Bilingual Students
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* Douglas Lasken (letter, Dec. 6) wrote that students who are “redesignated” have “finally earned the right to study English for the first time.” This is totally incorrect. Students who enter a bilingual program begin studying English from day one, while receiving instruction in academic subjects in the language they know best.
The amount of English instruction they receive increases gradually as their mastery of English improves. At some point, they receive nearly all of their academic instruction in English, taught in a technique called “sheltered English,” which makes the material more comprehensible to the students. This is delivered in English. “Redesignated” means that the students have achieved enough fluency in academic English so that they can successfully compete in a “regular” class with native speakers of English. It does not mean that they are ready for their first instruction in English.
The redesignated students I have taught, in years of instruction at middle school and high school, have generally performed at levels comparable to their English-only counterparts.
MAUREEN SLOAN
West Hills
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