Explain the difference between bilingual education (various types) and ESL programs. In what ways are they attentive to and effective in language comprehension and acquisition? Explain your own preference as to the most effective program.

To begin an assessment of the differences between various forms of bilingual education and ESL programs, it is helpful to recall a statement made about the two from the Lau Remedies. The "Remedies" prescribed a transitional form of bilingual education, and specifically rejected ESL as a remedy for elementary students "because an ESL program does not consider the affective nor cognitive development of students."

The Lau Remedies provide a good starting point for a comparison between ESL and bilingual education, as the cognitive development of young people is highly regarded, and any evidence that reveals retardation in this type of growth presents a cause for concern. In the late 70s research was done that revealed that students educated to be fully proficient bilinguals experienced positive cognitive development, whereas partial bilingualism produced neither positive nor negative results, and limited proficiency in L1 and L2 produced negative cognitive effects.

A true bilingual program is a program that encourages and respects language and culture in both L1 and L2, and aims to produce a fully bilingual citizen. Here the first language of the student is emphasized and used in teaching, thereby retaining L1 while strengthening the student’s ability to gain in L2. ESL, on the other hand, does not generally offer instruction in both L1 and L2, thereby truncating the growth of L1. ESL programs are less likely to produce the proficient bilingual, and it follows that student cognitive development can suffer if a student is taught via ESL as opposed to a bilingual program.

Since most ESL programs are "pull out" programs, where students are physically removed from mainstream L2 classes, a stigma of sorts is placed on the LEP student, who not only becomes physically,. but socially and cognitively separated from her peers. When students enter the ESL classroom, they may be with many other L2 learners who represent a variety of L1s. In this environment, the cultural component that is so valuable in the bilingual education classroom is lost, and students may lose their sense of personal value.

In a quality bilingual education program, a student’s sense of personal and cultural identity should be maintained and strengthened. At the conclusion of the bilingual student’s schooling, it is hoped that she is better equipped to enter a world of many languages. She has a positive view of the self, increased professional options, and probably exceeds her monolingual peers in intellectual flexibility and breadth of perspective. She is ready to contribute meaningfully as a productive citizen.

We have covered five major types of bilingual education programs in this class: TBE, MBE, two-way, immersion, and submersion. Automatically, I toss aside immersion and submersion. Immersion because it is not specifically designed with the LEP student in mind, and submersion because it is not respected in the field as a viable option. Of the three left, I prefer the two-way program for two main reasons: it provides extra time for the student to acquire L1 and L2 skills, and it involves mainstream as well as LEP students. Being a late exit program, the two-way approach gives students valuable time to sharpen their L1 and L2 skills. Because there are mainstream as well as LEP learners in the classroom, everyone has a valuable commodity – their own L1 – that can be shared with others to enhance each student’s learning. I see this type of environment promoting a greater understanding of cultural diversity in the US and beyond, and a way to cure the ill of the American monolingual.