Bilingual education involves learning in two languages, with some countries using it to preserve regional languages. In the Middle East, it is common to teach science and maths in English, while history and language are taught in Arabic. In the US, there is debate over English-only learning policies.
Bilingual education is a form of education in which a student learns in two languages, typically a native or source language that the person already speaks and a secondary language that is considered a common or official language. This type of education is quite prevalent and popular in some countries, while in other countries it is frowned upon or has been completely abandoned in favor of unilingual programs. A bilingual program usually splits different classes into one language or another, providing certain materials in each language. Bilingual education is quite common and popular in areas with many different common languages or countries with a large immigrant population.
In general, bilingual education is the practice of incorporating two languages into a student’s education. For example, in Spain, there is one official national language, Castilian Spanish, and four equal regional languages within the country. In order to effectively facilitate education in a way that establishes national use of Castilian without destroying regional language variations, many students learn in both languages. Some lessons may be presented in one language, while others will use the other language.
Bilingual education is used in much of the Middle East, for example, as is trilingual education. It is common for subjects such as language and history to be taught in local, native languages such as Arabic. Science and math, however, are often taught in English, and in some regions, French or Kurdish is also used in classrooms. This type of bilingual education allows students to learn in their home language, the language that students and their parents speak at home, and a secondary language in which they become fluent. It is also typical that concepts learned about a native language are easily transferred by a learner to a better understanding of the secondary language.
In other countries, bilingual education is a source of controversy or debate among educators and political leaders. The United States (US), for example, has a number of different policies regarding language and education, with a lot of effort being put into supporting English-only learning. In some states, new students can spend one to three years learning in their native language while also learning English before moving into predominantly English classrooms.
Other US states, such as Arizona, do not allow any adjustment hours and immediately place students in classrooms where English is predominantly or exclusively spoken. The effectiveness of such programs is up for debate, and the No Child Left Behind program sets national requirements for all students, regardless of English proficiency, to take annual English tests. There are many advocates of various types of bilingual education in the US, however, and some secondary language classes are often required of all US students before completing public education.
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