More immigrants have arrived in the United States during the 1990s than any other decade, increasing the number of public school students who need language instruction (McCabe, 2003, p. 1). For example, in the 2000/2001 school year, more than 4 million students û 10 percent of the total school population û had limited English proficiency (McCabe, 2003, p. 1).
Transitional bilingual education was the preferred education strategy of the 1980s and 1990s. This strategy taught non-English speaking students in their native language while simultaneously adding English instruction (1998, p. 1). The theory was that the students would not fall behind in other subjects while they learned English. Then, eventually, as their English skills progressed, they would move toward education in all subjects in English (Rothstein, 1998, p. 1). Supporters argue that when non-native English speaking students first learn to read in their native language, they can transfer those learning skills to a second language, thereby developing stronger literacy skills in the long term (McCabe, 2003, p. 3). Proponents also point out the advantage of multilingual speakers in a global society (McCabe, 2003, p. 3).
Jim Cummins is a bilingual-education theorist who argues strenuously in favor of bilingual education (Leung, 1999, p. 1). He maintains that students who learn to read in their native language find it easier to learn to read in a second language. But even beyond reading skills, Cummins argues that students who gain a solid foundation of understanding in their native language are better prepared to learn academically in English, a process he contends can take from five to seven years (1999, p. 1). For example, he states that ô[w]e learn to read by reading, by making sense of what we see on the pageö (Cummins, 1999, p. 1). He argues, therefore, that the ability to read transfers across languages, suggesting that a non-English sp
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