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Article: Synchronistic learning of native language and English.(International/Intercultural)
- Article from:
- Childhood Education
- Article date:
- December 22, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Association for Childhood Education International. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Many educators and parents still are not convinced whether children can use native language at home while learning English in school. They think immigrant children from Asian countries should not be allowed to speak their native language, and they believe that children would be more confused by speaking two languages and would thus be delayed in improving their reading and writing in English at school. In my opinion, these fears are, unfounded. It is also wrong to tell Asian Americans that they live in the United States now and therefore must focus on learning English.
Many Asian Americans who have grown up in the U.S. wish to speak their native language. They ...