Research done by George Mason University and the National Research Council indicates that it works very well. A study by the Los Angeles Unified School District demonstrated that students in bilingual education programs did better in reading and writing than those who were taught in English from the beginning. In the past, immigrant children were often classified as not intelligent because they could not compete with native born students. In 1921 fifty percent of the special education students in New York City were Italian immigrants. Their lack of English skills.
Immigrants recognize very well the importance of the English language.
They understand that the lack of English skills translates itself into menial work and a life outside of mainstream. No English means having to find an interpreter at a doctor's office. It means the inability to ask for a painkiller in a hospital after an operation. All those immigrants who flock to the English as a Second Language classes after working an entire day certainly are doing it because they want to learn English. If not, it should be dropped.