DOUBLE TALK? September 29, 1997

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Questions asked in this forum: What kinds of bilingual programs exist in other countries? Do bilingual classes exist for educational or cultural purposes? What is the scientific evidence that bilingual education does or does not work? How does institutional racism influence the bilingual debate? Additional comments... NewsHour Backgrounders A NewsHour report on bilingual education. The Ebonics debate moves to the U.S. Senate. The disparity between caucasian and minority children's literacy rates is on the increase February 11, 1997: The U.S. Congress debates whether to ban the children of illegal immigrants from the public education system Browse the Online NewsHour's coverage of education. Outside Links Ron Unz's "English for the Children" The National Association for Bilingual Education.

A question from Mary Caffery of Chicago, IL : Are there bilingual programs for students who come from China, Vietnam, Japan, Egypt, Kenya... etc. ? If not, why should there be bilingual programs for Spanish-speaking immigrants? Ron Unz of "English for the Children" responds: In California, approximately 80% of the non-English-speaking children are Hispanic. There are also relatively more Spanish-certified teachers. Therefore, the overwhelming majority of children in "bilingual" programs are Hispanic, while kids from other countries are generally taught English. Interestingly enough, Hispanic kids have the highest dropout rates and the lowest test scores. James Lyons of the National Association for Bilingual Education responds: Yes. In school year 1994-95, programs funded under the Federal Bilingual Education Act served students from 108 different language groups. In addition to programs for speakers of Spanish, there were 101 programs serving Vietnamese-speakers; 97 Chinese; 47 Korean, 45 Cherokee, 44 Russian, 38 Cambodian; 38 French Creole, 36 Thai, 33 Tagalog; 30 Navaho, 26 Arabic; 24 Dakota; 23 Hmong; 15 Portuguese; 15 Muskogee; 14 Choctaw; 12 Polish; 12 Hindi; 11 Persian; and 11 Japanese. Continue to read additional comments...

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