Letter: Schools should teach ‘English Only’

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 | 7:09 a.m.

Regarding the Las Vegas Sun's March 20 article, "Schools bridging the language divide": I support the Immersion or "English Only'' approach used in 309 of Clark County's 317 schools, and disagree with the Dual-language approach. Since we live in an English-speaking country, it might make sense to settle on English as "the" language. In our nation's history, we have received immigrants from all around the world. Most of them realized immediately that it was in their interest to absorb quickly the new language and culture, in addition to retaining their native language and culture. I think this is what the melting pot is all about. At some point in time, after much experimentation and study, the Clark County School District will again ask the Legislature for additional funds for English Language Learners' students. I urge the Legislature to reject any request that goes beyond accelerated instruction and vocabulary acquisition, and! getting parents involved to accelerate the learning of English.

Fortunately, over 97 percent of Clark County's schools use the Immersion or "English Only" approach for ELL students. In the interest of maintaining a cohesive society, where everyone can communicate with each other in a common language, the percentage should be increased to 100 percent.

Roger Witcher, Las Vegas