Li, Qian

    Bilingual Education is important to me. "What is Bilingual Education? Why do most of the schools in New York City have Bilingual classes?" Some people asked me. The first answer that came into my mind was that classes are taught in two totally different languages, and most schools use it to help immigrants. It explains concepts, and improves their own language skills.

    I've been Bilingual class since the day I came in the United States. It always helps me no matter what English level I go to. When I first came here, I didn't know English at all, not even ABC. Fortunately, the school put me in a Bilingual class and that's the first time that I started to know about it. The teacher taught us in our native language, Chinese. At the same time, when I learned English, I also learned to improve my own language skills. However, most of the students in my class already had some basic English concepts because they came before me. When I talked to them, I spoke in Chinese. If I were not in this Bilingual class, I wouldn't able to communicate with my classmates and the teacher in my native language. I think I'm lucky to have a Bilingual education, It's really important to me. I observed that most of the new immigrants. Stayed in Bilingual class when they first arrived. It's not just to help students pass the difficult part, it also helps us in the future. Many companies and agencies require people with at least two language skills. Why? Because there are lot of people who don't understand English. If we speak their language, we could help the company or agency to get more clients. Seems to me, more language you speak, the better job opportunities you have. That's a fact, it's also a benefit to us. A lot of people forget about their own native language after they go to regular class from Bilingual. They speak English most of the time, and have only a little time to speak their own language. That's why it's better to stay in Bilingual class in order to maintain our own language skills.