Duncan Stresses Value Of Dual-Language Instruction

Lesli A. Maxwell writes at the Education Week (5/31, Maxwell) “Learning the Language” blog that Education Secretary Arne Duncan “over breakfast yesterday gave perhaps his clearest statements to date on the benefits of dual-language development and instruction, especially for students who are English-language learners.” Duncan told reporters that ELL students “come to school with a major asset—their home languages—that educators should capitalize on, especially in the early grades.” Maxwell quotes Duncan saying, “[It] is clearly an asset that these kids are coming to school with. ... The fact that our kids don’t grow up [bilingual] puts them at a competitive disadvantage.”