Technically, bilingual education means instruction in two languages. It refers to a range of classroom strategies that include instruction in the student's primary language. A related strategy called dual immersion seeks to produce students fluent in two languages.

Teaching methods or programs that work well for some children may not benefit other children. Bilingual education is based on research showing that a child who can read in his native language and who has some exposure to English will usually learn to read in English more quickly than a child who has not yet learned to read at all and has little exposure to English. The first child might progress rapidly in an English immersion program while the second child might flounder in the same environment.

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