Say again?

[Unkotare]

Legislators hope to undo English-only education law - The Boston Globe


Some people just can't let a bad idea go. Sooner or later some yahoo will chime in with "This time it will work!"

Don't get me wrong, there are ways in which a student's first language can be a useful tool and important factor in ultimate academic success, but if this sort of thing is brought back, it will almost certainly bring back the same problems that motivated the previous legislation requiring (more or less) English only policies.

 

[blastoff]

Gee, not being fluent in English is hurting some academically? Wonder if the hurt will be the same, more, or less in the job market when they're not able to communicate verbally with folks looking to hire people?

 

[rightwinger]

Again

 

[Unkotare]

Gee, not being fluent in English is hurting some academically? Wonder if the hurt will be the same, more, or less in the job market when they're not able to communicate verbally with folks looking to hire people?

The idea isn't to have students who aren't fluent in English, that's just an unfortunately likely outcome for many despite the best of intentions.

 

[usmbguest5318]

The U.S. does not, as a matter of law, have a national language. Accordingly, education delivered in languages other than English is okay. Students can learn just about anything in any language. What one cannot readily learn in any language other than English is English grammar and composition, and to some small degree English literature. English speaking students often don't read the Aeneid, Republic, Iliad, Odyssey, Don Quixote, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Horace, Catullus, Cicero, Ovid, Tacitus, Augustine of Hippo, or scores of other works/writers in their original languages. (At least, most of them I didn't, the exceptions being those works/authors that appeared in Latin class and in literature or history class.)

As a practical matter, at some point in one's life/career/education in the U.S., one must have a strong enough command of English to communicate with/respond to individuals who speak English only. Accordingly, one who intends to live and work in the U.S. must speak and read English, but as students, they need not be taught in English, except in English grammar and composition classes.

 

[Unkotare]

The U.S. does not, as a matter of law, have a national language. Accordingly, education delivered in languages other than English is okay. Students can learn just about anything in any language. What one cannot readily learn in any language other than English is English grammar and composition, and to a some small degree English literature. English speaking students often don't read the Aeneid, Republic, Iliad, Odyssey, Don Quixote, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Horace, Catullus, Cicero, Ovid, Tacitus, Augustine of Hippo, or scores of other works/writers in their original languages. (At least, most of them I didn't, the exceptions being those works/authors that appeared in Latin class and in literature or history class.)

As a practical matter, at some point in one's life/career/education in the U.S., one must have a strong enough command of English to communicate with/respond to individuals who speak English only. Accordingly, one who intends to live and work in the U.S. must speak and read English, but as students, they need not be taught in English, except in English grammar and composition classes.

The problem with that way of thinking is that it all too often means that the student never does truly master English to the level and in the manner an educated person living in the US should as a practical matter. All BICS and no CALP.

Think about how many American students take all their other subject matter courses in English and one Spanish (or French, or whatever) class - even if conducted in Spanish-only, every day. How many of those students graduate having really mastered Spanish? Precious few.

 

[usmbguest5318]

The U.S. does not, as a matter of law, have a national language. Accordingly, education delivered in languages other than English is okay. Students can learn just about anything in any language. What one cannot readily learn in any language other than English is English grammar and composition, and to a some small degree English literature. English speaking students often don't read the Aeneid, Republic, Iliad, Odyssey, Don Quixote, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Horace, Catullus, Cicero, Ovid, Tacitus, Augustine of Hippo, or scores of other works/writers in their original languages. (At least, most of them I didn't, the exceptions being those works/authors that appeared in Latin class and in literature or history class.)

As a practical matter, at some point in one's life/career/education in the U.S., one must have a strong enough command of English to communicate with/respond to individuals who speak English only. Accordingly, one who intends to live and work in the U.S. must speak and read English, but as students, they need not be taught in English, except in English grammar and composition classes.

The problem with that way of thinking is that it all too often means that the student never does truly master English to the level and in the manner an educated person living in the US should as a practical matter. All BICS and no CALP.

Think about how many American students take all their other subject matter courses in English and one Spanish (or French, or whatever) class - even if conducted in Spanish-only, every day. How many of those students graduate having really mastered Spanish? Precious few.

The problem with that way of thinking is that it all too often means that the student never does truly master English to the level and in the manner an educated person living in the US should as a practical matter.

Read more on USMB. Mastery, which is not a thing of degrees -- one either has mastered a language or one has not -- of English grammar and composition is clearly helpful, but not universally necessary. Merely being able to function in a language is the same thing as mastering that language. Recognizing that is literally why I wrote "strong enough command" rather than "mastery." Indeed, in penning the post, I initially wrote "mastery" and then, thinking about what that means, changed it to "strong enough command."

 

[Unkotare]

... Merely being able to function in a language is the same thing as mastering that language. ...

It most certainly is not.

 

[Unkotare]

List of Pros and Cons of Bilingual Education

 

[Unkotare]

Do the pros outweigh the cons?