BALTIMORE, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- A U.S. study has shown students whose first language isn't English learn the language better with a bilingual approach.
The analysis, conducted by Robert Slavin of The Johns Hopkins University and Alan Cheung of the Success for All Foundation found that students participating in bilingual programs -- those offering ongoing instruction in a native language and English at different times of the day -- made the most dramatic gains in reading performance compared to their English-only peers.
"In no case did results from an English-only strategy exceed those from a bilingual strategy," the report said.
The report's findings conflict with actions taken by the federal government and states such as Arizona, California and Massachusetts, which have limited the amount of instruction English students may receive in their native language.
The university, in Baltimore, Md., said 20 percent of students in the United States come from homes in which English is not the primary language spoken.
