Mr. Speaker. as our Nation experiences the largest influx of immigrants in its history. the challenge to integrate these people into American society must be met. Mastery of the English language is vital to this assimilation. we cannot expect our Nations linguistic minorities to become involved and productive members of society if they are unable to speak the language of their riew homeland. Yet while no one will deny the value to our Nations immigrants of proficiency in English. serious questions surround the effectiveness of bilingual education. the approach that has been used throughout the Nation for over a decade to educate students of limited English proficiency. While bilingual education seeks to increase students English language competence. little conclusive evidence has been produced which supports the bilingual method. It is vital that we not rely on a single approach to this problem. an approach that very well may not be the most effective method in encouraging proficiency in English but which may actually impede the learning of English and maintain a separate language and culture.
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immigrants