English-speaking classroom and expected to be proficient in the English within two years. On the other hand, there are a large number of people who are against this new movement. In fact, they believe it is "in the public's best interest to leave the system as is"; no matter how inefficient it may be (McGee 11). The existing bilingual education system places limited English-speaking students in classrooms where their native language is used, not English. To intelligently conclude which option is best, we must look at why bilingual education should be replaced with Immersion or why bilingual education is efficient as it is.
First, we must look at the existing system of bilingual education. Most of the immigrant students in grade schools, approximately three-quarters, are Spanish-speaking, so the programs stress Spanish-language teaching. Though there are many other different immigrant languages, I will reference only the Spanish-speaking population for this paper as the majority of immigrant children are Spanish-speaking. The students are taught by Spanish-speaking teachers and speak only Spanish in the classroom. Throughout the day, the students hear English only at recess, lunch, PE, and music periods. English is rarely spoken to these students during academic classrooms, but only at play. If English is never used during studies, it can be difficult for a student to understand the language and how important it will become in later years. During the course of grade school, a "Hispanic student being subjected to today's method of bilingual education will not have a solid background in English in order to excel in high school"(Chavez 106). In order to understand math, history, or any basic skill, one must understand the teacher and their inst
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