Myth: Children in bilingual education programs do not learn English, or they learn too slowly

TRUTH: Studies have proven that children in bilingual education do learn English, and not at the expense of falling behind in academic subjects as they would with "English Only" programs.

TRUTH: Children in bilingual education do learn English, in fact, children in well-designed bilingual programs learn English as well as and often even better than students in all-English programs.

Myth: Bilingual education is part of the problem, not the solution.

TRUTH: Bilingual education lowers dropout rates, raises student achievement, and creates citizens better prepared to meet the needs of today's global economy. In truth, bilingual education is not the problem - it is the solution.

Myth: Bilingual education is not necessary; immersion programs work.

TRUTH: Let's look at California where after more than three years of Proposition 227 - imposed immersion, there are still more than 900,000 students who are limited English proficient.

TRUTH: There is no concrete proof that "English Immersion" programs work.

TRUTH: Some English language learners quickly acquire "playground English", but as students advance from grade to grade, school gets harder and higher "academic" levels of English proficiency are required.

TRUTH: Children in English immersion programs do not learn English any faster than those in bilingual programs.

TRUTH: There are unfortunate consequences to English immersion programs, such as an increased rate of special education placement for English language learners, and decreased parent involvement.

Myth: Most immigrant parents want to keep their children out of bilingual programs.

TRUTH: Parents want what is best for their kids. When parents understand how bilingual education really works, support is extremely high.

Myth: Bilingual education is a weak program started for reasons of "cultural sensitivity" and "political correctness".

TRUTH: Bilingual education programs were started to help non-native English speakers reach the high academic achievement that should be expected of all students. And good bilingual education programs do just that - teach English AND help children succeed academically.

TRUTH: Bilingual education programs were started in response to the need to help non-English speakers learn important subject matter, to keep pace with their grade level and to reach the high academic achievement that should be expected of ALL students.

Myth: Bilingual education works in theory, but not in practice. There is no real research to prove its success.

TRUTH: When bilingual education is done right, it's tremendously effective in enabling students to master English along with other academic subjects. In Arizona and Texas - where bilingual programs have been implemented for years - students consistently outperform their monolingual peers.

TRUTH: There is significant research to show that students in bilingual education programs not only master English, but meet high achievement standards for other subjects as well.

Myth: Bilingual education is "un-American." The sink-or-swim method worked for other immigrants.

TRUTH: The idea that immigrants survived in a sink-or-swim approach is a myth. In the first half of this century jobs on assembly lines or the farm didn't require the mastery of complicated academic subject matter that's needed for the information age of today. Forcing kids to learn perfect English before learning math, science, and everything else puts a huge obstacle in their path to academic achievement.

TRUTH: Immigrants who came to the US in the first part of the century did well economically, however the fact is, many did not do well in school at this time.

Myth: The bilingual education "model" is an unwieldy approach that hinders students' chances of reaching the achievement levels of their peers.

TRUTH: Bilingual education programs can be tailored to the specific needs of all students and schools, and the long-term, reputable research shows they speed English acquisition and student achievement.

Myth: Bilingual education is costly, and a waste of money.

TRUTH: Bilingual education programs have proven to be very cost effective. On the other hand, implementing a new mandated English immersion program will require retraining teachers and retooling schools, putting a huge burden on taxpayers in a time of economic uncertainty.