I put myself in this place by imagining a similar scenario. If I was to move to China knowing only the English language and was placed in a classroom full of Chinese speaking people, how would I feel? I would feel isolated. I would not understand a word that was said because I don't know a word of the Chinese language. I would feel like there would be no point in going to school when I don't even understand what is being said. But if I were placed in a class full of American students where the lesson is taught in English and then translated into Chinese, I would feel at home. It would be motivating to know that I"m not the only one who was going through this transition between languages, and that I wasn't the only one who felt out of place. When I put myself in their place, there's no doubt in my mind that bilingual education is a good thing.
People who oppose bilingual education might say that a student would learn English faster if they were constantly exposed to it. "Some say that too many bilingual programs will shunt these students"(August 23). Some take it beyond education and into politics like Jay Greene explained: .
Opposers of bilingual education fear that government recognition of minority languages sends the wrong message to immigrants, encouraging them to believe that they could live in the United States without learning English or even conforming to the American ways.(96).
This is all very well understood, but how do the opposers expect Spanish- speaking immigrants to learn how to speak English when the opposers want to eliminate the few bilingual classes that do teach the Spanish-speaking students English? It's like me trying to learn Chinese with a Chinese teacher that only speaks Chinese. How is the teacher going to teach me when the teacher can't translate to me what a word means? It's the same process for a Spanish-speaking student to learn English; both languages must be there so the student can see what the words mean in their language.