Summary: Programs for ELLs must include at least some amount of native language support, and ELL students should receive some form of special instruction and accommodations for at least 4 to 7 years.

• Advantages of bilingual education over English only
• The best research suggests that bilingual education is a successful model and does produce measurably better outcomes in academic achievement.
• When language minority students’ native language is valued and utilized in the curriculum, they are more likely to have increased self-esteem, less anxiety, and greater self-efficacy of their performance in educational settings.
• The most conservative conclusion - even if additive bilingualism does not contribute to increased metalinguistic awareness and cognitive flexibility, then it certainly does not detract from a person's innate capabilities.
• Success in non-bilingual programs depends on a number of conditions that are often not present for ELLs
• The reality in schools today suggests that children are best taught at least to some degree in their first language until they have acquired proficiency in English.
• Native language instruction is one method of teaching that educators must be free to use in constructing effective programs for ELLs.
• The time it takes to learn English
• It takes ELL students 4 to 7 years to learn English and this time period varies considerably depending on a number of factors.
• ELL students are learning English at a rapid and natural rate of development ("at the speed limit"), regardless of relative amounts of exposure to English vs. native language in school.


References

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