Bilingual Education

Prof. Jorge Mancillas’ column on bilingual education, “Assimilation Is More Than ABCs” (Commentary, Nov. 17), is right on! In a culturally diverse city such as Los Angeles it’s appalling that anyone with an inch of common sense could possibly oppose bilingual education. The large influx of children from Latin America, Asia and other parts of the world into our schools indicates that serious changes in the public education system are necessary and long overdue.

Bilingual education is a program designed to meet the needs of an increasing population of limited-English-proficient students. Studies in the field of second language acquisition have demonstrated that the benefits of bilingual education for these children not only serve as a bridge for the acquisition of English but assist in developing their self-esteem, increase their success in other academic areas and provide them with the opportunity to be proficient in more than one language.

With the changing demographics, the ability to communicate in languages other than English is becoming a basic necessity. The idea of limiting and depriving these students of the opportunity of developing and building on the bilingual/biliterate skills they may already have is senseless. The public education system should be the place where children are taught and trained to function and succeed fully in the multiethnic world of today and the future.

Xenophobia and the fostering of the “English-only mentality” have no place in an ever-changing, culturally and linguistically diverse city such as Los Angeles and its public education system. MARIA BARILLAS

Teacher Curriculum Specialist

Montebello Unified School District