FACILITATING JAPANESE-ENGLISH BILINGUALISM FOR JAPANESE CHILDREN IN WEST VIRGINIA

As globalism increases in this modern era, so increases the number of families living outside of their home country for purposes such as business obligations. However, an issue many fail to take into account with relocating for work are the various obstacles imposed on the children, such as attainment of a second language like English. This presents a grand opportunity for students to become fluent in a second language. However, some studies have shown that as a learner\u27s proficiency in a second language increases, the proficiency in the native language can decrease (at rates that differ with age). Therefore, this paper will demonstrate the need for a Japanese-English language maintenance program which uses the enrichment education model of bilingual immersion education to satisfy the Common Underlying Proficiency Model and supports the growth of both English and Japanese language proficiency by examining the current options for Japanese-English language maintenance in West Virginia