immersion approach differs from "bilingual" programs, in which children are taught most school subjects in their native language, with English taught as just another one of those subjects. The former approach is being embraced around the nation:

• Arizona, which switched to the English immersion approach after a 2000 ballot initiative, released numbers comparing students in immersion courses with students in "bilingual programs." Immersion students outperformed bilingual program students at all grade levels, with the gap widening at higher grade levels.
• To serve its immigrant population, Arkansas hospitals have begun a bilingual nurse recruitment project. In many cases, the nurses are non-native English speakers, and struggle with crucial medical terminology. Six prospective nursing students are now enrolled in the Transition Institute, a language project at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. The students are learning by being immersed in English.
• The Boston Globe featured a story on an English-language institute in Valdelavilla, Spain. The program is for Spaniards whose companies pay for a trip to the retreat in order to improve the employees’ value in dealing with transactions outside the country. The program pairs an English speaker with a Spanish speaker for hours of conversation. No speaking Spanish is allowed. After 10 days, "the Spaniards had made remarkable progress in English."
• The Kansas City Star reports that Olathe, Kansas has transferred young immigrant students into structured English immersion programs. "Early results for 2004 show [immersion program] students have already made big gains on test scores."

"Whenever the two approaches face off — whether it be the ballot or the marketplace — English immersion wins," Mujica continued. "Still, there are parts of the country, including New York, where a bureaucratic Flat Earth society has resisted reform. If we are to truly 'Leave No Child Behind,' we must give every child in America the chance to learn the language of opportunity."