Talk:Bilingual Education Act

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My experience with bilingual education began when I arrived in the United States at age 11 in 1989. At that time I knew no English having begun my life in Nagpur, India where I was born. There we spoke Mahrathi, one of India's major languages. When I began school in the U.S., I was placed in a 4th/5th grade setting with no support in my native language. I did receive some help on a weekly basis from a bilingual tutor, but that was for only a short time period. In junior high school this same level of support was continued. When I began to attend high school, I was placed in a formal E.S.L. program.

This experience has affected me in many ways. My initial immersion forced me to cope with English by remembering key words in people's conversation. I supplemented my classroom experience by participating in sports and other social activities. My cultural connection was maintained initially through Indian movies that my parents obtained for me. My real ties with my heritage occurred during my high school years because I attended a school with a significant number of students with Indian, Bangladesh and Pakastani backgrounds.

My English is an ongoing project as I gain a greater understanding and increased vocabulary. There is so much to learn because English is difficult and so different from my native language.

24.15.211.61 02:23, 11 March 2007 (UTC)