[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 197 (Thursday, December 13, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H10173-H10174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EMERGENT BILINGUALS

  (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, too many students are being overlooked by 
our education system. These students are emergent bilinguals, a group 
that makes up 10 percent of the K-12 student population.
  In the law, we refer to them as English learners, students whose 
native language is one other than English and who are not yet English 
proficient. But when we call students ELs day to day, we ignore the 
important fact that they are already proficient in another language, 
whether it is Spanish, Chinese, or Arabic.
  As these students learn English, they become bilingual, and 
bilingualism is an incredible asset in our global society. We benefit, 
and we need to shift our view of emergent bilinguals and recognize 
their great potential. We must recognize that by investing in their 
success, we all benefit.
  Sarah Hesson, a Rhode Island educator, introduced me to the term 
``emergent bilinguals,'' and I encourage my colleagues to use it as 
well and to celebrate students' emerging bilingualism.

[[Page H10174]]

After all, it is a gift that will empower students to become more 
successful later in life.

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