Pros and Cons on Bilingual Education

I cannot help but question the credentials of the person who wrote the editorial “Bilingual Approach Is Sound” (Aug. 17).

For many years, Israel has used the method of plunging students--of all ages!--into the Hebrew language. The goal: to make them useful members of the community in the shortest time. The term in the Israeli system was five months.

I was immersed in such a course. The class consisted of persons who spoke French, Polish, Ukranian, English and perhaps other languages. We never heard a word of anything but Hebrew from day one. In less than two months I was able to give short talks to the class, purchase items from the stationery store, use the bus system and attend a class at a university. We read a simple Hebrew newspaper, wrote our lessons in Hebrew, learned something of the history and the religious holidays of Israel, and were well on the way to fluency at the end of five months.

For the record, I favor bilingualism--that is, I think all Americans should be able to speak a second language. But the way to learn English quickly is not by the bilingual approach.

WILLIAM SANFORD LaSOR

Altadena