Bilingual education is under attack. Letters to the editor, editorials, and talk show hosts repeat the same arguments nearly daily. Bilingual education, they say, doesn't work. Students in bilingual education programs do not learn English and those who have never had bilingual education appear to do very well without it. Also, critics claim that most parents and teachers don't want bilingual education, and that it contributes to the erosion of English in the United States.

In this empirically grounded monograph, Krashen answers the critics. His book examines the following issues:

• Does the research show that bilingual education doesn't work? (No)
• Is English in trouble? (No)
• Are most parents and teachers against bilingual education? (No)
• Will bilingual education work for languages other than Spanish? (Yes)
• What about those who succeed without bilingual education?
  • Is bilingual education good for English? (Yes !)
  • Can bilingual education be improved? (Yes !)