Speaks Out

Friday, January 16, 1998

Speaks Out

TODAY: Should bilingual education be an integral part of the
learning process for non-English speaking students?

Sara Gislason

I think it’s best through immersion. You’re basically forced to
do it and you can’t delay it and it goes much faster. I’d prefer to
have learned French through immersion.

David Abell

I think due to different paces in learning and complexities of
subject matter it’s necessary at times to revert to a native
language, but it is the responsibility of good teachers to teach
and encourage English whenever possible.

Kevin Buford

Immer- sion only works if the parents speak English, because
English is my second language and that’s the way I learned.

Dean Ho

I say we just throw them into the tank – immersion. If I had to
learn another language, I would just like to be sent to the other
country where I could be engulfed by its culture, language, and
customs head-on.

Shawn Chou

English as a second language first and then English. If we
separate the two they’ll never catch up to other students and never
become Americanized.

Laura Gundersheim

I think that if you’re forced not to speak your native language
you become intimidated to ask questions that’ll help you learn the
information better; so forcing students to speak the language
they’re trying to learn is going to stop them from learning as much
as they could.