Bilingual Education

In an increasingly global community and marketplace, the need for bilingual education is greater than ever and can help bridge the gap between countries, cultures and economies.  With the advent of networking technology and global free trade agreements, many large corporations are now multinational and house offices which conduct business in various parts of the world. The demand for bilingual employees is in turn increasing the demand for bilingual education as early as primary school. Additionally, the influx of immigrants to the United States in search of a new way of life is increasing the number of English as Second Language (ESL) students who need a bilingual education to help them assimilate to their new English speaking surroundings and reap the same educational benefits as their American born counterparts.

One example of bilingual education is the second language courses which are offered in most American middle schools and high schools. Usually limited to a few European languages and Latin American Spanish, these courses introduce English speaking students to a new language in the hope that they will continue their bilingual education into college or even graduate school.  However, as the number of Spanish speaking students in American schools increase, many districts in areas heavily affected offer bilingual education to these ESL students so they may stay current with the other students in all subjects while learning to become fluent in English at the same time. Although much debate surrounds this, the need for bilingual education in many areas of the country is a reality and in keeping with the concept of free education in public schools, efforts must be made to accommodate ESL students.

However, many private schools are following in the same path that most European schools have taken for years and offering standard bilingual education. For instance, there are private schools who teach half of the day in English and the other half in a chosen foreign language, such as French.  This method of teaching facilitates fluency in a second language must faster while instilling a more global, multi cultural perspective of the world in students.