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As a professional ESL educator for many years and as a learner of five foreign languages, I advocate for Measure 58. Years ago I was a ESL consultant in Texas for a public school district. What I observed was that in general minimal English was used in classes and that the vast majority of ESL students in grades K through 12 were not being exposed to enough English to succeed in an academic environment after 2 years or even 5 years. As a result, most of the students were in ESL classes for several years and then they had to take special English classes just to upgrade the basic skills.
The key word in this bill is immersion. It works IF there is minimal use of the students' native language. A qualified ESL educator will know how to give student the English to succeed provided classes are small and there is sufficient academic content in the materials used.

posted 4 years, 8 months ago
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