The premise of Dorothy Legarreta-Marcaida's essay "Effective Use of the Primary Language in the Classroom" is that bilingualism, long considered an educational handicap, has through recent research been found to have beneficial effects on children's cognitive development. Unfortunately, limited English-proficient (LEP) students still encounter difficulties in the classroom because teachers marginalize the students's primary language in favor of achieving swift English proficiency. Legarreta-Marcaida contends that instruction of elementary school children in English should proceed only after full literacy has been achieved in the student's primary language.
Legarreta-Marcaida's goal is for schools to produce children who are proficient both in their primary language and in English. She cites research which suggests that not only do learning skills acquired in the primary language transfer to English; the development of such skills in the primary language actually facilitate the acquisition of English. Social benefits of initial instruction in the primary language are increased self-esteem among LEP students and enhancement of cultural identification.
The economic benefits of bilingual proficiency cannot be overlooked. Over two billion dollars is spent annually in the United States to teach high school students a foreign language. If bilingual proficiency is promoted at the elementary school level, millions of students will have already fulfilled their foreign language requirements by the time they reach high school.
Legarreta-Marcaida writes this book for school administrators and teachers who would like to establish bilingual programs that facilitate primary language and concept development. The writing style is clear and informative. The essay is divided into sections that answer five basic questions: (1) To what extent should the child's primary language be used overall in grades K-6? (2) In what manner should ...