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Paper Abstract: Examines models of teaching. Contends immersion is best. Paper Introduction: This paper is a critical examination of the issue of bilingual education in American schools. Diane Ravitch, an educator and scholar with experience in the field, argues that efforts to teach children in two languages, their language of origin and English, have failed, and that structured immersion, in which students are taught exclusively in English, is the only really effective way to keep students advancing and achieving in school. She bases her argument on the rates for Hispanic students "unable to pass an English-language test after three years of bilingual education" (94) She notes that students unable to develop fluency in English are more likely to fail in life, since "unless students are fluent in English, they will not have a fair chance of graduating from high school, going to college, Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. S. Conservative estimates put thecurrent figures at almost three and a half million, with the highestconcentrations in Alaska, New Mexico, and California (McLaughlin 6). Baker and A. A. Department of Education, June, 1996.Ravitch, Diane. Students who will spend evenings andweekends without hearing any English at all are not being truly immersed. Structured immersionis one approach to teaching English quickly, but research has shown thatall students do not learn any subject in exactly the same way, and Englishis no different. S. In addition, the context in which the student is learning isimportant. By the time the Bilingual Education Act of 1968was passed, educators had begun to recognize that America, as a nation ofimmigrants, would always have a large population of school-age childrenwith limited proficiency in English. Effectiveness of Bilingual Education: A Review of the Literature. She has a good point. Yet her recommended method for achieving fluency has not been provento have any more success than many of the programs already in place. Washington, DC: U. The need for bilingual education is increasing in the United States.Ravitch is correct in noting that fluency in English is necessary forsocietal success, but her prescription for getting there is simplistic andfar too limited. Works CitedBaker, K. DeKanter. Every student is an individual. She points tothe success of the same kind of approach by the Pentagon and in New York'sCity University. Just as different methods are usedto teach reading and different kinds of intelligence help students learn indifferent ways, so too should the learning of English be adapted to thestudent's individual needs. Inother words, immersing a student in English-only instruction is likely toslow the child's progress in other academic areas while he or she tries togain fluency. "A Casebook for Analysis: Does Bilingual Education Make Sense?" (September 9, 1997): 94-98.----------------------- 5 Sheargues that the Middlebury College Language School's program should providea useful model for the application of structured immersion. A., and A. In 1963, the success of a two-way bilingual program teaching thechildren of Cuban refugees in Dade County, Florida, paved the way for amore sensitive approach. However, all of her examples involve at least college-agestudents who are highly motivated by their employment or higher-educationchoices to master English for specific applications. She acknowledges that bilinguality is a useful skillfor all students, and her argument that fluency in English is essential tosuccess in American society cannot be refuted. Until the early 196 s, public education in the United Statesconsisted of a more ignorant version of Ravitch's approach. A. Schools used a"sink or swim" policy for students who could not speak English, holdingthem back until they had mastered English and conducting instructionexclusively in English, regardless of the child's language of origin (Baker23). Department of Education, 1981.McLaughlin, B. A. Studies have shown that English-languageinstruction is most effective when services are tailored to the student'sspecific needs, including, where needed, providing instruction in thechild's native language as the foundation for instruction in English. DeKanter point out that researching theeffectiveness of different approaches is difficult: "It is more useful toinvestigate features of classrooms and programs that are effective inspecific contexts, rather than assuming that a single model would be bestin all situations" (86). She bases her argument on the rates for Hispanic students "unable topass an English-language test after three years of bilingual education"(94) She notes that students unable to develop fluency in English are morelikely to fail in life, since "unless students are fluent in English, theywill not have a fair chance of graduating from high school, going tocollege, and getting good jobs" (95). Theseinclude not only the rapidly rising number of Hispanic immigrants thatRavitch seeks to helps but also substantial populations of nativeAmericans, born in the United States but not raised to speak English astheir first language. Immersion programs are most effective when the student isgenuinely immersed in the language. K. However, herinsistence on the abolition of bilingual education as a solution isshortsighted and ignores the considerable research that has led to theestablishment of an extensive nationwide program of bilingual education. Ravitch does believe, "The United States should not be an English-only society" (95). "Educating All Our Children: Improving Education for Children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds." Impact Statement/Final Report on the Accomplishments of the National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning, submitted to the U. Diane Ravitch, an educator and scholar withexperience in the field, argues that efforts to teach children in twolanguages, their language of origin and English, have failed, and thatstructured immersion, in which students are taught exclusively in English,is the only really effective way to keep students advancing and achievingin school. 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