excerpts from http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2004/04/24/schools_say_english_immersion_is_slow_going?pg=full
Schools say English 'immersion' is slow going
By Ken Maguire, Associated Press Writer
April 24, 2004
BROCKTON, Mass.
"English immersion, required in Massachusetts schools under a 2002 ballot
initiative, aims to force-feed English to immigrant children. It replaces a
system that taught core subjects in native languages while also giving students
English-language instruction. The new law says that after one year of
all-English instruction, children should be moved into regular classes. Critics
said the old system hurt children, mostly lower-income city kids, because it
took up to three years to get them ready for regular classes. But as this school
year draws to a close, educators are coming to believe that a one-year limit set
by the immersion law isn't realistic. Even top students like Jeiza Fernandes may
need another year to learn English. "It takes a person seven to eight years
to be fluent in one language. So, 180 days doesn't make any sense at all,"
Andrade said, noting the length of one school year. "We cannot acquire any
language in 180 days." Just four of Andrade's 16 immersion students are
scheduled to join regular classrooms full-time next school year, she said.
Silicon Valley millionaire Ron Unz, the successful financial force behind the
ballot initiative in Massachusetts -- and earlier votes in California and
Arizona -- said a significant majority should be placed in mainstream classes
after one year or less. The law states English immersion is not usually intended
to exceed one year, he said, but the spirit of the law indicates one year and
out."
"In Massachusetts, there are 49,300 students classified as English Language
Learners. Not all are in immersion programs. Many districts still run
traditional bilingual programs because parents of students older than 10 can
obtain waivers to keep kids in those classes. Although it's up to state
officials to enforce the new law, Education Commissioner David Driscoll says he
won't be cracking down on districts that don't move a child out of English
immersion at the end of a year. Forcing an unprepared student into a regular
class, he said, may violate that child's civil rights under federal law.
"There are a number of kids that are going to need more than one
year," Driscoll said. "They aren't ready to be mainstreamed. There was
a major change here in Massachusetts and with that major change did not come
either the funding or the time to respond. We're fundamentally changing the way
kids are being taught and teachers are teaching. So, what's happened is we're
trying to catch up."
"We see new students every single week," said Jose M. Pinheiro,
director of bilingual education at Brockton Public Schools. "They sit
quietly but they do not understand."
He said schools are obligated to help such students in their native language so
they don't fall hopelessly behind. "You cannot continue on a topic if they
did not understand," he said. Pinheiro said Brockton students taught under
the previous system moved on to regular classes in an average of 2 1/2 years.
About one-third of students in bilingual education, he said, were mainstreamed
each year.
"We expect the same thing to happen this year. This issue of one year and
the student is out is just a suggestion of the law," he said. "The
federal law says you cannot put a cap on time that students spend in the
program, otherwise you're infringing on their civil rights."