I wish I were an American. When I was a high school student, I blamed my fate for having been born in America but then taken back to Pakistan for five years which caused me to forget to speak English and when I came back five years later I had to learn everything all over again. If I were an American, I wouldn't need to study English as a second language.
Pakistani students usually begin studying English at school in the seventh grade. Then, at least until graduation from high school, they study English. Since I have come back to United States, I have struggled with this second language for 30 years now.
I heard in a debate about bilingual education, that four years is enough to learn English. They must be kidding, or they don't know how hard it is to learn a foreign language. Although I've been in the United States for most of my life, but I'm still learning words, phrases and idioms every day.
English: World Foreign Languages Middle School Hom...
Spanish salad, Barcelona
English: L. Frank, Tongva-Ajachmen basketweaver, s...When I heard of bilingual education, I thought it was the best way to learn foreign languages. It is better to learn foreign languages when you are young. When I watched elementary school children speak Spanish and English on TV news, I wished I had never was taken back to Pakistan to the point to forget English and then struggle with for rest of my life.
However, I also heard of negative effects of bilingual education, students' high dropout rate, low scores on the SAT and communication difficulties between parents and children. Is bilingual education effective, or is it just a waste of time and money?
When I see the bilingual education programs at elementary schools, it seems that they prevent children from learning their native language properly. To learn...