Maintenance Bilingual Education ( MBE )

Abstract

Maintenance bilingual education (MBE) has been proven to be an effective language education model, teaching children the dominant and their native language simultaneously. It differs from other models of bilingual education, such as the “early exit” model, by encouraging additional native language instruction even after students have gained literacy in the dominant language. Because bilingual education is such a flashpoint in public discussions, educators who wish to implement MBE must be prepared to create political allies and understand how to carefully initiate MBE programs and know precisely their governance once underway. Recently, MBE has been losing popularity to dual language or two‐way bilingual programs, yet MBE is the proper model to use in certain school contexts.