Bilingual Education

I chuckled as I read about the problems Jorge R. Mancillas had with the English language (“Assimilation Is More Than ABCs,” Commentary, Nov. 17). I too came to the United States with what I thought was a proficiency in English and was confronted in my freshman English class at New York University by a professor who came from the Deep South, had studied at Oxford, had a speech impediment and was teaching Chaucer in Old English. I didn’t understand a word he said and was saved by copying my roommate’s notes.

In addition, I missed the final exam, for the Immigration and Naturalization Service was not as kind to me as it was to Mancillas--that week it scheduled a hearing to renew my student visa for anther year. The problem was that I had to have a country that would admit me after graduation--a difficult task for a stateless, former Lithuanian Holocaust survivor who did not want to go back to the Soviet Union. These sessions were scheduled each year for the week of the final exams which was, to say the least, difficult. Still, I got an A in freshman English and came to conclusions that are quite opposite to the ones drawn by Mancillas.

I do not approve of bilingual education. I do not believe that I and the millions of other immigrants who came to the U.S. and mastered English are smarter than the Latinos, the only group that seems to be singled out as not quite bright enough to learn English as all the other immigrants have in the past, and as they are doing now. I have not seen any requests for bilingual education from the parents of the Russian, Vietnamese, Korean or Armenian-speaking students.

Bilingual education is a discriminatory instrument supporting an educational apparatus that enjoys spending tax money. It can only reduce, not improve, self-esteem.

SI FRUMKIN

Studio City

* Mancillas is dead wrong in his opinion that “those who oppose bilingual education are propelled by fear of others and insecurity about their own capabilities, identity and culture.” Born and raised in California of German-Irish heritage, I am fascinated by the cultures, traditions and languages of other nations and am not at all xenophobic. I have traveled extensively and speak another language fluently; I have an excellent grasp of several others.

I am opposed to bilingual education because it is discriminatory and does not make sense. People immigrate to the U.S. from all over the world, not just Latin America. It is not feasible to provide a native speaker for every group of immigrant children. My close friend arrived here from Greece at age 12 with no knowledge of English whatsoever. She was enrolled in a class of English-speaking sixth-graders, and lo and behold, today she is a successful, contributing member of society with a college degree and accent-free English.

The home environment is the place to keep the native language and culture alive, and more power to the parents who strive to do so! But to make it in America, one must speak English. Sink or swim!

JANET S. GOSSE

Laguna Hills