[CALIBK12] Bilingual education, libraries, and English

[Stephen Krashen]

Sent to American Libraries, November 18
Bilingual education, libraries, and English

Julia Stephens (“English spoken here,” November 2007)
incorrectly states  that “there is no evidence from
test scores that bilingual programs increase English
proficiency.” In fact, the success of bilingual
education is one of the most consistent results in
educational research. 

Study after study has shown that children in bilingual
programs typically outperform similar children in
all-English classes on tests of English reading. In
fact, four major reviews coming to this conclusion
have been published in the last two years in
professional journals.  

Developing literacy in the child’s first language
helps tremendously in English language development: It
is much easier to develop literacy in a language you
understand, and once you are literate in any language,
it is easier to develop literacy in your second
language. In other words, literacy transfers across
languages. Also, those who develop a pleasure reading
habit in their first language are more likely to
become readers in their second language. 

Supporters of bilingual education are not interested
in having a “divided country.”  We all agree that
English is our goal.  Bilingual education and
libraries well stocked with interesting reading in
other languages are potent means of achieving this
goal.

Stephen Krashen
Professor Emeritus
University of Southern California

Author (with Jim Crawford), English Learners in
American Classrooms: 101 Questions, 101 Answers
(Scholastic, 2007)
Author (with Fay Shin), Summer Reading: Program and
Evidence (Allyn & Bacon, 2007)
Author, The Power of Reading (Heinemann and Libraries
Unlimited, 2004, second edition)

The four major reviews:
1. Slavin, R. and Cheung, A. 2005. A synthesis of
research of reading instruction for English language
learners, Review of Educational Research 75(2):
247-284.
2. Rolstad, K., Mahoney, K., & Glass, G. 2005. The big
picture: A meta-analysis of program effectiveness
research on English language learners. Educational
Policy 19(4): 572-594. 
3. Genesse, F., Lindolm-Leary, K., Saunders, W., and
Christian, D. 2005. English Language Learners in U.S.
Schools: An Overview of Research.  Journal of
Education for Students Placed at Risk, 10(4), 363–385.
4. Francis, D., Lesaux, N., & August, D. 2006.
Language of instruction, In D. August & T. Shanahan,
(Eds.) Developing literacy in second-language
learners, pp. 365-413. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.