FRAMINGHAM – The battle over bilingual is raging, but some school systems are finding alternatives that could become the new middle ground.

One program is known as two-way bilingual education, where an equal number of English-speaking children are paired in class with those of a foreign language.

This accomplishes the goal of immersing non-English speakers in this country’s language while meeting the goals of education reform to have Bay State children become fluent in another language.

“The ultimate goal is full bilingualism for all students,” said Dr. Susan McGilvray-Rivet, program director of Framingham’s bilingual education. “It only makes sense to use the assets the students bring to us especially since we’ve mandated it’s good for native English speakers to learn another language.”

Framingham, which has been highly praised by Board of Education Chairman John R. Silber, is one of several communities around the state using the two-way bilingual program, started in 1990. Spanish-speaking students are paired with English speakers at the kindergarten level through the seventh grade.

Next year the program will go through eighth grade and ultimately all grades will be included.

Two-way only works if there is sufficient interest in learning the foreign language being taught. Participation is voluntary but McGilvray-Rivet said there are never vacant seats.

“If bilingual ed is done the way it should be done, it is very effective,” she said.

“Any program poorly run is not going to get there.”

Other alternatives that have been proposed to replace the current system are structured immersion, English as a Second Language and tutoring. Structured immersion is when non-English speakers learn subjects in English in a self-contained classroom with their native tongue used only to clarify questions.

“Structured immersion, taught completely in English, is the best kind of program there is,” said Christine Rosell, a Boston University professor.

The alternatives would also be for a shorter time period than the current three years or more for transitional programs. That, experts claim, should be the goal.

“A year or two should be sufficient to make the transition,” said former Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, an early supporter of bilingual education. “These kids should be as fully literate as possible in English. That’s what our goal should be.”



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