Bilingual Students Need Support in Their Native Language

In a speech in February, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that foreign-language learning and the development of other skills not directly related to reading and math are "essentials, not luxuries" for public education. The contradiction here is of course stark: There are many new Americans who already speak a "foreign language" that would provide the US with greater international competitiveness in business and a useful edge in geopolitics, yet these students are hampered in developing those skills by state and national education policies. Without actively and continuously cultivating bilingual skills in bilingual students, they are limiting the U.S.A.'s language resources.