The Debate on Bilingualism

I. INTRODUCTION

II.HISTORY

III. PENDING LEGISLATION

IV. BILINGUAL EDUCATION

V. PUBLIC OPINION DATA

VI. CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

According to the 1990 United States Census, one in seven or 31.8 million people speak a language other than English in their home. In the past, second generation children were encouraged to adopt the customs, culture, and language of the majority culture. Today, with greater recognition and celebration of cultural differences, people are more likely to maintain and share their primary language with their children and to promote bilingualism as a reflection of ethnic pride and identity. Today, there is much debate on language in American society. Supporters of bilingualism claim that having the option of and availability of two languages produces individuals with valuable skills for today's world. It is viewed as a resource to communicate in the global markets. These same supporters also claim that doing away with the availability of other languages imposes on violating the rights of free speech. It also causes negative sentiment toward minorities, these supporters claim. On the contrary, supporters of English-Only laws claim that making English the official language of government at all levels will encourage immigrants to learn English, which will allow them to enjoy the economic opportunities available in the U.S. Supporters of this policy also claim that unifying languages will bring this country together, because multilingualism is what separates this nation. There are controversial consequences on both ends. This paper will explore these controversies.

HISTORY

Since early American history, two languages often existed. The Continental Congress printed several documents, including the Articles of Confederation in German and English. German-English bilingual schools were run in Ohio, Minnesota, and Maryland at the turn of the century. Norwegian, Italian, Czech, Dutch and Polish were also used in bilingual education instruction at the beginning of the century. California who had officially been bilingual for 30 years, printed its first state constitutional proceedings in both English and Spanish. During the 1870's, new legislation began to appear to restrict language. On the West-Coast, the Anti-Chinese Workingman's party worked to constitute that California support the first English Only provisions. During the 1920's, 20 Midwestern states passed legislation that barred schools from teaching in German. This was clearly a result of anti-German sentiment that derived from WWI. The Nebraska Act of 1921 made English the official language of that state. Two years later, the courts reversed this order. In 1923 the U.S. Supreme Court abolished this law in the case of Meyer v. Nebraska. The Court ruling wrote, "The protection of the Constitution extends to all; to those who speak other languages as well as those born with English on the tongue." Another critical ruling from the Supreme Court, Lau v. Nichols (1974) , ruled that instruction solely in English deprives students of an understanding of the curriculum and of an equal opportunity in education. Many school districts resented this decision on bilingual education.

States resented the debate on Bilingualism and what follows are some critical chronological events as taken from the article, "Language Debates in the United States: A Decade in Review," EPIC Events (1990). The following is what had resulted in the debate among states.

State official English only laws have been passed in Alabama, Arizona (the law was ruled unconstitutional in 1995), Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois (the law was repealed in 1991), Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia. Two major organizations that are behind English-Only legislation are English First and U.S. English. U.S. English is a national, non-partisan, non-profit citizens' group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language of government at all levels. U.S. English believes that the passage of English as the official language will help to expand opportunities for immigrants to learn and speak English. Similarly, English First is a national, non-profit grassroots lobbying organization whose main goals are to make English America's official language, and to eliminate multilingual policies.

PENDING LEGISLATION

Currently members of the 105th Congress are introducing legislation affecting bilingualism. Some of these bills are re-introducing official language legislation. Several are as follows: the H.R. 123 bill, titled "The Bill Emerson English Language Empowerment Act " introduced in January, 1997. This bill requires representatives of the Federal Government to conduct official business in English and bans citizenship ceremonies in languages other than in English. H.R. 622 titled "The Declaration of Official Language Act" introduced in February, 1997 requires the government to function in English and bans bilingual ballots and bilingual education. It does, however, accept few exceptions. Other languages may be expressed for purposes of religious ceremonies or other activities such as in the training in other languages for international communication. H.R. 1005, "The National Language Act of 1997," introduced March, 1997 also requires government to conduct official business in only English. But it also repeals the bilingual ballot , the Bilingual Education Act and dismembers the Offices of the Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs. Bill, H.J. Res.37 introduced February, 1997, is an amendment to the Constitution that proposes that English become the official language to be used for all public acts of the Government. Being that this is an amendment to the Constitution, it is more difficult to pass. Another bill introduced in the Senate as opposed to the others above, is S.323, the Language of Government Act of 1997, which declares that English become the official language. It recognizes that although the US is comprised of groups from diverse backgrounds and although the country has benefited from the diversity, the US should maintain a language common to all people. One specific bill that pertains to the education aspect of bilingualism is H.R. 1203, titled, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Amendment. Introduced on March 20, 1997, the Act proposes to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The purpose of this Act is to ensure that funds provided are not used to promote the teaching or use of regional or group dialects, such as Spanglish.

Several bills that promote bilingualism that were introduced in the 105th Congress are as follows: H.R.662, The Naturalization of Older Person Act of 1997, introduced in February, 1992, proposes that a person over the age of 50 and has lived in the U.S. for at least 20 years may take a permanent resident test in a language other than English. A similar bill, H.R.602, also introduced in February, 1997, proposes to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for special consideration concerning the English language requirement for individuals over 65. One bill that specifically targets the concept of bilingualism in relation to all citizen, is H.R. Con.Res.4, the English Plus Resolution, introduced in January, 1997. This bill states that English is the language of the U.S. and although everyone in society must recognize its importance, other languages including indigenous languages of the country should be conserved and developed.

BILINGUAL EDUCATION

Bilingualism - - different people use the term in different ways. For some, bilingualism means an equal ability to communicate in two languages. For others, bilingualism, means the right to communicate in two languages and having greater skills in one language. One aspect on the debate on bilingualism is bilingual education. Bilingual education is simply the use of two languages for instruction. In the U.S., bilingual education is the use of English and another language in instruction. Bilingual education has been practiced in the U.S. for over 200 years. Both English-speaking students and speakers of other languages are enrolled in bilingual education. Bilingual education students receive part of their instruction in English and part in another language. These programs are intended to produce fully bilingual students, capable of communicating in English and another language, which is a valuable skill in today's diverse world. In 1968 Congress created new ways to educate language minority youths. The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 was one form of this attempt. Under the Bilingual Education Act, federal funding was available for programs that maintained and developed languages other than English. In other words it was a grant program that supplied money to school for bilingual education. But in 1978, Congress amended the law to emphasize the goal of developing English language rather than maintaining other languages. In other words, no funds would be available for language maintenance.

There is another population among students in the bilingual education arena. Students who do not speak English proficiently are what is categorized as limited-English proficient (LEP). LEP students in the U.S. have difficultly understanding an all English curriculum. A 1993 study conducted by the US Department of Education shows that the number of LEP students in the U.S. have increased every year since 1984, and is expected to grow. There were 2.31 million public (elementary and secondary) school students enrolled during the 1991-92 school year, approximately 6% were limited English proficient (LEP). This figure represents a 9% increase over the 1990-91 school year. As of 1993, in New York City schools more than 185 different languages were spoken. In one Los Angeles school 60 different languages were spoken at home. The number of limited-English speakers grew 73% in 1984 over an eight year span since 1984. About three-quarters are native Spanish-speakers, according to a 1994 survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. The most recent figures available for the '93-'94 school year indicates a 16% increase over the previous year. Increased multilingualism is evident all around the country. Opponents of LEP taught classes claim that majority of instruction is conducted in the native language and not in English. Figures from the 1994 survey are in accordance with this claim. One quarter of districts serving LEP students offer instruction that includes use of the native language in 60 % or more of the total instruction. The intention of these LEP taught classes is to better assimilate native-language speaking individuals into America's society. Many of these within the LEP population experience discrimination. Limited-English proficient (LEP) individuals and language minority students have long been excluded from certain government policies and procedures because of language barriers, for example, language minority students have long been excluded from participating in the electoral process because of English only. Some who support English only laws would say that if an individual could not understand the ballots to vote, they should have no say. This is contradictory and unfair to the individual because laws that are voted upon by elected officials are always affecting minority groups, for example the immigrant laws that are in place today.

Bilingual services are necessary for adults as well as children. More and more immigrants are coming to this country with no knowledge of English. English only supporters believe that language minority children are a threat. These children are really bilingual, an asset to our nation. In addition, English Only laws would be harmful because it would create a public health hazard because these children would have difficulty accessing public health services. Language restrictions also would make it more difficult for law enforcement officials to gather information from victims who do not speak English. One crucial consequence is that the government would have to conduct all its official business in English.

PUBLIC OPINION DATA

Data from several public opinion polls have been noted specifically to illustrate the discrepancies between opinions on bilingualism and bilingual education.

On data collected from the General Social Survey, which is conducted every year, since 1972, 5 survey questions pertain to bilingualism are noted.

How Do You Feel About Bilingual Education ?
55.86 % Favored strongly or somewhat.
29.77% Opposed strongly or somewhat.
It Is Better for Everyone If English Is The Only Language Used In The Public Schools?
45.51% Favored strongly or somewhat.
29.77% Opposed strongly or somewhat.

Do you favor a law making English the Official Language of The U.S. Meaning Government Business Would be Conducted in English Only, or do you Oppose Such a Law?
58.62% Favored.
25.75% Opposed.

In the following series of questions presented from the General Social Survey questionnaire, 1518 people were asked to chose which of the following statements best described their feelings about how to teach children who don't speak English when they enter our public schools.

All Classes Should Be Conducted Only in English So That Children Have To Learn English Right From The Start.
33.72% Favored of classes only in English.

Children Who Don't Know English Should Have Classes In Their Native Language Just For A Year Or Two Until They Learn English.
45.25% Favored of classes for at least 1 to 2 years.
Students Who Want To Keep Up With Their Native Languages and Cultures Should Be Able To Take Many Of Their Classes In Spanish Or Other Languages All The Way Through High School.
14.69% Favored of taking classes in native language through high school.

Do You Believe That Election Ballots Should Be Printed Only in English, Or In Areas Where Lots of People Don't Speak English, Should They Also Be Printed In Some Other Language?
34.51% Favored of printing only in English.
59.15% Favored of printing in some other languages.
There were 1,009 respondents who answered two questions that pertained to bilingualism, conducted in 1991 and 1992 respectively. The data was collected from the Institute for Research Science.

Do You Favor Or Oppose Spending Substantial Sums of Money On Teaching Students In Their First Language If They Do Not Use English At Home To Prevent Minority And Disadvantaged Students From Dropping Out?
57% Favored of.
40% Opposition of.

In Areas Where There Are a Lot of Non-English Speaking Immigrants, Do You Think Public Schools Should Or Should Not Offer Education In Their Language?
43.4% Should Offer.
55.1% Shouldn't Offer.

CONCLUSION

Everyone is in agreement with the fact that English is the language of the United States, and it is clearly evident that there is no threat to the language, with 94% of U.S. residents speaking English. It is clear that the country has benefited from the diversity of groups in the United States and their languages (such as in the decoding of messages during the Vietnam War, WWII, and even in the Gulf War). It is also worth noting that although majority agrees that the English language would help immigrants to better assimilate and take full advantage of opportunities in the US, there is still mixed feelings about incorporating an "official language." People for bilingualism argue that the effort to legislate English as the official language disregards what the country's diverse population, and deprives those in need of education, services, and employment. Public opinion somewhat differs from that of the lawmakers in Washington. When reviewing polls about bilingual education in schools there tend to be discrepancies among and between polls.

REFERENCES

(Jimenez, Martha. (1995). A Chronology of the Official English Movement. URL=http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/miscpubs/tesol/official/chronology.html

National Education Association. (1995). The Debate over English Only.

URL=http://www.nea.org/info/englonly.html

(Headden, Susan). (1995). Tongue-tied in the school.

URL=http://www.usnews.com/usnews.nycu/bilingua.html

General Social Survey. (1994).

URL=http://bravo.berkeley.edu/csadocs/GSS/gss033.html

House of Representatives, 105th Congress. (1997).

URL=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:

Torres, J. (1996). Dole Support May Raise 'Official English' As Defining Issue in Presidential Race. Hispanic Link

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URL=http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/language/table5.txt

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URL=http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/nationintfile3-1.txt

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URL=http://www.aclu.org/congress

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URL=http://www.englishfirst.org/efbe.htm

No Author cited. (1997). Evaluations of Current Bilingual Programs. English First Foundation.

URL=http://www.englishfirst.org/whoef.htm

No Author Cited. US English Organization Home Page.

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No Author Cited. Why is Official English Necessary? US English Organization.

URL=http://www.us-english.org/why.htm

I.Cristina Rodriguez