DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: As the U.S. population becomes more diverse, schools are trying to cope with the needs of students who don’t speak English as their primary language.
CNN’s Alexa Lee takes a look at one approach.
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ALEXA LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Listen carefully to these young voices and you’ll hear two worlds come together. They’re part of dual-language immersion classes in Dalton, Georgia and Lafayette, Colorado. Across the nation there are more than 250 similar programs. Students dominant in English and students dominant in other languages — usually Spanish — are placed together in one classroom.
Danielle Polasio’s (ph) family speaks Spanish at home.
SUE SUGGS, PIONEER ELEMENTARY: It gives Spanish speakers an opportunity to be in an English environment and learn English. It also gives them a chance to be in a Spanish-language environment where they are taught, for example, reading and math in their first language.
LEE: For native English speakers like 6-year-old Leah Campos (ph), the classes help develop a second language.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: (SPEAKING SPANISH)
LEE: In most programs, at least half the day’s instruction is in Spanish. The students split up to focus on reading literacy.
(on camera): The most comprehensive study on dual language classes determine that students can end up outperforming children in traditional one-language classes. Opponents argue, however, dual language classes can make it harder for some children to master English.
DAVID GERSTEN, CENTER FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: They’re not helpful for the mostly Spanish kids that are stuck in those programs and, basically, used as tools for helping these other English-speaking kids learn a new language.
LEE: Regardless, the dual-language programs have become so popular most have long waiting lists.
Alexa Lee, CNN, Dalton, Georgia.
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