Bilingual program编辑历史

## 1 Definition and scope

A bilingual program is a structured educational approach in which two languages serve as mediums of instruction for academic subjects. The scope of such programs spans from early childhood through secondary education and encompasses a variety of goals, including additive bilingualism (maintaining the home language while acquiring a second language) and subtractive bilingualism (replacing the home language with a dominant language). Bilingual programs are implemented in contexts ranging from immigrant communities to regions with multiple official languages, and they vary according to linguistic, cultural, and policy objectives.

### 1.1 Core principles

Bilingual programs are founded on several core principles. First, they recognize that language is not merely a subject but a tool for learning content. Second, they aim for balanced or functional proficiency in both languages, often aligned with standards such as the Common European Framework of Reference. Third, they incorporate cross‑linguistic transfer, where skills learned in one language support the other. Finally, they promote equity by providing access to the curriculum for speakers of minority or heritage languages.

### 1.2 Historical development

The modern bilingual education movement emerged from earlier language‑teaching experiments and was shaped by sociopolitical shifts in the 20th century.

#### 1.2.1 Early experiments

Early examples include the Welsh‑medium schools of the 19th century and the Canadian immersion programs launched in St. Lambert, Quebec, in 1965. These experiments demonstrated that children could achieve high levels of second‑language proficiency without sacrificing academic performance in their first language. They also provided evidence for the effectiveness of significant exposure to the target language.

#### 1.2.2 Expansion in the late 20th century

By the 1970s and 1980s, bilingual programs expanded in the United States following the Bilingual E