* The accumulated research of the past thirty years reveals almost no justification for teaching children in their native languages to help them learn either English or other subjects -- and these are the chief objectives of all legislation and judicial decisions in this field. Self-esteem is not higher among limited-English students who are taught in their native languages, and stress is not higher among children who are introduced to English from the first day of school -- though self-esteem and stress are the factors most often cited by advocates of bilingual teaching. | * The accumulated research of the past thirty years reveals almost no justification for teaching children in their native languages to help them learn either English or other subjects -- and these are the chief objectives of all legislation and judicial decisions in this field. Self-esteem is not higher among limited-English students who are taught in their native languages, and stress is not higher among children who are introduced to English from the first day of school -- though self-esteem and stress are the factors most often cited by advocates of bilingual teaching. |