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= Bilingual Education = Bilingual education is an educational system taught in a native language and English to students with little fluency in English. There are many types of programs and methods to learn and improve fluency in a specific language. Many people start to learn more than one language from an elementary school level.

Importance of Bilingualism
Bilingualism gives an aspect on cultural and linguistic diversity. Around 40% of the world's population is bilingual. With the world's constant changing stance and tolerance of other languages, it is important to remember the many benefits of being bilingual. Knowing more than one language is a valuable and encouraged skill to have. People who are bilingual are known to have more educational, personal, social, and economic advantages. Putting children in bilingual programs starting at an elementary level allows them to acquire knowledge effectively in more than one language.

Types of Bilingual Programs
There are various types of bilingual education programs based on levels of known English.


 * Transitional Bilingual Education. This program is the most common form of bilingual eduction and is commonly referred to as Early Exit Programs. Purpose is to get child into English classes by first gaining fluency in native language, then the English language. This mainly promotes a students proficiency in English. The aim of this is to assimilate the child by decreasing the use of their native language and increase the use of the English language. This type of program usually lasts from two to three years.
 * Two Way or Dual Language Immersion. These programs consist of half of students that are native English Speakers and half are of the target language (ex. Spanish, Japanese, Korean, French, etc). This integration allows instructor to provide instructions in both languages to all students. This program includes the 90/10 method and the 50/50 method. These type of program can be implemented anytime from kindergarten through the 12th grade.
 * English as a Second Language. For students whose primary language is not English, but is studying it for integration into an English-speaking community. This program is mainly used by people or workers who need to learn English to function better in an English Society. People in this program will start speaking the same language. These courses are popular in urban areas to accommodate to the culturally diverse student body.

== Program Models ==


 * 50/50 Method. This method requires the use of both, English and other language, to be used equally throughout the course. For the most efficient results, it is better to start in kindergarten. It is recommended for students to remain in this program for the best results. Instructors of these programs divide instruction time based on unit or semester to balance language use.
 * 90/10 Method. This model has the other language be the primary language during instruction. Starting in kindergarten, instruction in native language is provided 90% of the time. The instruction percentages of native language and English will eventually balance to 50/50 instruction of both languages. At the secondary level students are taught mainly in English.