Bilingual Education, Immersion Technique

In response to your article on bilingual education (Aug. 26), I would like to say that the majority of teachers in Santa Ana and the United States are not in favor of bilingual education.

This program’s proponents claim to have seen positive results due to native-language instruction. Where are these good results?

Certainly not in elementary schools where children begin instruction in Spanish reading in kindergarten. They do not read or hardly hear a word of English until the third grade.

When they begin instruction in English, they have to start at the beginning with the alphabet and first-grade books. The transitional reading program claims that the Spanish readers can catch up with the students who begin English reading instruction in kindergarten, but most never do because they are already two years behind.

Where are the good results in junior high school? Talk to the teachers. They are completely frustrated because these children can’t read or write at the sixth-, seventh- or eighth-grade levels. The teen-agers are frustrated and embarrassed at their lack of English, and they soon drop out.

I disagree strongly with the article’s definition of immersion. Immersion is not submersion. Submersion is the sink-or-swim philosophy. Who uses that today with all the English as a second language and sheltered English classes? In immersion, the children are taught in English, and translation is given in the native language when needed. Many, many teachers use this method, and it is very successful.

(Currently) when the children enter kindergarten, they are tested to find out how much English they already know. Asians with no English go to English classes, and Latinos with no English go to Spanish classes. Does this make any sense?

Why are we supposed to maintain the Spanish language and culture over all the others? How can we? The crux of the matter is money.

When children are designated LEP (limited English pupil), the districts get extra money from the federal government for each child so labeled. There is no incentive to have these children reach fluency. When or if ever they are redesignated fluent, the districts lose the extra money.

The people in vaulted positions that are pushing this program would not be in those positions if they had begun their education in bilingual education’s transitional reading program. Because they were fortunate enough to not be in this mess, give other people who want to succeed a chance to do so.

ANNA SHINE

Irvine

Anna Shine is a teacher in the Santa Ana Unified School District.