possible. In this case, by puberty the linguistico-cultural shock will no longer be a problem. "...for children below age 10, complete mastery of a second language is very common when sufficient involvement with native speakers is possible... Recent research has revealed striking similarities between children acquiring English as a first language and those acquiring English as a second language... Hatch and Wagner-Gough (1975) also conclude that similar strategies are employed by both first- and second-language acquirers" (Krashen, 1979, pp 105-108). Professor Gustavo Gonzßlez (1979) contends that "bilingual curriculum is needed from K-12 if maintenance is to be continued" (p. 122). One of the problems faced by the 12th-grade curriculum, therefore, lies in the expectations of the school with regards to students' reasonable capability to acquire optimum spoken as well as written proficiency. The problem is of course compounded if the teacher is not a native speaker of English, however proficient he or she may be
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