News & Media

Massachusetts On the Right Track With English Immersion

Results in California are Encouraging

Starting this September, LEP children in Massachusetts will take English immersion classes for a year before entering mainstream classes. Parents will have the option of suing teachers who refuse to implement the program or who repeatedly use a student’s native tongue rather than English. The movement to English immersion is a national trend as California and Arizona have passed similar initiatives.

While some bilingual education advocates have expressed doubt about the reform, many LEP students are looking forward to learning English and realize it is their ticket to success. “I think it is good,” said Nelson Canuto, a student at Jeremiah Burke High School in Dorchester. “I already know Creole so I don’t need to speak it in America. I want to speak English.” His classmate, Irlanda Varella, agrees. “I’ll understand a little more, then tomorrow, a little more, and then one day, I’ll understand everything.” Besides, “in college, teachers won’t speak Cape Verdean.”

The optimism of these students is warranted. California switched from bilingual education to English immersion in 1999 and has already seen the benefits. One-third of California's Limited English Proficient (LEP) students were able to pass the 2002 California English Language Development Test. This is triple the number who were able to meet the minimum language standards the previous year.

The results mean that the 275,000 students who scored at the "early advanced" and "advanced" levels on the exam will now have an easier time gaining access to higher level courses which will better prepare them for entry into higher education and, ultimately, better career opportunities. California teachers attributed the startling results to the switch to English immersion for most immigrant students.

“Voters in the Bay State chose wisely in November and all the people of Massachusetts – especially LEP students – will see the benefits,” said Mauro Mujica, Chairman of U.S. ENGLISH. “The most important thing we can do for immigrants is to teach them English as quickly as possible, so that they have the opportunity to succeed in their new country. The results in California show that English immersion is the best way to do this.”

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.